FOTR and Beyond…

We spent the week of January 15 at Thousand Trails Orlando attending the annual Families On The Road (FOTR) rally. It’s an event designed to bring together other “unconventional” families living the nomadic lifestyle to share their journeys and make new friends. There were about 15 families encompassing about 100+ people and we had a memorable time meeting folks from all walks of life.

We are certain we have made lifetime friends with many of these people and I feel our lives are richer having spent time with all of them. Kylee made new friends (Ella and Rosalie) and Lisa and I have connected with a couple of families that plan to travel a bit together to continue sharing our stories, laughter, pain, food, love and adventure. It has been so enriching and joyous to connect with such genuine people…something our family has been hungry for ever since our exodus from the institutional church in 2008.

Here are some highlights of the people we met on our journey:

• Rita and Pete: Our rally organizers, this family has been on the road for 4 years with their kids and are passionate about bringing together families on the road.
• Jon and Jema: Originally from Minnesota, they have been on the road for a little over a year now as they work, roadschool their 4 children, and work on a art project inspired by their son Ethan‘s love of butterflies.
• Pieter and Clementine: Originally from Holland, they travel with their 2 kids. Pieter is my hero because he has rigged his unit with a real pellet stove! Clementine gave birth to Lewis on Thanksgiving Day on the floor of their RV…by choice!
• Bonnie and Murray: Canucks, but we love ’em anyway! They come to the warmer states to escape the Canadian winters. Bonnie served as fashionista extraordinaire when the girls went clothes shopping while Murray taught the kids valuable martial arts techniques.
• Wendy and Matt: Traveling with their 3 kids they just finished a year on the road in a rented motorhome. Matt flies all over the country working on various business projects and meets up again with the family wherever they happen to be. Rumor has it they are now buying a Mobile Suites to travel indefinitely…or was it a catamaran to sail the seven seas 😉
• Phil and Lisa: They too are snowbirds, traveling from Michigan when the frost hits. Their daughter Ella and Kylee played for hours on end.
• Angela and Clint: Founders of Eco Womb. They drive a motorhome powered by “Peace, Love, and Veggie Grease”. That’s their bus in the picture. It was really informative to learn how they live a sustainable life on the road.
• Kimber: A single mom and country star traveling with her 2 daughters, Kimber provided live entertainment for us. She had a #1 country song hit the Australian charts for 3 weeks in a row!

So, as you can see, we got to hang out with some pretty cool cats. We can’t wait to stay on the road with them all! The rally was only a 4 day event. We enjoyed each other so much that only today, 3 weeks later, did we part ways…with plans to meet up again in 2-3 weeks.

This. Is. Why. We. Are. On. The. Road. The People. The Adventure. The Stretching.

Next we are heading to Ft Desoto Park near Seminole FL to do some kayaking and visit with Lisa’s parents who have a winter place down here.