It has been a YEAR. In a pandemic year where everything has been crazy and we've watched people and things fall apart, Team North moved into the smallest house we've ever had and honest to God, we could not be happier. We have learned lots of things. About the bus. About our dogs. About each other. Namely - I think this is the home that our 13-year-old black pug Elinor has always longed for. 14-year-old George is happy anywhere. Elinor has always been the queen of our house, but the bus has helped her find her voice and come alive. Crazy, I know. We also had the joy of learning from others and figuring out all the things we need when we want to take road trips. I love that we can take our house with us. We bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee to flat tow behind. We've always had an onboard fresh water tank and gray water tank (our toilet is composting) but now we have a generator. We had excellent plans for where to mount it, but gas tank cages, exhaust systems, and other important things get in the way. Mike found the exact perfect spot (measurement-wise) between our battery box and gray water tank to mount our generator underneath on an awesome slide out tray. It turns out the Jeep needed quite a bit to be tow-ready (base plate, tow bar, wiring harness, independent braking system, etc) which we have and are getting ready to install. We've been doing other small internal updates here and there (refreshing paint) and we still have more trim and finishing pieces to go. Mike is naturally a minimalist and I am naturally...not. But this journey has brought us together in our favorite out of the last six houses we have ever lived in. Having less has helped us feel like we are living more. During the pandemic we majorly downsized and moved into the bus, Mike changed jobs and now works remotely full time, and we are planning summer road trips to see family and friends that are family. We sold the truck that we've had since a month before we got married. It's been a lot, but it's been so good. This has been our best move, our best change, and a hard but good year. We are excited for the road ahead!
