A week ago today we started our grand RV trip around the US which involves us leaving Florida, looping down into Texas then up into Colorado. We stay there a bit before moving over to Utah, Idaho and Montana. After that we start making our way back down towards South Dakota, then Nashville, Atlanta, and finally back home. The entire trip is planned across nine weeks.

The entire trip has taken weeks to plan and even longer to prepare for. From RV inspection and maintenance, finding a new truck to do the trip with and figuring out all the crap overall we need to actually make the trip happen. We had to find someone to watch the house and chickens, buy actual cold weather clothes (I'm a native Floridian - we don't own coats).

All that planning and work gives you this sense that you are ready. It really does.

The thing is reality never follows plans.

Since setting off we've now had to divert a few days around to deal with weather. We have had pouring rains, hail storms and intense wind. We have already had a leaking roof, a leaking window and discovered a leaking hatch that has resulted in discovering a destroyed floor.

Now, our week in Texas where we are visiting family will involve us dropping the RV off at a repair shop to try to resolve some of these issues that we now have no way to resolve ourselves. Maybe it's a red flag - a warning of what's to come. How could we prepare so much and still have so many problems?

Maybe I should be worried. After all it certainly does seem like most of the RV YouTube personalities you see broadcasting their adventures never face these kinds of issues. They always make it look so smooth and effortless like nothing ever goes wrong. I get the feeling that isn't really true at all though.

Truth is though - I'm not worried. If there were a time for things to go wrong we certainly could do worse than having it happen in a spot where there is an open and available shop to use and in an area where we have family to stay with for a week.

Sure it has had it's stressful moments already, I certainly don't enjoy seeing water dripping down from our ceilings. Should you ask me if I'd change anything I certainly wouldn't lie with by saying nothing. I'd proclaim loudly, "I'd stop the god damn water."

I don't want to give the impression that it's all been bad. We got to visit a lovely city in Alabama called Foley that we would have never heard of otherwise. We found out our pup loves to chase Frisbee's and footballs around (and even likes to pop them, sorry!). We spent time at a really cool coffee shop built out of an old car repair garage. We had both had a great grouper dinner one evening. We've even had some beautiful weather.

I guess at the end of the day I didn't really know what to expect except. I expected all our planning to let this entire 6000 mile trip go off without a hitch and I realize that was the wrong expectation. Life doesn't care about your plans. If anything sometimes it seems to actively work to destroy them.

At the end of the day you should expect the unexpected and when the unexpected happens you really have two choices: give up, turn around and go home OR roll with it, deal with what life throw at you and enjoy the ride. For me it's time to start enjoying the ride.