Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Adventures with Girl in the Moon
The Last Day in Los Padres National Park And Saying Goodbye to the W Family
0 reviewsMoon and the W Family spend their last day together.
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I ended up sleeping until almost 7 the next morning. For me, that’s sleeping late. I got up and checked my weather app to see what was in store for the day. It was going to be hotter than it had been. It was looking like another day at the lake was in order. I got dressed quickly and went outside. All three of the children were up.
“Good morning Moon.” Bronx greeted me.
“Morning!” I said back.
“Moony, can we go to the lake again today?” Saint asked me.
“As long as your Dad is ok with that. It’s gonna be hot today and a swim in the lake sounds nice.”
I asked the kids if they wanted pancakes again for breakfast or something else. They wanted pancakes so I pulled everything out to make them and got started. The kids were just sitting down to eat when Pete came out of their camper.
“Good morning!” I greeted him brightly. “Pancakes? Coffee?” I offered.
“You have way too much energy in the morning.” He grumbled. “Coffee please.”
“Coming right up.” I said as I poured him a cup and set it in front of him.
“Thanks.” He took a sip and sighed. “That’s good coffee.”
“Want some breakfast?” I offered.
“Yes please.”
I flipped a few pancakes onto a plate and sat it in front of him. “Here ya go.”
“Thank you very much.”
“The kids want to go back to the lake today. It’s gonna be a warm one. Whadda ya think?”
Pete had his mouth full of pancakes when I asked that. He swallowed and said, “Sounds like a good way to spend the day. After we eat, you guys get ready. We’ll go for a swim.”
Since I had fed the kids first, I was just sitting down to eat. I sat across the table from him. The kids were finishing up and going to change. Marvel asked for help with her swimsuit.
“Daddy, I need help.” She said to Pete.
“Ok, Honey. Let me finish my pancakes and I’ll come help you.” She nodded and ran to get her things from the RV.
I smiled as I watched her. She really is such a sweet little girl.
Both boys emerged from their tent with their swim trunks on, towels in hand and ready to go. Pete told them to wait for the rest of us to get ready. After eating I went and changed into my swimsuit and a pair of shorts. My bag from yesterday was still packed so I just grabbed it and was almost ready.
I put the cats in the van and turned the fans on so they wouldn’t get overheated. When everyone was ready. We headed down the trail to the lake.
I actually got in and swam with the kids. So did Pete. Marvel was allowed to swim with him or me, but not on her own. She’s a fine swimmer, but in the lake, Pete didn’t want her out of his sight.
The five of us spent a few hours swimming around and just having a great time. I got cold and had to get out and warm up in the sun. Marvel came with me. She played in the shallows at the shore, I sat on the beach a few feet away from her. She told me all about her friends at school and we did the ABC’s. I told her about the plants and animals that lived in and around the lake. Just little kid stuff. The boys and Pete kept swimming for a while longer.
After a few hours all of us were done and ready to head back for lunch. After lunch both Saint and Marvel went down for a nap. I went to take a shower. When I got back Pete asked if I would be willing to stay in camp so he could get a shower in. I of course said yes. Both he and Bronx went to shower.
By the time Pete and Bronx got back to the campsite I had put on my hiking hat. It’s a brown Stetson cowboy hat that I’ve had since my first year living in Luna. I bought it in Colorado. I needed something to keep the sun off my face when I was outside. And it’s great for keeping the weather off too. I actually wear it all the time. It’s in most of my videos. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to see me in it. But for some reason it did seem to surprise Pete.
“What’s with the hat?” He asked as they came back to camp.
“Had enough sun the last few days. This keeps it off my face.” I answered.
“I thought you were gonna go on another rant about country music.” He said with a smile.
“Oh, I can do that again if you wanna argue. Or, I could teach you to line dance and you could see I’m not full of shit.” I said with a grin.
Bronx got a good laugh at that. “I’d like to see that!” he said through his giggles.
Pete shot him a look. That only made Bronx laugh harder.
“No, Dad,” giggle “seriously,” giggle “I’d love to see you in a cowboy hat and boots, tryin’ to line dance.”
Pete did not look happy with his son's teasing. “Why don’t you take her up on the offer and let her teach you?” He suggested to Bronx,
“Ok! Moon, you can teach me if you want. I’ll dance with you.” Bronx flashed his grin at me.
I hadn’t meant for it to get to this, I had only been teasing Pete. But if Bronx wanted to dance, I’d teach him.
