To tell this story properly, we need to rewind back about 2 years to when Kris and I first started talking about mom and dad coming to live with us. They’re not exactly getting younger and with them nearly 3 thousand miles away its difficult for us to help out in the event that they need assistance. We discussed all manners of having them move here from a full scale addition over the garage to living in a tiny house on the property to buying a townhouse nearby and setting up a teepee in the back yard everything in between. The topic had to get serious as time moves along as mom rang the bell on completing her 8th decade circling the sun so when they were here in December it was time to shit or get off the pot… a decision had to be made.
We were quite serious about the addition over the garage and even still think it would be the best move for them. I had drawings and had met with several contractors on how the project could be done. The fact of the matter is, they’re not ready to pack up and sell their house in California and move from their home state where they’ve lived all their lives. We get it, that is a big time commitment and we’re not surprised of their reluctance to do it.
As an alternative, one of the ideas that had somewhat jokingly been tossed out there resurfaced (no, not the teepee) as a serious option… a travel trailer used as a guest house. The thought was that it would allow them to have their own space, stuff, schedule and privacy to come stay here for extended durations as they’ve done in the past. So during their stay in December we journeyed to several different RV dealers in the area and they found a travel trailer model that they loved… really loved. So much so that they bought it right then and there. By travel trailer standards its huge… a Grand Design 315RLTS has a gigantic bedroom up front, comfortable bathroom and gigantic living space and kitchen. Lots of room for them to spread out and relax while the chaos that is often occurring in the Wienold household unfolds.
The new rig stayed at the dealership until just last weekend. While it waited, I cleared out a space behind the garage, trenched for 50amp electric, water and sewage hookups. I brought in 12 tons of rock and cleaned up their own space it what had originally been planned as the dog run (which never really panned out anyways). Dad and I picked up their new rig last Friday and we immediately set it up on the site, with me ultimately using my tiny but mighty tractor to pull it into place. It took another couple days for them to ultimately get it settled and make it their own… but so far they are loving having their home away from home, nestled in amongst the tall pines of Duvall.
