Currently – Campervan Edition

Although it’s basically freezing in Cape Town right now, things are heating up for us Alfinos.  We have a mere 32 days left before we have to have everything ready.  THIRTY TWO DAYS.  Do you know how quickly a month goes?  I can tell you it goes even quicker when you are frantically running around like a crazy person trying to wrap up a million loose ends.

That said we have been making significant progress in a lot of areas.  YAY!

So in case you aren’t following along on our Instagram stories (the place we seem to update the most on this journey – you can find me here and Seth here).  I thought I would catch you up with a quick currently post.

Currently – Campervan Edition

ITINERARY:

Aside from having officially booked our first stay at the De Bakke Santos camp and caravan site in Mossel Bay we have also added The Plantation in Port Elizabeth to our list.  Such a stunning venue I can’t wait to visit there and see what the area has to offer.  The last time we were there we didn’t really explore.  Honestly I didn’t think there was much to do (how’s that for Cape Townian ignorance?!) so I’m excited to see what can actually be done there!  We have a few stops in between there, hopefully Oudtshoorn, Groot Brak and Jeffrey’s Bay, but still sorting out places to stay in those great spots.

SCHOOLING:

We met with the girls school this past week and I’m really feeling keen for this part of the journey.  Homeschooling used to freak me out but I think we have so much support from the school and so many ideas to make it fun that  we are going to have the best time.  One of the best bits of parenting right now is chatting about stuff that they are learning about.  I’m stoked to be able to do this every day!

One of the mots exciting parts is how we’re going to tackle English.  A journal was the obvious answer right?  Being able to draw what you see, stick in slips and tickets and little mementos but also writing what you got up to on that day.  I kind of want something like this to happen for our journals.  This is one of my fave bloggers, I love how creative and on the ball she is with this kind of thing.  It’s going to be GREAT!!

INTERIOR DESIGN:

Guys.  This freaking ceiling.  Y’all know the issues we’ve had, my gosh.  Our aim was to put up the patterned wall paper, then paint it black.  Which we did.  Except the wallpaper bubbles and then pulled off in SO many areas.  Then the vinyl type wall paper that was originally on the ceiling started peeling too!  But it was vas on that roof man, I was literally pulling centimetres pieces off at a time.

Then one day I went in on a hot day and it came off a lot easier.  So the trick is HEAT.  Armed with my trusty hairdryer I tackled that panel up there and managed to clear it with relative ease (and a crick in my neck).  But soon we will be able to paint!  I can’t wait.  It’s going to transform the space!  But other than that, we are still on track with the interior we chatted about here.

MOBILITY:

Sugen really worked his magic on fixing our van.  It’s still working like a dream and I’m feeling SO confident about heading out!  Which is totally NOT how I felt on our trip back to Cape Town from picking up the van in Kimberley.

HOUSE RENTAL:

This is a really tricky one.  We literally cannot leave without someone paying to live in our house.  There’s been a few interested parties but nothing has been sorted yet.  It has a knock on effect for a lot of things though because I’m too scared to book more accommodation in case we can’t leave.  But I keep having to tell myself that this is Cape Town, people are crazy disorganised here.  Even though it would literally drive me nuts not knowing where I’m going to live next month, there are so many people that work on this last minute situation.  Which we do, but like, not with really big things like this.  Although I guess when you look at the itinerary that I haven’t planned, maybe I’m just talking crap all round.

INTERIOR RENOVATIONS:

That picture up there was about a month ago.  And we even removed more (all the wood you can see in the middle and on the right).  Stripping it down to the real base line.  We’ve spent many days and nights, measuring, discussing and cutting all the boards that we need to fit to make the campervan functional.

We are lifting up the bed area so that we have extra storage there.  It might look a little weird at the very end of the day (just spatially) but we NEED storage so we’re happy to make that sacrifice.  We have been using a variation of thicknesses to keep the structure sturdy but light.  We’re pretty chuffed with the results so far (it’s not nailed in yet, but we want to finish all the design and paint before we do that).

Whatcha think?  Pretty cool hey!  I’m loving the colour of the wood too, it fits so nicely into the rest of the design.

DOGS:

We have been contacted by a couple who are keen to look after our dogs!  YAY!  We will all meet this Sunday to see that everyone gets on and then hopefully it will be all good things ahead.  Such a relief guys, I can’t even tell you.  It will obvs be even more of a relief if it actually works out!

PACKING:

Now that we have had our massive going away/ birthday party we can get going on the packing.  All the packing.  SO much packing!!  Everyone keeps asking if we are renting furnished and what’s happening to our stuff.  Well, we’re storing whatever our tenants don’t need with StoreSmart.  We visited the site and I’m feeling so happy that it will be so well looked after while we are away.  Worrying about the things we’re leaving behind is not something I need to add to my list of things to stress about!!

OVERALL OPTIMISM:

Look, we’re stressed as all heck.  We have very little craps to give about anything right now.  I can’t even with social media or like, anything right now.  It just is how it is and I think that is OK.  Right now our priorities are getting a tenant, finishing Optimus, sorting out the last odds and ends (like passports) and trying to see all our beloved friends and family before we go.

BUT despite all the stress and what not, there are a few things that keep me going.

1. The image of waking up on cold crisp mornings to a new view or experience almost every day.
2. Getting to see the parts of our country that we would NEVER have seen otherwise.
3. Spending time with Seth every day, and obvs the kids too.