“Really? Ok.” I got up and reached into Luna to grab my little bluetooth speaker. I opened apple music on my phone and pulled up my limited country playlist. I picked two Big & Rich songs and hit play. “Ok, this will be some pretty basic steps. Put your hands at the front of your waistline like you had a belt on. Like this.” I showed him what I mean. When the music started I showed him some pretty basic line dancing steps. By the time the second song started he had it down. Bronx had a good time dancing with me.
“Can we do another song?” he asked when the second song was over.
“Yeah, sure.” I picked another song and hit play.
Right after the third song started Marvel came out of the RV rubbing her eyes. Bronx saw her and called her over with, “Come dance with me Marvel.”
She bounced over to him and started to jump and twirl. Bronx took her hands and spun her around and danced with her. I sat down once the two of them were dancing together. Pete looked at me and gave me a smile I had not seen before. It was very sweet and tender.
“They’re having such a good time.” He said as he nodded at the kids.
I smiled back at him. “So am I.” I assured him. “I’m sorry we have to part ways tomorrow.”
“Me too.”
We sat in comfortable silence for a while watching Bronx and Marvel dancing. When the song ended they asked for more music.
“Ok. But let’s switch it up and give your dad a break from the country.” I picked The Killers and let it play.
Saint woke up about this time and joined his brother and sister for a song before wanting to play with Fred and George. Marvel joined him and Bronx joined us adults.
“Thanks for the dance lesson, Moon.” He said as he sat down. “You were right, that was fun. You should give it a try Dad.”
“It looked like you had fun.” Pete acknowledged.
“Do you go out dancing a lot?” Bronx asked me.
“No, not very often. I have a friend I like to go dancing with when I’m in Oklahoma. But I only get there once or twice a year.”
“Her boyfriend.” Pete said.
“Not my boyfriend. I haven’t had a boyfriend since 2003.” I corrected him.
“2003? Why so long ago?” Bronx asked me.
“2003 is when my last boyfriend became my fiance. We got married in 2005.”
“You were married?” Pete asked me.
“Yes. Been divorced since 2018.”
“I’m sorry.” Pete said, giving me a look that said he understood.
“Not your fault. No need to apologize.” I said to put him back at ease.
“Is that why you started traveling in Luna?” Bronx asked me.
“Yes, that’s part of it.” I told him. “I’ve talked about it some on my channel. Mostly in the first few videos. But my divorce was a very big part of why I changed my lifestyle so much.” Both men looked interested so I decided I could share with them.
“2016 was a bad year for my family. We lost one of my uncles, my grandmother, and my baby brother.” I stopped for a moment to get myself and my voice under control. I didn’t like speaking about my brother.
“My marriage was already in trouble before all of that. But dealing with three deaths in one year,” I sighed heavily. “The grief made things worse. Things didn’t work out. I left in 2017, divorce was finalized in early 2018.” I shrugged as if to say, it is what it is.
Continuing, I said, “Then, right after the divorce was final, I got laid off from my job that I had been at for over twelve years because they paid me too much.” I chuckled without any humor in it. “2016 was the worst year of my life. 2017 wasn’t great, and the first half of 2018 sucked. But it got better after that.” I smiled softly at the two Wentz men.
“I had been staying with my Mom and her husband after I left my ex. They wanted me to save money so they didn’t make me pay rent or anything. I was looking at apartments after the divorce and was just about to sign a lease when I got laid off. But my company did a really good severance package. All in all I walked away with almost a year's salary. And I had my half from the sale of our house. I had enough money that I thought, ‘I can take a break, I don’t have to go find a job right away’. I bought Luna and converted her. I was only going to go on a short trip, come back and find a job. Well, a few weeks turned into a few months. The channel took off and I started making money off of it. Enough that I could live off it and didn’t need to dip into my savings. I decided to stay on the road for a little longer. A few months turned into a few years. And here I am, five years later, still on the road and having a great time.”
“Do you think you’ll ever stop traveling?” Pete asked me.
“Maybe, someday. If I find a reason to stop. But, these past five years in Luna, with the cats, have been the best of my life. Not sure I’m ready to give up the freedom of this life.”
Saint interrupted us at this point. He wanted to play a game and asked if we could play Life again. We indulged him and played the game. We took our time and made it take up the rest of the afternoon. After the game, the kids were ready for dinner. And so was I. Pete and I pooled our groceries together and gave anything that could be cooked on a stick over the fire to the kids if they wanted it for dinner. I wanted fresh veggies and opted for a large salad with chicken, dried cranberries, chopped apples, and feta cheese in it. Pete accepted my offer and had the same thing. It was adult food and it was so good.
