We’ve decided to put the Travel Lodge up for sale. We love it and it’s perfect for our needs … except … that it’s incredibly heavy and unwieldy to tow around like we want.
It’s what is called a ‘Park Model’ or ‘Destination Trailer’, which basically means it’s meant to tow to a location and be parked for full-time living for an extended period of time. This is why it’s so roomy, so delightfully home-like … and why we fell in love with it in the first place. It’s also why we’ve had such trouble dragging it all over the state like a regular travel trailer.
We’ve put For Sale ads on a couple of recreational vehicle websites and have had several interested parties contact us about it … but no offers and no sale yet. It’s a bit discouraging because we know for certain that we want to buy another RV – one that’s lighter and easier to pull everywhere we want to travel – but we can’t afford to buy something else until we sell what we have.
In the meantime, while we’re waiting to sell, we’ve been trying to take as much advantage of our Travel Lodge as possible.
The Sissies have been ‘camping’ in it several times – while it’s parked in our side yard, of course. They LOVE “their room,” which is the back bedroom with bunk beds, it’s own stereo and half-bath.
They drag practically everything they own out there, put their clothes in the closet and pretend they’re rock stars on tour, living in their tour bus and being awesome and adored by millions. No shortage of imagination in our family …
Our oldest son and his best friend have taken advantage of the Sissy Free Zone a few times, too. Since his friend lives out of town and visits for entire weekends at a time, The Boy doesn’t like to have their time interrupted with Silly Sissy Stuff. So they will take a TV, gaming system, snacks and drinks out to the Travel Lodge and disappear for a few days. We see them at meal time, but beyond that, they’re self-contained out there. There’s running water, electricity – and our WiFi signal extends that far. Not to mention there’s a full size refrigerator and microwave that are super convenient for the aforementioned snacks. Teenage Boy Heaven: No parents, no siblings, and all the exciting video game fun possible.
Sometimes I sneak out there to work. It’s blissfully quiet and child-free and therefore a very appealing place to write when things are not so blissfully quiet in the house. I fix a cup of tea or a floppy coffee, light a candle or turn on the tart warmer and … create. I love it.
My husband has been using the Travel Lodge as an office – sort of. It’s a quiet, people-free zone where he can make phone calls to his clients without interruption. Business goes much smoother when you don’t have a 2 year old screaming in your ear, he’s discovered. Like I couldn’t have told him that! He hasn’t gone so far as to move his printer and computer out there, but I suspect the thought has occurred to him more than once.
And, not to give out too much information or anything … but my husband and I have used the camper many times for other things, too. Oh, get your mind out of the gutter! We go out there to talk or … maybe discuss things in a somewhat argumentative manner … occasionally. There! I said it — we go out there to fight! Well, more accurately, we go out there to resolve the fight. Still thinking naughty thoughts, aren’t you? To be clear – we will often retire to the camper to discuss the children; talk about our relationship; hash out solutions to various family/personal/business issues that have arisen; or yes … from time to time … canoodle in private without worrying some child or another will enter the room and threaten to gouge out their eyes after accidentally having witnessed the grossness that is their parents’ expressing affection for one another.
It has also made the BEST hiding place for birthday and Christmas gifts!
While we’ve actually taken the Travel Lodge somewhere only a handful of times, we have gotten a great deal of use from it. Maybe it’s been less ‘camping’ and more ‘vacation home’ use … but still, it’s served us well and we’re certainly going to miss having it. Until we get something new, anyway.
In the (hopefully) days or maybe weeks ahead, before we sell the Travel Lodge to someone who will (again, hopefully) enjoy it as much as we have, we’ll continue to use it as much as we can. We’re already looking at different models and I have to say, the Travel Lodge has set the bar pretty high in terms of comfort and functionality.
As a family of 6, we need the space. And as a family of nesters, we love the ‘residential’ feel. So that’s definitely what we’ll be looking for in our next camper. Of course, the kids are sad to see this one go … a feeling I understand. Really, if there was a way to just shave off about 4,000 pounds from the Travel Lodge, it’d be completely perfect. And who among us couldn’t stand to shave off a few pounds, right? 😉
We’re hoping to have this RV sold and something new in residence before the end of the month – there are a couple of family trips we REALLY want to take in the late fall. If we have to take the Travel Lodge, that will be fine … We’ll plan an extra day or two for travelling and look forward to having complete plushness upon our arrival. 🙂 And breakfast sandwiches – those are now a necessity for every trip we take, apparently. But pulling something lighter will make the trip more fun because we can actually get where we’re going faster and have more time to enjoy it!
So keep your fingers crossed that we sell soon and can find exactly what we want (in our price range, of course) before the end of the month! Or, you know, whenever … no rush … we’re having fun here.
Love & Blessings,
That Farm Mama
