Nervous..no, anxious about first long trip

[viddsk]

My husband and I will be taking our first long RV trip this fall from Wisconsin to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. The plan is to take about 3-4 weeks from start to finish. We've taken 2-week trips, but the kids were still coming home from school on weekends.

SO, how do I get past the nervousness of leaving the house, leaving our baby (dog) 😉 with our daughter, and everything that goes with leaving your house??

Any insight from those who have 'been there-done that' would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS!

[2gypsies1]

The OP has completed the trip and it went well. Folks need to read the posts to keep up-to-date. 🙂

[ppine]

Four weeks is a lot for many people. It is natural to have some apprehension. Just remember that the trip is supposed to be fun. If at any time it isn't, slow down, take a rest day, shorten your trip. Do what ever it takes to get comfortable. The most important thing on a long trip is getting along with your travelling partners, not seeing everything.

[DeanRIowa]

We once took a trip and at the time our area of town was experiencing home break ins, so we had a friend stay at our home for 3 weeks. We left our phone number, blank checks, and checked in weekly. Gave me some piece of mind.

Letting your neighbors know and having family(friends, co-workers, church family,...) stop by to check things should give you piece of mind.

You could pay a house sitter.

If you live in a smaller town(like myself) you might let your local police know, and they would most likely do more frequent drive bys.

Good Luck.


Dean

[Lwiddis]

Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be

[2gypsies1]

Thanks for returning and giving us your outcome. Sounds like you had a fantastic trip.

[doxiemom11]

Take your baby with you. Many, many rvers, both short timers and full timers travel with their pets. Just get him/her used to the rv before the long trip by spending time inside with favorite toys, a treat, playing and maybe a weekend trip. Most pets travel very well.

[viddsk]

I know it's been a while, but our trip was WONDERFUL! There was so much to see and do, I hardly had time to fret about home. Thanks for all the responses and advice. Now....on to planning our next trip.

[dapperdan]

You're "over-thinking" your trip! You should have a back-up plan (insurance) in place for road side problems, if they happen deal with them WHEN they happen.

Next try to "plan" your near future not your whole trip at once. It's great to develop an itinerary to use as a "general guide" but remember this is a vacation NOT a mission. I try to look at where we're going to be and see what if anything there is there that we want to see and plan from there.

Like others on here have said with cell phones and laptops you can stay in touch very easily. Face Time or Skype when you can, you'll be amazed as to how well that works!

Look at your whole trip as a series of "mini" one or two day trips, continuing until your reach Yellowstone or where ever it is your goal is to be. That might help to take the stress out of your vacation.

Dan

[djsamuel]

Good to see I'm not as different as I thought? Even after trips from Florida to Arizona and Utah as well as Tennessee, I still get nervous. I think I tend to "overanalyze" things; thinking about what could go wrong.

[Steve_B_]

I guess I'm normal after all! I love planning my camping trips but when the time comes to hook up and go, I don't want to leave home. Once on the road I start to relax and when I reach my destination, I'm fine. Now that I'm retired and I go to Florida for a few months in the winter, the same thing happens. I had a hard time shutting the house down to go and thought about just hibernating in for the winter and not telling anyone I hadn't left. Once I was in our place in Florida, I didn't want to leave there and didn't think much about my house up north. I guess it's human nature and the nesting instinct. Either way, once I'm home that feeling like I never left hits and all is well. Don't overdo the lists either! If someone at home has a key, they can check on anything that comes to mind. I'm also trying not to take so much with me - there are Walmarts everywhere! Remember that you're lucky to be able to enjoy a trip like you have planned, and make the most of it.

[GramaofAAAA]

I think I always overthink our trips. But, we are full-timers so no house to worry about. The first couple of days I'm always thinking "what have I forgotten to do?" But by the 3rd day I just relax and enjoy the trip. We are sitting in our old home town...finishing up all those crazy things we needed to do. Taxes, doctor's visits, grandkids spoiling...you know! We are planning a trip to Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone leaving around the 1st of June. We did the Moab, Arches, Zion and Grand Canyon areas on our way south last fall. Just try to relax and enjoy your trip... 🙂

[viddsk]

Thanks for all the replies! I know once we're on the road, I'll be able to concentrate on the fun ahead. I'm a detail person, so I've got all kinds of lists going.

[Dick_B]

Turn off the water to the house AND shut off the water heater!
We have four internet cameras scattered in and outside the house so we can see what is going on from anywhere with our smart phones. That helps to aleviate that separation feeling.

[azdryheat]

Our first big trip with an RV went from Tucson to Key West and back on a motorcycle pulling a tent trailer. We took it one day at a time. We just went to Florida again, this time with the bike in the back of the toy hauler and didn't even consider the 2,000 miles one way. Something you get used.