After dinner the five of us settled down around the fire. Once again we all had hot chocolate. I opted for mine sans the Bailey's. I knew I needed to get an early start the next morning. I still had some work to do inorder to have a video ready to upload on Sunday.
The kids wanted more stories. I told the story about Fred and George scaring off a young bear. We were in a national park, doing some backcountry camping. I had put the cats and myself to bed and had the van all closed up for the night. As I was falling asleep I heard a noise coming from outside. I thought it was a raccoon or maybe an opossum. I should have known better because the cats started to hiss. I flung open the door thinking I would scare off whatever it was. When I opened the door there was a young black bear in my camp! It wasn’t so young it was still with its mom, but young enough that it had probably just left its mom a few months before. Before I could do anything else Fred and George leapt out of the van and ran at the bear. The bear was startled and it ran off. Neither of the boys went too far. And I swear they smiled at me when they came back.
Pete told the kids and I about a time when the guys were first touring in a van as very young men, still kids really. They stayed night at a very cheap motel because that was all they could afford and they needed a break from sleeping in the van. The place they stayed at was creepy and very run down. But the price was in their budget. Everyone else had fallen asleep except for him. He was laying there trying to fall asleep when he heard it. It sounded like a raspy low moan. Thinking it was just one of the guys he rolled over trying to ignore it. Then it got louder and he thought it was Joe or Patrick messing with him. He sat up and looked over at the other bed to see if he could figure out who was being the asshole. But when he sat up, he saw a black figure on the other side of the room. He freaked out, yelped and turned on the bedside lamp. Nothing was there. He turned the light off and tried to lay down. But he heard the sound again, and when he looked over, he saw the figure again. He turned the light back on, nothing there. He said he sat up the rest of the night with the light on.
An hour or so into telling stories Marvel slipped out of her chair and climbed into my lap. I was happy to let her rest her head on my shoulder. Bronx went on to tell a story he had heard from a friend. It was all about strange things that had been happening around said friend’s house.
It was bedtime for the littles. Saint was almost asleep in Pete’s lap. Marvel was still awake, but definitely tired. Pete got up and put Saint to bed in the tent with some help from Bronx. When he crawled out of the tent I heard him mumble “too old for this.”
He came over to me and Marvel to see if he could put her to bed. “Come on, Honey. It’s time for bed.”
“Want Moony to sing me a song.” Marvel whined.
“I’ll sing you a song but you need to get into bed first.” I told her.
She allowed Pete to pick her up and carry her into the camper. I followed them in. Once she was tucked in I sat next to her and started singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. By the time I was done, she was asleep. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead, whispered goodnight and got up. I hadn’t realized Pete was still in the camper watching me. When I looked around and saw him, he had that same sweet and tender smile I had seen earlier.
He shifted his gaze from his sleeping daughter to me. “Thanks for that.”
“I was happy to do it.” I said as I smiled back at him.
He turned and left the camper, I was right behind him. We settled back down around the fire. Bronx was still up and the three of us hung out and chatted for the rest of the night. I enjoyed their company very much. We laughed a lot and told silly stories. I told stories about my travels. Pete told stories about times when the band was young and dumb.
That last night went by quickly. It was time to head to bed before I knew it. After a big yawn, I finally decided I had to go to bed.
“What time are you planning on leaving tomorrow?” I asked Pete.
“Oh probably around 11 or so. After breakfast. And then we have to pack up. You?”
“I need to get on the road early. I want to get to the Bay Area before I stop. I’ll have breakfast with you and the kids before I leave. I still have to pack up camp too.”
“I wish we didn’t have to leave tomorrow. It’s been a lot of fun camping with you, Moon.” Bronx said.
I smiled at him and said, “I’ve had fun too. Maybe one day we can do it again.” Although I didn’t really think we’d ever meet up and camp together again. I did like the Wentz family. All of them were people that I would like to spend more time with, get to know them better. But I just didn’t see us meeting up again. And that was a sad thought.
“That would be awesome.” Bronx said.
I smiled fondly at him. “Yeah it would. Well, I’m heading to bed. Goodnight you two.”
“Goodnight Moon.”
“Goodnight Grace.”
I went inside Luna and headed to bed. Normally, on a last night anywhere I stayed, I packed up camp so I could just leave the next morning. But I hadn’t this time because I was enjoying the company so much. It really didn’t matter if I packed the day I left or the night before. I had already gotten the inside of Luna ready to leave so it wasn’t going to take long to get ready in the morning.
The next morning I got up early and made sure everything was ready to go. I got dressed and went outside to start breaking down my camp. I was rolling up the awning when Bronx and Saint came out of their tent.
“Do you have to go, Moony?” Saint asked me.
