Last Minute RV Trip Preparations

Only 4 days until the Soles4Souls RV tour begins! We’re busy with last minute details such as getting the oil changed in the car we are towing, confirming dates and locations of the tour and getting banners and display signs. Actually Allan has been busy with those tasks as I flew to Austin to speak at the Texas Recreation and Park conference. Then I drove to Waco and Baylor University and surprised Sondra with a quick visit. A friend told her he had to pick up some information at the hotel where I was staying. It was great seeing her face when I tapped her on the shoulder and greeted her. She actually was glad to see me! She’s being initiated into her sorority today and one of her goals is to get the girls to do a shoe drive for Soles4Souls.

Everyone Needs A Personal Shopper

Julie is loading us down!

Some people go to Nordstrom’s where a personal shopper helps them select their wardrobe. We go one step higher. Allan and I work with the unofficial Soles4Souls wardrobe coordinator, Julie Stauss. Julie took us to the Soles4Souls warehouse and outfitted us with Soles4Souls T-Shirts, Souls4Souls polo shirts, Soles4Souls dress shirts and Soles4Souls hats. (Can you see the theme of what we’ll be wearing?) We’re not saying if Julie included Soles4Souls underwear in our new wardrobe.

We’re in the RV!

Happy Campers

We left Seattle last week on what was one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve seen. As we sat on the runway, waiting to take off, the sun illuminated Mt. Ranier plus the Cascade Mountains plus the San Juan islands. I took it as a sign of the wonderful things to come on this RV tour. Now we’re in Nashville, staying at the Jellystone Campground. If you haven’t stayed at a Jellystone Park, you’re missing out on the fun. There are visits from Yogi Bear himself, friendly staff and the cleanest bathrooms you’ll find any where. The faucets and toilets sparkle. (When you travel full time, clean restrooms become a high priority!) Now we’re busy organizing the RV and figuring out where to store our toothbrushes, extra clothes and Soles4Souls’ display racks.Can’t imagine what it would be like if we were traveling with our St. Bernard, Bruno!

Allan and Silvana get Ready for the Soles4Souls RV Tour

The countdown is on. In a few days we’ll be flying to Nashville and getting ready for the March 4th kick-off for the Soles4Souls RV Tour! In between packing boxes and getting the house ready for our renters, Allan and I constantly remind ourselves what a great opportunity this will be. We’ll get to travel across the country, meeting people who support Soles4Souls. Our hope is that the Soles4Souls RV Tour will raise an awareness of the number of people around the world that need shoes. In addition, we’ll show people how they can make a difference in the world by donating their gently used shoes. What would a road trip be without seeing some tourist attractions? We’ll probably take quick stops and see the world’s largest roll of twine and the world’s largest wheel of cheese. Of course we’ll make a stop in Hallam Pennsylvania to see the world’s largest shoe. It’s an actual house shaped like a shoe!

This is downsizing!

There are many “clutter consultants” that come to your home and help you organize all your material goods. Here’s another way to reduce clutter…plan on spending a year in an RV. We’ve been making many trips to the dump as we get rid of those items that seemed so important to us years ago. Now we’re down to 4 suitcases and 12 boxes that hold everything we’ll need for our year on the road for the Soles4Souls tour. Yesterday we had an Open House for our friends to stop over so we could say good bye. Our hope is we can raise the awareness of Soles4Souls, so people will donate shoes as well as let us know about people who need shoes. And if you see us in a Walmart, you’ll know we are buying something we forgot to pack in one of our 12 boxes.

Silvana and Allan are getting ready to go on tour!

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