One common question we got as we told friends and family that we were going to start traveling fulltime was this:
Before we started to travel it was hard to answer that question because we just did not know. We have now been traveling for over a year and know that the question is based on false assumptions. Why would the kids not have any friends? We are far from the only family that #travelcontinuously. The best way that we have found to meet and get to know other traveling families has been through an organization called Fulltime Families that has almost 2000 members. That is 2000 other families that travel fulltime!
We are not alone! Group photo from last weeks rally.
Photo by: Doug Boudreaux
Last week we got together with about 40 other families at a campground in Menifee, CA. We already knew some of them but most were new to us. I have never really been the social type. I will often choose to be by myself instead of hanging out with other people, especially if I don't already know them. But as we meed more and more fulltime families I find myself liking to hang out with them. It is crazy but some of them are already after knowing them just a short time becoming my closest friends!
What about the kids? Well, last week there were around 100 kids, from toddlers to teenagers. There was a playground right behind where we parked and it was full of kids from morning till long after the sun set. It did not matter that it rained and the whole playground turned into a lake almost a foot deep in the middle.
Peter was dressed for wet but still got totally soaked!
Emelie choose a different clothing approach!
Micah also had a blast playing in the water.
The Rally had a loose schedule because the main purpose was for families to meet and have fellowship with each other. Several families, including us, had managed to get campsites that looped around the playground and an open area that we began calling "Rally-ally". This is where must of the activities happened. From morning coffee talks to evening campfires. Three of the nights we had potluck dinners.
The first potluck was an "Insta-Potluck"!
The more families that we meet the more confident I am that neither the kids nor my wife or I will be without friends. It is especially easy to get together with other families in the winter. The simple reason for this is that most fulltime families choose to spend the winters where it is warm and that means either in the south-east of the south-west of the country. Most families also have Thousand Trails camping memberships which means we end up in the same campgrounds too.
Thanks for following the journey of me and my family
as we travel and roadschool our kids around the USA.
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