“Yes, I do. But you guys need to go too.” I answered.
“I don’t want you to go.” He said. He looked like he was about to cry.
I bent down so I was at eye level with him. “I know, we’ve had a lot of fun the past few days. But, you guys are gonna be going on an amazing adventure this summer. Aren’t you excited for that?”
He sniffed a little bit and nodded his head. “But why can’t you come with us?”
“I’m going on an adventure too. I’m going to Alaska.” Saint wasn’t happy with this and turned from me and crawled back into his tent.
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be ok. I’ll try to explain it to him.” Bronx tried to reassure me.
“Thanks Bronx.” I said a bit unhappily.
Bronx offered to help me break down my camp. He was actually a big help by handing my chairs and the catio up to me as I packed them away in my rooftop storage. The last thing I needed to pack away was the ground cover. But Pete and Marvel were up and out of the camper by this time. Bronx and Pete handed it up to me. Once everything was stored away, I climbed down.
“You guys still want to have breakfast with me before I leave?” I asked them.
“Of course we do.” Pete told me.
We sat and had cereal for breakfast. Once everyone was done, I started to say goodbye.
The four of them were standing in front of me. I squatted down so I was eye level with the two little ones.
“Thank you for coming over and introducing yourself to me and the boys. I’m so glad you did. I’ve had so much fun with you guys the last few days. And I know the cats had fun too.” I told them.
Saint just hugged me and started to cry. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I know. But I have to. And you guys need to go home too.” He let go of me and just looked at me with the saddest eyes. It was breaking my heart.
Marvel hugged me hard and said into my neck. “Gonna miss you.”
I hugged her back just as hard. “I’m gonna miss you too Miss Marvel.” I told her. She and Saint were both sniffling.
I let go of her and started to say goodbye to Bronx. But their crying just broke me. I did something I’ve never done before.
“Hold on,” I said as I walked over to Luna and opened the passage door. In the glove box I always kept a pen and a pad of paper. Just in case I need it. I took out the pad of paper and the pen and wrote down my personal email and my cell number. I did it twice. I pulled them out of the pad and handed one to Bronx and one to Pete.
“Ok, so I’m giving your Dad and your brother my phone number and my very secret, only my family and best friends have it, you have to promise you’ll never give it out, email. With their help, you two can send me pictures of your adventures this summer. And I promise I will answer any email or text you send me. And I’ll send you pictures of my adventures.” I got eye level with them and said, “We can stay in touch this way and share our summer adventures even when we can’t be together like we are right now.”
I got more hugs from the two of them and promises that they will send me pictures.
I said goodbye to Bronx next. I got a tight hug from him. “I’m glad we met you. This has been so much fun. I’ll help Saint and Marvel send the pictures this summer. Would it be ok if I also emailed you on my own? I like talking about camping with you.”
“Of course you can. I’ve enjoyed talking about camping with you too.” I said as I returned his hug.
Bronx stepped back and it was time to say goodbye to Pete. He stepped up and held open his arms for a hug. I stepped into his embrace and hugged back.
“Thank you for being so good with the kids. They had so much fun. And thanks for being as cool in real life as you are in your videos.” He said into my ear.
“Believe me, I’ve had just as much fun as the kids did.” I pulled back enough to look him in the face. “Thank you for, what? Eighteen years of music.” I grinned at him. He flashed his famous smile at me.
I stepped back from him and said, “You know, I am a bit butthurt you guys are on tour this summer. I’m not gonna be able to get to any of the shows. And I’ve never seen you in concert. Maybe next time.”
He laughed at that and said, “You might get lucky. Who said the dates we’ve released are the only dates?”
“Seriously?”
“Maybe.” He answered with a cheeky grin.
I just smiled back and shook my head at him. “I’ll watch the band's instagram.” I said.
I started to turn towards Luna but stopped. I turned back to Pete and said, “My last name is Campbell. Grace E. Campbell.” He smiled at that.
“Thank you for trusting me with that.” He said.
I waved one last time to the W family and got into the driver’s seat. As soon as I got Luna started both of the cats joined me up front. We pulled out of our slip and headed out of the campground.
I did make it to the Bay Area before it got too late. I found a place to park for the night and got the van ready for the evening. I put up the black out shades, turned the interior lights on and got my dinner ready. After eating I decided to film the ending of my vlog. I had done some editing in the evenings, but it wasn’t going to be a very long video.
“Hey everyone! It’s Saturday already. I know this one has been kinda short, and I apologize for that. But I ended up spending the last few days with some new friends. So I just didn’t film that much.” I said into my camera.
