My Family Has Traveled In An RV For 6 Months, And It’s Changed How We See America

My Family Has Traveled In An RV For 6 Months, And It’s Changed How We See America

It was after bedtime, but I couldn't bring myself to call my daughters into our camper. Occasional bursts of giggles and beams from a flashlight told me they were fine. Our RV was parked at an alpaca ranch in Montana, and my girls were scaling hay bales and chasing barn cats with two Black sisters from Chicago and a gaggle of Mormon brothers who lived on the farm. 

This moment — watching my kids explore new cultures, places and experiences — was exactly what I envisioned when, months earlier, I had decided to pack up my family and leave our rural New Hampshire home for an open-ended road trip around America. 

It all started with a writing assignment. I was to report on three rural towns in America that were thriving, even during the coronavirus pandemic. As I wrote the story sitting on the porch next to my husband, I murmured, “It would be so great to see these places.” When he said, “Why couldn't we?” I looked up. 

As a freelance writer, I can work from anywhere. My husband is currently a stay-at-home dad. We had already decided that we would keep our 2-year-old home from day care because of the virus