We are on a cross country tour from Sacramento, CA to Jackson Center, Ohio with our 1961 “Golden Caravan” Airstream. We are currently in St. Louis, MO trying to get Issue #44 of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine off to our printer so it can be delivered on time. Our routine has been to get up early, work a couple of hours and then hit the road or go exploring. Today we may not make it out of the campground as the print date is just two days away and we would love to have this task completed.
The joys of working from the road are worth the headaches. Last night Paul and Grace saw their first “Lightning Bug” and were thrilled to see spontaneous bursts of light in the night sky. Grace was even able to catch one – a worthy childhood achievement that most kids from the west coast don’t get to experience.
We have passed by or stopped to explore 4 State Capitols: Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Topeka and Jefferson City. We have been amazed by their beauty and grandeur, as well as the cost of the renovations some of the capitols have undergone. (Utah’s State Capitol was $2.7 to build in 1912 and $260 million to renovate in 2004. Both Jefferson City and Cheyenne were in the midst of major renovations at the time of our visit.)
We have seen beautiful scenery and experienced things we learned about in our textbooks, like the Continental Divide and the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
We have had the opportunity to meet face to face with business associates we have done business with for years over the phone, establishing deeper working relationships and strengthening our partnerships. We were able to visit the print shop where we have our magazine printed and shipped from in Jefferson City, MO. Modern Litho’s state of the art facility prints and ships over 500 niche magazines.
Visiting this family owned business deepened our confidence that we are doing business with the right company.
We have also met great people along the way that have either met up with us intentionally at one of our posted meeting stops or we have serendipitously crossed paths with. The vintage Gold Striped Airstream is always a conversation starter. The gold stripe throws Airstream aficionados off their game. A fun story to share as we make new friends.
For all the positives, there are a few challenges.
Wi-Fi has been our arch nemesis. The first few days of work time were spent trying to figure out how to connect rather than accomplishing any real work. “Fiddle-farting” around with technology is part of the price we must pay to be working on the road.
Thankfully, we have figured out how to create a workable hot spot off our phones so we can get into our computers to work.
Our son has taken over our shipping department while we are on the road.
There is a bit of boss versus parenting relationships that need to be worked through.
While challenging, it is still a wonderful growing experience for all those involved. We are grateful that Angelo is responsible and is working at getting all the orders to the post office in a timely manner.
Working from the road does present some extra hoops we have had to jump through, but it is worth every moment of consternation to make the memories and share the experiences we are having as a family.