“I’m just outside of San Francisco. I’m heading north. This summer I’m going to Alaska! I plan on spending all summer up there. There’s lots to see and do. And, I’m going to be visiting some friends while I’m there. I’ll tell you more about that when we get closer to the visit. But, they have a YouTube channel too so they will be in the vlogs.”
“If you have any suggestions on places I should see while I’m up there, leave them in the comments. Well, I need to sign off here and get this ready to post. So, until next time, be good to yourself, be good to others, be positive, and live your own adventures. Bye everyone.”
I turned off my camera and went to work on editing the video. A little while later, my phone pinged. It was my email notification. I picked up my phone to see an email from Bronx and the littles. They had gotten home safe. Hoped I was safe. Marvel wanted to send me a picture of their cat Mr. Fluff. And wanted to know if the boys missed her. As I had promised them, I answered the email. This started an ongoing exchange between me and the Wentz family.
“Good morning Moon.” Bronx greeted me.
“Morning!” I said back.
“Moony, can we go to the lake again today?” Saint asked me.
“As long as your Dad is ok with that. It’s gonna be hot today and a swim in the lake sounds nice.”
I asked the kids if they wanted pancakes again for breakfast or something else. They wanted pancakes so I pulled everything out to make them and got started. The kids were just sitting down to eat when Pete came out of their camper.
“Good morning!” I greeted him brightly. “Pancakes? Coffee?” I offered.
“You have way too much energy in the morning.” He grumbled. “Coffee please.”
“Coming right up.” I said as I poured him a cup and set it in front of him.
“Thanks.” He took a sip and sighed. “That’s good coffee.”
“Want some breakfast?” I offered.
“Yes please.”
I flipped a few pancakes onto a plate and sat it in front of him. “Here ya go.”
“Thank you very much.”
“The kids want to go back to the lake today. It’s gonna be a warm one. Whadda ya think?”
Pete had his mouth full of pancakes when I asked that. He swallowed and said, “Sounds like a good way to spend the day. After we eat, you guys get ready. We’ll go for a swim.”
Since I had fed the kids first, I was just sitting down to eat. I sat across the table from him. The kids were finishing up and going to change. Marvel asked for help with her swimsuit.
“Daddy, I need help.” She said to Pete.
“Ok, Honey. Let me finish my pancakes and I’ll come help you.” She nodded and ran to get her things from the RV.
I smiled as I watched her. She really is such a sweet little girl.
Both boys emerged from their tent with their swim trunks on, towels in hand and ready to go. Pete told them to wait for the rest of us to get ready. After eating I went and changed into my swimsuit and a pair of shorts. My bag from yesterday was still packed so I just grabbed it and was almost ready.
I put the cats in the van and turned the fans on so they wouldn’t get overheated. When everyone was ready. We headed down the trail to the lake.
I actually got in and swam with the kids. So did Pete. Marvel was allowed to swim with him or me, but not on her own. She’s a fine swimmer, but in the lake, Pete didn’t want her out of his sight.
The five of us spent a few hours swimming around and just having a great time. I got cold and had to get out and warm up in the sun. Marvel came with me. She played in the shallows at the shore, I sat on the beach a few feet away from her. She told me all about her friends at school and we did the ABC’s. I told her about the plants and animals that lived in and around the lake. Just little kid stuff. The boys and Pete kept swimming for a while longer.
After a few hours all of us were done and ready to head back for lunch. After lunch both Saint and Marvel went down for a nap. I went to take a shower. When I got back Pete asked if I would be willing to stay in camp so he could get a shower in. I of course said yes. Both he and Bronx went to shower.
By the time Pete and Bronx got back to the campsite I had put on my hiking hat. It’s a brown Stetson cowboy hat that I’ve had since my first year living in Luna. I bought it in Colorado. I needed something to keep the sun off my face when I was outside. And it’s great for keeping the weather off too. I actually wear it all the time. It’s in most of my videos. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to see me in it. But for some reason it did seem to surprise Pete.
“What’s with the hat?” He asked as they came back to camp.
“Had enough sun the last few days. This keeps it off my face.” I answered.
“I thought you were gonna go on another rant about country music.” He said with a smile.
“Oh, I can do that again if you wanna argue. Or, I could teach you to line dance and you could see I’m not full of shit.” I said with a grin.
Bronx got a good laugh at that. “I’d like to see that!” he said through his giggles.
Pete shot him a look. That only made Bronx laugh harder.
“No, Dad,” giggle “seriously,” giggle “I’d love to see you in a cowboy hat and boots, tryin’ to line dance.”
