We’ve been parked in our new spot for four months now.  It has been easy to settle in, get comfortable, and somehow accumulate more stuff.  Now that we have an outdoor space, we have a little more storage.

This is a problem when you have to move your RV to fill your propane tank.

We tried for weeks to find a way to have it filled while staying parked.  Propane trucks will not fill a motorhome with an attached tank for safety reasons.  We are different from a home or moveable tank.  Our only options were to buy an attachment for an external tank or to move the RV.

We opted for moving the RV.  Why buy something extra when we wouldn’t need it on the road?  Plus, we figured it was a good idea to make sure everything was running smoothly for when we want to leave.  Vehicles that sit idly by do not fare well long term.

We began the process of packing up the RV, something we haven’t done in months.

I started on the inside while Andy worked outside.  I first cleared space to pull in the slide, moving everything that would be in its way.

Since our front hydraulic jacks are not working properly, Andy worked on lifting the front end of the RV and taking it off of its temporary jack stands.

We had stacks of stuff inside the house that were not an issue if we weren’t traveling.  The fact that I found a thrift store that sold books for a mere 69 cents made for an interesting issue when it came time to move the RV.  I had dedicated cabinet space for the few books (like 30 or so) that I chose to bring on the trip with us.  I did not have cabinet space for these new books.  Being a literature major, I couldn’t help myself to this amazing deal.  Piling them on the bed was my solution for while we moved the motorhome—but it made me realize that I go a little crazy when it comes to books.

Andy and I moved the kayak and picnic table out from in front of the motorhome so we would have a clear space to pull ahead.

Stuff from inside and around the outside of the motorhome started piling up.

We will have a lot to get rid of before we move again—though our life has still downsized a lot from our previous situation.

We took Pica’s cage down from the front windshield and set it on the kitchen floor since we weren’t driving far.  Everything else we tried to secure like normal.

Surprisingly, this all took us only 40 minutes!  I guess we still have a good routine down, even with the extra steps.

We moved the Jeep out of the way and made our first nervous trip out in four months.  The motorhome fired up like a champ and Andy handled the parking lot and slopes like a seasoned pro (even if I still had some sweaty palms).

Looking back at our big empty space made me think about when we first moved in and how much has changed.

Filling our propane tank went smoothly.  It was a quick $40 spent and we are happy to have it completed!  Considering this is our only real utility bill, I’d say $10 a month is a pretty sweet deal.

We stopped by Andy’s mechanic shop to get a quote from his coworker about redoing the exhaust.  Once we decide to tackle that project, it will hopefully help with our fuel efficiency, power, and noise.

Riding in the RV for the few short blocks we needed to travel made me miss being out on the road.  It will be fun for us to plan the next leg of our journey, to find new places and explore.

The cats got pretty nervous on our little propane trip and Lila hid for over an hour after we got back home.  Piper and Theo, however, were excited and ready for an adventure!

Setting the RV back up took a little longer than normal, mainly due to the new leveling process we need to go through.  I will be happy when we fix our hydraulic jacks and the process takes a couple minutes instead of almost an hour.

Andy did a great job of leveling and actually made the RV feel more secure, more like a home than a vehicle.

When we got back, we decided to start downsizing on some of the things we don’t really need.  Moving the motorhome made us realize that we were bursting at the seams.  The first thing we tackled were our clothes.  That’s a hard one because there is an entire season that we don’t need clothing for while we are in Southern California but we don’t want to get rid of all the cold weather stuff because we will need it when we travel north again.

We opted for doing the regular spring cleaning: getting rid of anything we hadn’t worn since being in the RV.

That, along with a few books, has already helped us lighten the load.  Next step: the kitchen!  After traveling in our RV for over six months, we have many things that we have never used and that are just taking up space.

Every day is a learning experience for us!  We love having fewer responsibilities, fewer concerns, and more excitement in our lives.

**Special Note**

We experienced our first earthquake EVER last night.  Andy slept through it but I woke up because it felt like someone was shaking the RV.  Nothing broke, everything looks fine, and we were surprised to learn what it actually was the next morning.  A very new experience for us!