This week, we crossed the border into Canada with our camper for the first time. We ate real Québec poutine, explored an epic new zoo, wandered the cobblestone streets of Québec City, and developed a daily gelato habit we have no intention of apologizing for.

We also ran out of power. Repeatedly. And ran out of water once.

Somewhere between the beeping camper, business meetings, homeschool mornings, and watching the girls roll down a hill beneath the towering Château Frontenac, I found myself thinking about what “slowing down” actually means for our family. Because this week, we worked a lot. My travel business is slammed, and I'm putting tons of energy into growing & professionalizing my insurance business. There have been long hours and late nights.

Yet we also let go of plans to relax instead, stayed at the campground, and made room for the girls to play, reminding ourselves that both things can be true at once.

A Border Crossing and a Beeping Camper 🇨🇦

After our short stay in Vermont, we headed for our first international border crossing with the camper. I was nervous about how it would go, but the crossing itself was surprisingly easy. The most stressful part was Lizzie announcing that she desperately needed to pee while we were stuck behind cars in the inspection line.

Our next Harvest Hosts stop was a farm in Québec. Its entrance was blocked by school buses visiting on field trips, so we came in through the exit. Then we waited nearly an hour for a slow water tank refill to put just about a third of the tank into the camper. We found a spot near the animals and swings, tried twice to get level (again!), and, just as we were finishing, I got stung by a wasp.

It was hotter than Vermont. I was sweaty, cranky and bothered. But eventually we were settled, the solar was running, and the girls had a place to play.

The next morning, we woke up to everything beeping and blinking. Our batteries had drained overnight, and we had no clue why. John made two trips for gas so we could get the generator on and protect the food in our fridge. We got through work meetings and homeschool while the girls enjoyed the farm swings, jumping pillow, and what became our daily stop for gelato.

That evening, the power went out again, even though it was showing a full charge just about an hour before, and we didn't prepare by grabbing any gas that day because we thought we were in the clear (bad idea!). By the time John returned with everything we thought we needed, it was dark, our nearby camper neighbors were asleep, and we didn’t want to start the generator. The girls fell asleep on top of me on the sofa, so we moved them to their room then stayed to sleep on the couches in case they woke up scared during the night with no night light. They slept fine. John and I did not.

By morning, John figured out how to get the generator going using the truck (and funny enough, we didn't even need more than half of supplies he ran out for the night before). We still had a battery mystery to solve, but at least we had a way to make coffee and keep the fridge running.

Poutine, Farm Fields, and a Much Better View 🍁

On Friday, we drove to Belœil for poutine at La Cantine du Tit, a wonderfully unfussy spot serving burgers, dogs, grilled cheese, and the best poutine (plus more wasp swarms outside). After a playground stop, we picked up more generator gas (not dealing with that again tonight!).

Back at the farm, it was hair time which was long overdue after I took out Lowina's last style a few days before. Then the farm owner came by with a heads-up: over 5,000 people visit the farm on weekends, and we needed to move the camper out of the parking lot.

Moving again was not high on my wish list, but we needed more water anyway. John handled the camper while the girls and I made one more visit to the jumping pillow and gelato counter. Our new spot, farther back in the fields, turned out to be quieter and came with a beautiful sunset.

The following morning brought another round of beeping and blinking. This time, we knew what to do. John used the generator quickly to get everything back up & running and then we headed out for a day at Granby Zoo.

We recently bought a membership to Durham's Museum of Life and Science after another traveling family told us about this reciprocal museum and zoo program, and it just so turned out that NC had one of the museums that allowed for both. It got us 50% off admission at Granby (plus will get us free or discounted admission to hundreds of museums & zoos across the world).

Lowina spent about a few minutes gathering the courage to pet the stingrays (we've tried this countless times before, and she never actually took the leap), then after 30 minutes of petting them, she asked to go back the rest of the day. Lizzie loved the gorillas and named the silverback Joe, after our movie flavor of the week Mighty Joe Young. I was excited about the snow leopard exhibit (I've never seen one ever in real life!), although the snow leopard apparently had no interest in being seen by us.

When we returned to the farm, the weekend crowds were in full swing. We rode a train through the apple orchards, bounced on inflatables, fed our animal neighbors, and went through the corn maze twice with a new friend Lowina was amazed to discover spoke both English and French.

Even after the farm closed, we lingered outside with the crowds who were in no rush to leave. The whole day reminded us of farmers market weekends in South Africa: kids playing, adults enjoying being together, and everyone taking their time. After a week of troubleshooting the camper, it was exactly what we needed.

Québec City at the Girls’ Pace 🏰

We left early Sunday to beat the farm traffic and drove toward Québec City. There was another urgent bathroom stop along the way, followed by our first Happy Meals since hitting the road (but not because the girls didn't request them weekly...). The truck stop even had a playground and dinosaur sculptures.