Pete did not look happy with his son's teasing. “Why don’t you take her up on the offer and let her teach you?” He suggested to Bronx,
“Ok! Moon, you can teach me if you want. I’ll dance with you.” Bronx flashed his grin at me.
I hadn’t meant for it to get to this, I had only been teasing Pete. But if Bronx wanted to dance, I’d teach him.
“Really? Ok.” I got up and reached into Luna to grab my little bluetooth speaker. I opened apple music on my phone and pulled up my limited country playlist. I picked two Big & Rich songs and hit play. “Ok, this will be some pretty basic steps. Put your hands at the front of your waistline like you had a belt on. Like this.” I showed him what I mean. When the music started I showed him some pretty basic line dancing steps. By the time the second song started he had it down. Bronx had a good time dancing with me.
“Can we do another song?” he asked when the second song was over.
“Yeah, sure.” I picked another song and hit play.
Right after the third song started Marvel came out of the RV rubbing her eyes. Bronx saw her and called her over with, “Come dance with me Marvel.”
She bounced over to him and started to jump and twirl. Bronx took her hands and spun her around and danced with her. I sat down once the two of them were dancing together. Pete looked at me and gave me a smile I had not seen before. It was very sweet and tender.
“They’re having such a good time.” He said as he nodded at the kids.
I smiled back at him. “So am I.” I assured him. “I’m sorry we have to part ways tomorrow.”
“Me too.”
We sat in comfortable silence for a while watching Bronx and Marvel dancing. When the song ended they asked for more music.
“Ok. But let’s switch it up and give your dad a break from the country.” I picked The Killers and let it play.
Saint woke up about this time and joined his brother and sister for a song before wanting to play with Fred and George. Marvel joined him and Bronx joined us adults.
“Thanks for the dance lesson, Moon.” He said as he sat down. “You were right, that was fun. You should give it a try Dad.”
“It looked like you had fun.” Pete acknowledged.
“Do you go out dancing a lot?” Bronx asked me.
“No, not very often. I have a friend I like to go dancing with when I’m in Oklahoma. But I only get there once or twice a year.”
“Her boyfriend.” Pete said.
“Not my boyfriend. I haven’t had a boyfriend since 2003.” I corrected him.
“2003? Why so long ago?” Bronx asked me.
“2003 is when my last boyfriend became my fiance. We got married in 2005.”
“You were married?” Pete asked me.
“Yes. Been divorced since 2018.”
“I’m sorry.” Pete said, giving me a look that said he understood.
“Not your fault. No need to apologize.” I said to put him back at ease.
“Is that why you started traveling in Luna?” Bronx asked me.
“Yes, that’s part of it.” I told him. “I’ve talked about it some on my channel. Mostly in the first few videos. But my divorce was a very big part of why I changed my lifestyle so much.” Both men looked interested so I decided I could share with them.
“2016 was a bad year for my family. We lost one of my uncles, my grandmother, and my baby brother.” I stopped for a moment to get myself and my voice under control. I didn’t like speaking about my brother.
“My marriage was already in trouble before all of that. But dealing with three deaths in one year,” I sighed heavily. “The grief made things worse. Things didn’t work out. I left in 2017, divorce was finalized in early 2018.” I shrugged as if to say, it is what it is.
Continuing, I said, “Then, right after the divorce was final, I got laid off from my job that I had been at for over twelve years because they paid me too much.” I chuckled without any humor in it. “2016 was the worst year of my life. 2017 wasn’t great, and the first half of 2018 sucked. But it got better after that.” I smiled softly at the two Wentz men.
“I had been staying with my Mom and her husband after I left my ex. They wanted me to save money so they didn’t make me pay rent or anything. I was looking at apartments after the divorce and was just about to sign a lease when I got laid off. But my company did a really good severance package. All in all I walked away with almost a year's salary. And I had my half from the sale of our house. I had enough money that I thought, ‘I can take a break, I don’t have to go find a job right away’. I bought Luna and converted her. I was only going to go on a short trip, come back and find a job. Well, a few weeks turned into a few months. The channel took off and I started making money off of it. Enough that I could live off it and didn’t need to dip into my savings. I decided to stay on the road for a little longer. A few months turned into a few years. And here I am, five years later, still on the road and having a great time.”
“Do you think you’ll ever stop traveling?” Pete asked me.
“Maybe, someday. If I find a reason to stop. But, these past five years in Luna, with the cats, have been the best of my life. Not sure I’m ready to give up the freedom of this life.”
