I frequently find places to spend the night in my RV last minute. Hear me out. If I roll up to the place I’ve planned to stay and it smells like dying animals, there are needles on the ground, loud noises, or a group of sketchy-looking men who all turn and stare at me as I drive in, I’m not staying there! Fortunately, I have many apps to find places – Harvest Hosts, The Dyrt, Airbnb, Google Maps, and HotelTonight are a few of them. Let me know if this is something you guys would like to hear more about, I’m happy to share. However, that’s not what this story is about. This story is about the only reason I would ever return to Kansas again, Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. 

There is nothing between the road and the wind so it pushes you back and forth. The force is even worse if you’re driving an 11 ft tall monster like Big Bertha. If I was talking to you on the phone for this part of the trek, I might have hung up on you to focus on the steering wheel that began to fight back with each heavy gust. 

I was exhausted from fighting Bertha’s wheel and pulled over at a rest stop to scour my apps for places to stay. The Wicked Witch of the West’s theme song played in my head as the wind shook my parked RV. I found a nearby Harvest Host and began the remainder of the journey. This is how I found myself in WaKeeney, Kansas at Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. 

The drive from the highway to Shiloh was over a mile through dusty farmland. I quickly thanked God for my recently acquired habit of never letting my gas tank go below ½ full. That’s a story for another time.

There have been times before when I haven’t much liked living. Going through opioid withdrawal after my herniated disc healed, was one of those times. Not being able to eat for months after my heart was broken is another. Each time I remember my stepsister is dead, and how she died, is still an ongoing battle. This, however, was not one of those times. This night I wanted to live. I had finally started to find the real me with this new nomadic lifestyle. I wasn’t ready to give it up. 

Spoiler alert: I lived to tell the tale, with a message for you to not wait until you might be edging your mortality to fully live your life. 

I didn’t sleep that night, even after the storm had stopped. I felt powerful. I felt filled with electricity and grateful for each breath. These lungs were filling and emptying with newly found purpose and intensity. It’s funny how we question suffering and death when they are the two things that make us live life the way it's meant to be lived and appreciate the things we would otherwise take for granted. Without them, life would be meaningless. 

Please note: anyone getting married who wants an incredibly inexpensive, adorable wedding venue, please check this place out. In my opinion, they don’t charge enough. 

If you’ve already read my first post, you know I hope to write a book about my misadventures. So, whether you are an old or new friend, please let me know your thoughts in the comments. What would you like to hear more or less about? Also, If you haven’t already, get new posts sent to your inbox, by subscribing here.

<3 Kathleen