If you’ve been reading my most recent posts, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve made a couple of trips alone to PA. I thought I would do a post talking about the fact that sometimes when family calls we need to go, and the decisions that need to get made to make that happen.

We’ve known others that have had to change their plans and head “home” for family situations. It could be an easy thing or could be hard, depending on the individual situation. There are several factors involved when deciding the best way to get where you need to go.

Most important is how quickly do you need to get there? After that it becomes a series of logistical questions. Where are you in relation to your loved one? Are you working? Do you have a pet? Will you drive and/or where will you leave your leave your rig?

The best case scenario is you aren’t that far, neither spouse is working (or they work from home) and it is easy to just change course and drive. Make a left instead of a right at the next corner, or even a U-turn, and you are on your way. If you have a pet, they just go along as usual.

If the distance is great and your situation is immediate, leaving your RV in a campground, or putting it into a storage place and flying might be an option to get there quicker.

An advantage to a campground would be you can leave it plugged in, so no worries about items in your refrigerator. If you have a pet, you could find a pet-sitter to come by and care for them in their own home, verses boarding them somewhere. If we ever we needed to, that would be my first choice, other than bringing Callie along.

Keep in mind that storage places, while less expensive than a campground, don’t usually don’t have electric. If you have a residential refrigerator that could be important. Also, if you have a pet, you would have to board them, or bring them along. Bill and I have solar, so it would be easy for us to leave our home in storage, if needed, and we were bringing Callie along (I wouldn’t board her unless I truly had no other option.)

A different choice could be to leave your home behind and just drive your truck, or towed vehicle. Doing this would allow you to travel faster, as I’m sure all would agree, you can drive faster and cover more miles quicker than when towing. (Case in point, I just drove 1000 miles in 1 1/2 days with my car verses 1000 miles taking 3 1/2 days with the rig.) This also allows you to have your own car when you get there, instead of having someone pick you up or having to rent a car. Doing this could also eliminate the need for a pet sitter, if applicable.

Going to family can be more complicated if a couple is workamping, especially if you don’t know how long you need to be away. If it’s only a few days or even a week, an employer might just say to go take care of the situation and return. If a long term visit is needed, you may not be able to return. Leaving a job where there are lots of people to fill the gap (such as Amazon or Adventure Land, for example) could be easy, just pack up and go. It could prove difficult in a campground that only hires one couple. I’d feel really bad leaving an employer in a lurch. Don’t get me wrong, family comes first every time, but leaving an employer, especially without time to replace us, is not something I’d normally do, or take lightly.

Living this lifestyle is supposed to be about freedom, going where we want, when we want. Let’s face reality though and admit that isn’t always 100% possible, especially at the drop of a hat. There are lots of things to consider that people living in a traditional home won’t worry about at all.

When it became clear that someone needed to go to PA, Bill had just started an install in Driggs, ID. There was no way his work ethic, barring an actual life or death emergency, would allow him leave in the middle of a job. So – that someone needed to be me. He would stay behind with Steven & Linda, take care of Callie, and finish his install.

Had the situation in PA required both of us to go, we would have explained it to our clients and I’m sure an arrangement could have been made to finish the install when we returned. Also, with Steven & Linda there, they would have taken care of our kitty for us.

If we both needed to go and we weren’t with Steven & Linda to care for Callie, we probably would have taken her with us. Since we were boondocking in a county park, we might have just left the rig there or may have moved it to a storage place.

I booked a flight out of the nearest large airport, which was Salt Lake City, UT. I guess I could have left out of much closer Jackson, WY, but the triple size price tag was too much for the budget to bear. Going to SLC was, unfortunately, a five (YES 5!) hour drive EACH WAY! The original plan was I was going to go alone to the airport and leave my car there. I had only bought a one-way ticket and we weren’t 100% sure how long I’d be gone. At, literally, the last minute, I started getting “squirrelly” about the drive, so Steven offered to drive with Bill to bring me. In case anyone ever wondered what the definition of friend is, wonder no more!

After a crazy long night and day, I landed in Pittsburgh, with my daughter and son-in-law waiting for me. I was exhausted, but safe and sound.

When I booked my flight home, Linda had found there was a shuttle that could take me from the airport to Rexburg. Rexburg was only one hour away, so significantly closer to Driggs where we were boondocking. The $50 price tag was small price to pay for the major convenience!

The second time a trip to PA was needed, we were in Manhattan, KS. There was another install, as well as visiting with our niece and her children. We hadn’t seen them in two years and I was very sad to leave.

Instead of flying, this time we decided I’d drive. It was just over 1,000 miles, and I was not looking forward to it. We opted to have me drive because it seemed unlikely Bill would still be in KS by the time I’d get back, and we weren’t even sure when that would be.

As I mentioned above, I made much better time with just the car, taking less than two days to drive the distance. I wasn’t originally planning to stop at all, but apparently my eyes are not as young as they once were. Once it got dark, the on-coming headlights really started bothering me and my eyes grew tired. I found a reasonably priced hotel, with inside hallways and included hot breakfast, about 630 miles into my 1000 mile trip. Honestly, I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, but was rested enough to finish the drive the next day.

As I finish this post, I am still in PA, at our daughters. We have taken care of stuff with Billy, and also done a few things around her house to get ready for the baby. Bill flew in to joined me for a few days. He spent some time at our friends place in AR, before moving to TX. He left our home parked on friends property and they are taking care of Callie.

Being separated has not been not easy for us, (this is the longest (by far) we’ve ever been apart) but it has not been all bad. The “divide and conquer” has allowed us to get a lot accomplished. On the family side, I was there to help, be supportive, etc. I also got some visiting in, which was a nice bonus!

.

.

.

.

On the other side, Bill finished another install and got a lot of repairs and maintenance done on the rig and truck, and also helped friends get some items checked off their to-do list. Based on pics I was sent – he enjoyed visiting our niece in KS, and in AR he was well taken care of by Pam and Bridget! Thanks ladies!

.

.

Since I can’t put a caption on the featured pic (above the title), it was taken from Beach Drive in my hometown of Cliffwood Beach, NJ. If you look closer you can see Lower Manhattan, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Coney Island.

Previous post: Manhattan KS

Next post: ? (Not written yet 😊)

Did you know? We are Amazon Affiliates! When clicking our link, you help support our blog. It doesn’t cost you anything and you can still use your Prime membership. Please consider using our link when purchasing from Amazon!

One of our favorite things is hearing from our readers! Please reach out, using the comment section below, when you like (or even don’t like) what you read – let’s us know you are out there!

Have I told you today we appreciate you reading our blog? Well – WE DO! Bill and I appreciate each one of you that takes the time out of your busy week to read our posts!

Another way to follow along is on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest  Its FUN!