Saint interrupted us at this point. He wanted to play a game and asked if we could play Life again. We indulged him and played the game. We took our time and made it take up the rest of the afternoon. After the game, the kids were ready for dinner. And so was I. Pete and I pooled our groceries together and gave anything that could be cooked on a stick over the fire to the kids if they wanted it for dinner. I wanted fresh veggies and opted for a large salad with chicken, dried cranberries, chopped apples, and feta cheese in it. Pete accepted my offer and had the same thing. It was adult food and it was so good.
After dinner the five of us settled down around the fire. Once again we all had hot chocolate. I opted for mine sans the Bailey's. I knew I needed to get an early start the next morning. I still had some work to do inorder to have a video ready to upload on Sunday.
The kids wanted more stories. I told the story about Fred and George scaring off a young bear. We were in a national park, doing some backcountry camping. I had put the cats and myself to bed and had the van all closed up for the night. As I was falling asleep I heard a noise coming from outside. I thought it was a raccoon or maybe an opossum. I should have known better because the cats started to hiss. I flung open the door thinking I would scare off whatever it was. When I opened the door there was a young black bear in my camp! It wasn’t so young it was still with its mom, but young enough that it had probably just left its mom a few months before. Before I could do anything else Fred and George leapt out of the van and ran at the bear. The bear was startled and it ran off. Neither of the boys went too far. And I swear they smiled at me when they came back.
Pete told the kids and I about a time when the guys were first touring in a van as very young men, still kids really. They stayed night at a very cheap motel because that was all they could afford and they needed a break from sleeping in the van. The place they stayed at was creepy and very run down. But the price was in their budget. Everyone else had fallen asleep except for him. He was laying there trying to fall asleep when he heard it. It sounded like a raspy low moan. Thinking it was just one of the guys he rolled over trying to ignore it. Then it got louder and he thought it was Joe or Patrick messing with him. He sat up and looked over at the other bed to see if he could figure out who was being the asshole. But when he sat up, he saw a black figure on the other side of the room. He freaked out, yelped and turned on the bedside lamp. Nothing was there. He turned the light off and tried to lay down. But he heard the sound again, and when he looked over, he saw the figure again. He turned the light back on, nothing there. He said he sat up the rest of the night with the light on.
An hour or so into telling stories Marvel slipped out of her chair and climbed into my lap. I was happy to let her rest her head on my shoulder. Bronx went on to tell a story he had heard from a friend. It was all about strange things that had been happening around said friend’s house.
It was bedtime for the littles. Saint was almost asleep in Pete’s lap. Marvel was still awake, but definitely tired. Pete got up and put Saint to bed in the tent with some help from Bronx. When he crawled out of the tent I heard him mumble “too old for this.”
He came over to me and Marvel to see if he could put her to bed. “Come on, Honey. It’s time for bed.”
“Want Moony to sing me a song.” Marvel whined.
“I’ll sing you a song but you need to get into bed first.” I told her.
She allowed Pete to pick her up and carry her into the camper. I followed them in. Once she was tucked in I sat next to her and started singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. By the time I was done, she was asleep. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead, whispered goodnight and got up. I hadn’t realized Pete was still in the camper watching me. When I looked around and saw him, he had that same sweet and tender smile I had seen earlier.
He shifted his gaze from his sleeping daughter to me. “Thanks for that.”
“I was happy to do it.” I said as I smiled back at him.
He turned and left the camper, I was right behind him. We settled back down around the fire. Bronx was still up and the three of us hung out and chatted for the rest of the night. I enjoyed their company very much. We laughed a lot and told silly stories. I told stories about my travels. Pete told stories about times when the band was young and dumb.
That last night went by quickly. It was time to head to bed before I knew it. After a big yawn, I finally decided I had to go to bed.
“What time are you planning on leaving tomorrow?” I asked Pete.
“Oh probably around 11 or so. After breakfast. And then we have to pack up. You?”
“I need to get on the road early. I want to get to the Bay Area before I stop. I’ll have breakfast with you and the kids before I leave. I still have to pack up camp too.”
“I wish we didn’t have to leave tomorrow. It’s been a lot of fun camping with you, Moon.” Bronx said.
I smiled at him and said, “I’ve had fun too. Maybe one day we can do it again.” Although I didn’t really think we’d ever meet up and camp together again. I did like the Wentz family. All of them were people that I would like to spend more time with, get to know them better. But I just didn’t see us meeting up again. And that was a sad thought.
“That would be awesome.” Bronx said.
I smiled fondly at him. “Yeah it would. Well, I’m heading to bed. Goodnight you two.”
“Goodnight Moon.”
“Goodnight Grace.”
