California is like a coin. There are two sides to it. The north is full of trees and water while the south is the desert and dry (with the exception of Los Angeles, it is green). The north is slow and spacious while the south is bustling and overflowing. Which is better is a personal opinion.

We have always said, for years, that we never wanted to go to California unless it was for the National Parks.

The irony? We spent our honeymoon in Lake Tahoe, California. It is barely in California, but in California none-the-less (and it is stunning! Not one regret, minus the McDonald’s with no drive thru).

So when we were told in October that we would be leaving the Midwest to head as far west as we could go, we were not enthused. But we knew it was part of the job.

Our time in Bakersfield was relatively uneventful, not by choice but because of the constant chaos and the expensive cost of living. Constant police/ambulance/firetruck sirens day in, day out. Nightly laps from the police helicopter around our campground at least once, if not more. A week or two before we left, there was a 7 hour police standoff with a pedophile just 1 mile from our campground, an area of town I frequented often. We were ready to leave.

On top of an already unnerving experience in Bakersfield, we watched the KOA we were staying at, quickly go downhill due to poor management. This lifestyle is all about freedom and Bakersfield KOA is trying to ruin that for a lot of people. The campground was full when we got there in November, and when we left on the last full week of January, it wasn’t even a 1/4 of the way full. 6 pages of rules with small font, and they enforce every. single. one of them. A complete power trip. If we wanted a lifestyle with a bunch of rules, we would live in a community with an HOA. We do not recommend spending one penny there.

We are now just south of Sacramento, the entry way of wine country, and I couldn’t be more happy. If I am going to be in California, why not be in wine country, surrounded by forests and mountains….and wine drunk LOL!

We have been living this lifestyle for 5 months now, 3 of those months have been spent in California and to me, that is also complete irony. God humbling us. Telling us, “although you say you don’t want to be here, watch this”. We have met some of the greatest people during our stay in Bakersfield.

You know you have been somewhere too long when your kids know and love some of the people who work at the campground by name (shout out to you, Ray!!), you know your neighbors and their dogs (willow, cotton, WAYLON!!) and your heart is ripped out of your chest when you have to say good-bye to friends who have grown into family, thanks to God putting you in places you never wanted to be but He knew you needed to be there, whether that’s in a crime ridden town or having your tank explode in your camper (not ours, but that how we met some forever friends).

We think we know what we want, where we want to be, who we want to be. But do we? Honestly? They say “if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.” And boy, has he been laughing.

We are learning that the beauty of this lifestyle is that there are no rules. No strings. The possibilities are endless of where we want to end up. And we are learning to embrace the possibilities. And we have never been happier. But it is not this lifestyle that grants us the freedom of life, it is God that gives us a life of freedom. The freedom to choose who, what, when, where and our why to life. You are not stuck. You can always choose change and change can be good! Change is exhilarating and liberating. Life is short. Why not live it to the fullest?

Did you ever sit and listen to the elders at the coffee shop, always telling stories? If you didn’t, you missed out for sure. But if you did, then you remember the captivating grip they had on their friends (and those eavesdropping around them) because THEY HAVE LIVED LIFE WELL. They didn’t just work and go home. They lived this life to the fullest, and so should you! Society is slowly teaching us to work and go home. That that is what “life” is. It is not.

One of my favorite movies is “Eat. Pray. Love” starring the amazing and stunning Julia Roberts. (If you haven’t seen it, RUN, do not walk, and watch it ASAP!!) While in Rome, Liz (Roberts) is told by Luca Spaghetti (yes, can’t make this up),

You feel guilty because you are American. You don’t know how to enjoy yourself….it’s true. Americans know entertainment but don’t know pleasure….Americans! You work too hard, you get burned out. Then you come home and spend the whole weekend in your pajamas in front of the TV….But you don’t know pleasure. You have to be told you earned it. You see a commercial that says “It’s Miller Time!” and you say “That’s right! Now I’m going to buy a 6 pack” and drink the whole thing and you wake up the next morning feeling terrible. But an Italian doesn’t have to be told. He walks by a sign that says “You deserve a break today!” and he says “Yeah I know. That why I am planning on taking a break at noon to go over to your house and sleep with your wife!”

That the moral of life. Besides making me want to go to Italy and Bali (not so much India but I’d go given the opportunity), this movie makes you think of what society has molded you to think life was and how much you miss out on because you don’t feel you deserve it or “can’t” afford it. YOU CAN AND YOU SHOULD. Most people are not happy with what they define as pleasure. Why? Because what we define as pleasure is only temporary when we should figure out what our permanent pleasure is. THAT is what makes a happy life.

Start collecting amazing stories to tell your grandkids. Make memories that create a life well-lived instead of just a life lived. God gave you this ONE life to live, why not LIVE?! Why choose to be miserable thanks to what society says when you can be happy based on your preferences? God is good and YOU ARE WORTH IT.