Hellobee

We’re nearing a month on the road – whew! It has certainly had its challenges. For one, it’s the longest stretch of time that I’ve been a full-time mom without any childcare. And I left the breast pump behind so that’s a new dynamic for sure. I’m taking a sabbatical for this trip so it works for us, but I am trying to fit in some work on personal projects on the side so that balance has been a new one for me.

The premise of this trip is that we’ll be moving around while we scout out different areas of British Columbia’s west coast to see if we can find a future home – but we didn’t want it to be chaos so we’ve tried to book at least a week everywhere we go.

Week 1
Location: Mainland British Columbia
Accommodations: With family
Goals: Jetlag recovery, family time and tour of an Ecovillage and organic farming community.
Reflections: My extended family was very gracious and fun to see. That’s always valuable. The Ecovillage tour was really interesting and helpful to see what an intentional community connected to the land might look like. We met some really great people and got a sense for what life and friends might be like. It’s a really expensive area (for us) so that is a definite downside. The area seemed very cool though, with salmon fishing, swimming, and a cute tiny town within blocks of home. And Jujube would grow up surrounded by her second cousins which would be a gift for sure.

Week 2
Location: Victoria, BC
Accommodations: Tiny House in the city
Goals: Getting a routine, trying out tiny living, exploring the city, making connections and looking for community and churches.
Reflections: We did get a good rhythm going this week. Mr. Gumdrop would go out to work at a coffee shop in the morning and I took Jujube to one of many morning playgroups at community centers around the area. It was so fun to see her interacting with other kids and enjoying free play. We were quite social as we had made connections with a few alternative churches in the area and made a great new friend through a mutual friend who we went adventuring with. Tiny living worked well for us, though transferring the baby to her pack n play on the loft was a bit of a hassle, and overall we’d want at least one more space for long term living – it was pretty tiny!

Week 3
Location: Victoria, BC
Accommodations: Basement suite downtown by the wharf and park
Goals: Immediate family time!
Reflections: My family came into town because BC is much closer than Thailand! We found a great balance of downtime and family time and had a packed week together just hanging out, eating good food, exploring, and showering Jujube with attention. Come to think of it, they all showered me with attention too on my 30th birthday! Mr. Gumdrop and I even snuck out for a date. The basement suite was a lot more traditional than the tiny home and we actually felt more cramped even though the square footage was larger. But our Airbnb host was a financial planner so we got to pick his brain about real estate on the island and sadly came to the full realization that Victoria is way out of our price range.

End of  Week 3
Location: Comox Valley
Accommodations: A spare bedroom from Airbnb for 1 night
Goals: Skiing for Mr. Gumdrop, brief peek into the northern area
Reflections: It was a gorgeous day for skiing and so our main goal was entirely accomplished. Mr. Gumdrop had a great time. I have to say it was the hardest day of the trip so far for me because we checked out of Victoria in the morning and then drove 3 hours, stayed in someone’s home for a night and then had to check out of the Airbnb at noon, leaving 5 hours of “homeless” time for Jujube and me. She was not impressed with the on-the-go naps, lack of consistency, and in and out of the car seat as we ran errands and ate out. I’ve gotten pretty good at the passenger seat diaper change and awkward breastfeedings, but I was pretty exhausted after that and it took us a few days to settle into our next more permanent situation and find the joy in traveling again.

Week 4
Location: Nanaimo, BC
Accommodations: A one bedroom suite on a pristine horse farm a few kilometres outside of the city
Goals: Get a feel for small farm life outside a medium sized city.
Reflections: Nanaimo is bigger and grittier than I thought it would be when I was imagining a smaller island town. We are also farther outside of town than I thought we’d be so we’re relying on the car a lot. I think it’s fair to say that overall, Nanaimo wasn’t what I expected and is still really expensive. There are great trails through the woods near our place though and beauty abounds. I don’t know if I am hoping for the impossible – or just looking for a really small town at this point in my life, but I’m still hoping for a bit of walkability or at least bikability from affordable land (at least a half acre to try some major gardening on). We will see!

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Lately, as we’ve been reflecting on our first weeks, we’re realizing that we need to take this time less seriously! Yes, we are touring around to see if there are any areas we’d consider living in the future, but we’re also allowed to just enjoy our time and let our enjoyment of a place weigh into the decision. Highlights have been watching Jujube grow and change week to week. She’s 10 months old and she’ll be just about 1 year old when we return to Thailand so there’s an immense amount of change happening. I’m pretty sure this morning she woke up teething again. So this week should have its own set of challenges. Here’s to having a sense of humor and lightness around change, growth and adventure.