As part of planning the 50 State Challenge we have been actively looking for that special vehicle that will get us there and back. The hunt has been fun and we have met some cool people through it.
Funhog Family Mobile
When going to check out an RV we met Sterling and his wife Jen. Their first child will be making his appearance in the world this July, so it was quite an eye opener for them as our five kids were actively investigating every nook and cranny in their yard (no stone was left unturned). At one point Sydney, our four year old, went missing in action. Jodi thought she was in the RV with me and I thought all the kids were with mom. That is when a screaming Sydney tore around the corner of the house with bloody knees and a large dog in hot pursuit. It turns out that Sydney needed to go potty and instead of bothering the adults she decided to find the potty on her own. Imagine her surprise as she opened the door and was flattened by two dogs her size. They licked her thoroughly before she was able to break free and run for cover. Jen was somewhat in shock as her dog came bounding up. In the end, Sydney got to go potty and we were all reminded parenting is a full time job full of unexpected surprises. We loved the RV and Sterling was awesome at explaining everything about it. Our only problem with it was there were not enough seat belts and the laws were fairly vague on using car seats around the dining table. So, the search continued.
Since we could not find an RV, we could #1 afford and #2 legally all ride in, we turned our attention to short buses and passenger vans. The idea of a twenty passenger short bus looked and sounded really cool. The gas mileage at 5-10 MPG was a little too hard to swallow though. So, we started focusing on passenger vans. I found one on craigslist that looked like it would not only meet our needs, but also not break our budget. When I went to check it out I got the opportunity to meet Kim. It turns out he is a fellow funhog, who has traveled the world as a dive master and loves to do charity work in Mexico. We had a great time sharing stories and encouraging one another. After talking the vehicle over with Jodi and sleeping on the idea of it overnight, we decided to purchase it. This makes us the owner of a brand new (to us) maroon Ford 12-passenger van and we have affectionately labeled it the “Funhog Family Mobile”.
