You would think that after all this time we would have it down to a fine art, which we sort of have, but no two moving days are the same. The routine goes something like this:
I fly out of bed in a dither thinking I have slept in, I make a cup of tea and sit at the table to drink it, all the while looking at the clock and around me to see what needs to be done. I jump up and do a couple of little things like putting stuff away off the benches or sorting through the usual accumulation of papers and magazines and shopping receipts and catalogues and books on the table. Then I sit down again planning on drinking my now tepid cup of tea, but without fail I notice another little thing I should do and up I jump again. This routine continues until Himself gets out of bed and calmly sits at the table to eat his breakfast. While he eats I dash into the bedroom and make the bed and tidy the room putting away anything that needs to be stored safely for travel. With breakfast over Himself winds down the TV aerial and helps with the hard to do or heavy things inside and then moves onto the outside preparations. I drink what is left of my now cold cup of tea and continue by washing the dishes and tidying and stowing all manner of things in the bathroom and kitchen and living areas. I also make a peanut butter sandwich which I put in a zip lock bag in my handbag. (This is my breakfast and His morning tea once we are on the road!) If the day is going to be a big one I will also fill the Thermos so that we can have a cup of tea along the way.
I make sure all windows are closed and locked and the roof vents are lowered and locked, I check all the cupboards and the fridge to make sure they are packed correctly for travel and that they have been pushed shut until they click and lock into place. I check that the door on the shower has been snibbed to prevent it swinging open along the way and possibly breaking the glass. I gather my bag and make sure our phones are charged and that the camera was returned to my bag if it was connected to the computer to downloaded pictures of previous excursions or tourist activity,
While I have been doing that, Himself disconnects and stows the power lead, the water hose and the grey water hose. He turns off the gas. He also raises the back legs and removes the front tripod stabilizer. If necessary he packs and stows the portable clothes line and camping chairs and table and removes any guy ropes and privacy screens on the awning and then retracts the awning back against the side of the caravan ready for travel. He will disconnect and pack the satellite dish if it has been in use. He retracts the three slide outs and shuts the doors and folds up the steps and puts the rubbish out. Himself is responsible for always knowing where the keys to the caravan are. He then moves the tow vehicle into place after resetting the side mirrors for towing mode and folds back the tourneau cover to expose the turntable and lowers the tailgate on the ute. Then he hitches the caravan to the turntable which I help with by standing to one side and looking useful while he does a perfect job of making the connection, most times in one easy try. After locking the turntable, shutting the tailgate on the ute and securing the tourneau cover in place and raising the front legs of the caravan, we are packed and ready to travel. We roll forward far enough to be able to pick up our wheel chocks and do a walk around and tick off our pre travel check list to make sure we have done everything before finally beginning our days travel. Once we clear the town and the traffic thins I bring out the famous peanut butter sandwich and we settle down to enjoy whatever the day holds for us. Sometimes it is a short trip of only a couple of hours, other days we may travel all day depending on where we are going.
Pretty simple really!
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