I had little over three months before the start of training. That meant three more months of work and three months to prepare for life on the road!
First, I had to start prepping for my role as tour guide. With all the employment paperwork complete it was time to start my homework! I had to research a list of topics so I would be prepared to share interesting and informative talks with my travelers. I actually really enjoyed this homework! I learned a lot of fun facts and I can’t wait to share them with my travelers!
The homework I didn’t enjoy was studying for my commercial driver’s license (CDL). On the road I will be working with a co-guide and we will share the role of driving our van/small bus. That means I need a special license which requires studying a very boring book! Upon arriving at training I will take a written multiple choice test to obtain my CDL permit. I’m a little nervous about this, but hopefully I have studied enough! I have to pass the permit test and the rest will be taught at training.
That’s enough studying! Time to pack for five months on the road!…Wait a minute, I have to pack for five months!? I dislike packing for a weekend much less five months! Luckily, I have a little experience in packing for several months, but that doesn’t mean I like it! However, I do find it a lot less stressful if I start packing early! This allows plenty of time to pack, rethink, reorganize and repack. I started with a heaping pile of clothes and slowly downsized until I was able to fit everything in my 70L hiking pack and small day pack! Everything I pack will stay with me all season so I have to pack light! In the end, packing for five months wasn’t so bad!
Once I had everything set aside for life on the road it was time to begin packing my apartment. This wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be either! Plastic storage bins became my best friend. Everything that could fit in a bin went in a bin! By the time my parents came to help I had almost everything in bins. All that was left was the big stuff. Loading went quick. All in one day the trailer was loaded and my apartment empty! My parents drove the trailer back to my hometown 200 miles away. I would follow the next week.
I’ve stayed busy over the past three months, but I’ll admit my emotions have been on a bit of a roller coaster ride. One moment I’m super excited for my new adventure and the next I’m sad to be leaving! Over the past two years, I’ve grown to love my city and have met some incredible people. It’s certainly the relationships I’ve made that make leaving hardest. Goodbyes are never easy, but as we say in the Wisconsin band, “We never say goodbye. We’ll see you real soon and On, Wisconsin!”
“Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean I’ll miss you, until we meet again!” ~Anonymous