It brought me back to South Africa again and the many conversations John and I have had about what family life feels like there compared to the U.S. That longing is one piece of why we took this leap. Being on the road gives us room to explore places that stir up those memories while we figure out what kind of life we want to build now.

At our new campground, we had full hookups again (hallelujah!). We spent a quiet afternoon recharging the camper, playing at the playground, and working on a few more renovations & projects around our little home.

Monday, I got up early for a long walk with the dogs and some weightlifting. Lately, I’ve often gone straight to work as soon as I wake up, hoping to use the quiet time before the girls are up. But when we’re all together around the clock, I’m realizing I need some quiet time that belongs to me, too. I’m testing a new routine that gives work, homeschool, family time, and my own needs a place in the day. It's a work-in-progress... wish me luck and my DM's are open for any & all tips!

That afternoon, we went into Québec City. I’ve wanted to visit for years. I still dream of seeing it at Christmas, but fall was a pretty lovely introduction. We parked in Lower Town, wandered the cobblestone streets, and took the funicular up to Dufferin Terrace.

I had ideas for how much we might see. Instead, we got gelato again near Château Frontenac and watched the girls roll down a hill with the gorgeous backdrop behind them. We took the funicular back down, did a little shopping, and ended the evening over edamame, dumplings and ramen at Hono Ramen (next door to its Michelin-recognized sister restaurant). Back at the camper, we read another chapter of Harry Potter before bed.

We saw far less of the city than I’d planned, but it was still a really good day.

Working Hard, Living Slower 🤍

While we did a little bit of exploring, this week has been much more about settling into a quieter campground rhythm: homeschool, walks with Nelson, playground time, grocery shopping, camper projects, and plenty of work.

One highlight was the girls officially deciding to dress as Princess Red and Chloe Charming from Descendants for Halloween. We’ve given them little glimpses of what’s ahead on our journey: seeing the Hocus Pocus house in Salem, visiting our besties in Brooklyn, and heading back to Greensboro to hug family & friends (with too many sleepover asks than we can count). They’re excited about every stop, but especially about the people they can’t wait to see. Hearing them talk about those reunions reminded me how much of this adventure is about being together.

And this week, being together also meant figuring out how to make room for a lot of work. My travel business is booming, and I’m putting just as much energy into growing my insurance business as well. I’ve joined the SIA family, am building new carrier partnerships, attending weekly trainings, and getting a new CRM up and running. Most days, that means juggling meetings during the day around lessons & movement breaks and putting in the hours after the girls are asleep.

Before we hit the road, I wrote a family blueprint. In it, I wrote that I wanted to choose local connections over checklists and slow travel over rushing. I wrote that our legacy would be measured by the lives we impact and the memories we create, rather than what we accumulate. I meant every word. Living by those words while growing two businesses is where it gets interesting.

For a long time, I measured a productive day by how much I could fit into it. There was always one more email to answer, one more task to finish before I could rest. I’ve been trying to break that habit for years, and moving into a camper didn’t make it disappear. I can still turn a beautiful day in Québec into a checklist and feel like we fell behind because we didn’t see everything. I can still give the first quiet hour of my morning to work before I’ve taken a moment for myself.

I care deeply about both businesses, and I’m excited about what we’re building. Some seasons call for long hours. I just want to keep noticing when those hours begin to crowd out the things we made this change for: time together, curiosity, connection, and the freedom to let a day unfold.

This week, that meant working hard when work needed us and letting the rest of the day be simple when it didn’t. We stayed at the camper. We let the girls keep playing. We stopped for gelato. We left a few Québec City plans for another visit.

The blueprint isn’t a schedule we have to follow perfectly. It’s something I can return to when I catch myself slipping into old habits and ask: Is this really how I want to spend our days?

Until Next Time…

Our first week in Canada brought an easier than expected border crossing, a camper that woke us up beeping more mornings than I’d like, excellent poutine, a farm packed with visitors, and our first glimpse of Québec City. We worked late, slept badly, watched the girls make new friends, and let them roll down a hill instead of seeing everything on my list.

I keep thinking about how easily I could miss a week like this while trying to get ahead of the next one. There will always be more work to do, another place to visit, and something in the camper that needs fixing. I’m proud of what we’re building, but I want to be here for the life happening while we build it.

We still need to figure out the solar issue. I’m still learning how to make room in our days for my businesses, my family, and myself. This week, that looked like taking a morning walk before opening my laptop and staying a little longer when the girls were happy playing. Small choices, but they brought me back to why we are doing this.

I hope years from now the girls remember the gelato and the farm and that hill in Québec City. I hope they remember that, even on the busy days, we made time to be together. Always.

Ready to Plan Something Unforgettable?

Thanks for riding along with us this week, and for letting our travels inspire your own. Your next adventure is closer than you think.🤍

Until the next stop,

The Wagner Family