Big bumps for big smiles

     "This thing puts OUT!" I just finished installing a nice sound system into the RV. After all, what's life without music? Turn it up, and it feels like someone is repeatedly punching you in the back of the head. Cool.

     I'm in Redding, California at the moment (having the steering aligned because she is pulling left too much), then I'll be on my way to Portland, Oregon tonight. A bit of kayaking and visiting friends, then off to Vashon Island where I will be installing a Kimberly wood stove... wait till you see this wood stove, probably the most functional (and coolest) addition you could possibly make to an RV.

Well, back on the road for now...

Leaving the Alaskan snow behind for "sunny" California

Well, I'm still alive, although I thought the food poisoning on the plane flight from Anchorage to Los Angeles was going to KILL me.  At about 2:00a.m. there was a medical emergency (some guy passed out) just 3 seats away from me, and EXACTLY 5 seconds after the medical emergency was announced and attracted everyone's attention, I proceeded to puke my guts out into a Safeway shopping bag I had prepared anticipating my ill-fated moment.  Yuck, but man did I feel better after that hurl.  I was going to post a picture of the incident, but I thought that's a picture none of you people want to see.

So here I am in a motel in Los Angeles, waiting for my new home's final improvements before I hit the road towards Alaska.  I've been watching a few short videos I made during the winter, and decided this was my favorite one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HycAYx1xZrA&feature=youtu.be

Well, enough of these "old" adventures.  I pick my RV up early tomorrow afternoon, so let the "unknown" begin, or continue...

The 1st step to living small, but BIG: move into something smaller!

There is a point in life that many people reach, a phase of change involving the desire to create your OWN space, your OWN sanctuary, your OWN... home.

I've hit this phase and acted on my needs. My new home awaits me, over 4,000 miles away in Los Angeles, California. In a few days, I will be flying to Los Angeles, and DRIVING this new home back to Alaska, where it will become my FULL-TIME living quarters. Wow, I never thought I would purchase an RV, let alone become a full-time RV'er, but here I am... and everywhere I will be.

My new home is actually EXTREMELY rare among RVs.  It is a 1989 Toyota Odyssey 4x4.  Essentially, it is a 4-wheel drive Toyota pickup truck with a STELLAR house attached to its chassis.  In fact, only 6 of these motorhomes were ever built! I feel lucky to have come across this beast, and it only seems fit to celebrate this vehicle's unique existence with a blog!

Theoretically, my story is not unique. Hundreds of THOUSANDS of people have lived out this full-time RVing endeavor well before my time. However, I have one element that justifies this blog... I'm going to be living in an RV full-time, year-round in Alaska. That's right, when all of the other RV's are heading south to chase temperatures above 32 degrees F, I will be documenting my adventures and hardships throughout the Alaskan winter.

At the very least, this blog will act as a source of entertainment, information, tips, and humor for living the "hard life" on the road:^) Ha! How hard could it be...gulp...