I went inside Luna and headed to bed. Normally, on a last night anywhere I stayed, I packed up camp so I could just leave the next morning. But I hadn’t this time because I was enjoying the company so much. It really didn’t matter if I packed the day I left or the night before. I had already gotten the inside of Luna ready to leave so it wasn’t going to take long to get ready in the morning.
The next morning I got up early and made sure everything was ready to go. I got dressed and went outside to start breaking down my camp. I was rolling up the awning when Bronx and Saint came out of their tent.
“Do you have to go, Moony?” Saint asked me.
“Yes, I do. But you guys need to go too.” I answered.
“I don’t want you to go.” He said. He looked like he was about to cry.
I bent down so I was at eye level with him. “I know, we’ve had a lot of fun the past few days. But, you guys are gonna be going on an amazing adventure this summer. Aren’t you excited for that?”
He sniffed a little bit and nodded his head. “But why can’t you come with us?”
“I’m going on an adventure too. I’m going to Alaska.” Saint wasn’t happy with this and turned from me and crawled back into his tent.
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be ok. I’ll try to explain it to him.” Bronx tried to reassure me.
“Thanks Bronx.” I said a bit unhappily.
Bronx offered to help me break down my camp. He was actually a big help by handing my chairs and the catio up to me as I packed them away in my rooftop storage. The last thing I needed to pack away was the ground cover. But Pete and Marvel were up and out of the camper by this time. Bronx and Pete handed it up to me. Once everything was stored away, I climbed down.
“You guys still want to have breakfast with me before I leave?” I asked them.
“Of course we do.” Pete told me.
We sat and had cereal for breakfast. Once everyone was done, I started to say goodbye.
The four of them were standing in front of me. I squatted down so I was eye level with the two little ones.
“Thank you for coming over and introducing yourself to me and the boys. I’m so glad you did. I’ve had so much fun with you guys the last few days. And I know the cats had fun too.” I told them.
Saint just hugged me and started to cry. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I know. But I have to. And you guys need to go home too.” He let go of me and just looked at me with the saddest eyes. It was breaking my heart.
Marvel hugged me hard and said into my neck. “Gonna miss you.”
I hugged her back just as hard. “I’m gonna miss you too Miss Marvel.” I told her. She and Saint were both sniffling.
I let go of her and started to say goodbye to Bronx. But their crying just broke me. I did something I’ve never done before.
“Hold on,” I said as I walked over to Luna and opened the passage door. In the glove box I always kept a pen and a pad of paper. Just in case I need it. I took out the pad of paper and the pen and wrote down my personal email and my cell number. I did it twice. I pulled them out of the pad and handed one to Bronx and one to Pete.
“Ok, so I’m giving your Dad and your brother my phone number and my very secret, only my family and best friends have it, you have to promise you’ll never give it out, email. With their help, you two can send me pictures of your adventures this summer. And I promise I will answer any email or text you send me. And I’ll send you pictures of my adventures.” I got eye level with them and said, “We can stay in touch this way and share our summer adventures even when we can’t be together like we are right now.”
I got more hugs from the two of them and promises that they will send me pictures.
I said goodbye to Bronx next. I got a tight hug from him. “I’m glad we met you. This has been so much fun. I’ll help Saint and Marvel send the pictures this summer. Would it be ok if I also emailed you on my own? I like talking about camping with you.”
“Of course you can. I’ve enjoyed talking about camping with you too.” I said as I returned his hug.
Bronx stepped back and it was time to say goodbye to Pete. He stepped up and held open his arms for a hug. I stepped into his embrace and hugged back.
“Thank you for being so good with the kids. They had so much fun. And thanks for being as cool in real life as you are in your videos.” He said into my ear.
“Believe me, I’ve had just as much fun as the kids did.” I pulled back enough to look him in the face. “Thank you for, what? Eighteen years of music.” I grinned at him. He flashed his famous smile at me.
I stepped back from him and said, “You know, I am a bit butthurt you guys are on tour this summer. I’m not gonna be able to get to any of the shows. And I’ve never seen you in concert. Maybe next time.”
He laughed at that and said, “You might get lucky. Who said the dates we’ve released are the only dates?”
“Seriously?”
“Maybe.” He answered with a cheeky grin.
I just smiled back and shook my head at him. “I’ll watch the band's instagram.” I said.
I started to turn towards Luna but stopped. I turned back to Pete and said, “My last name is Campbell. Grace E. Campbell.” He smiled at that.
“Thank you for trusting me with that.” He said.
I waved one last time to the W family and got into the driver’s seat. As soon as I got Luna started both of the cats joined me up front. We pulled out of our slip and headed out of the campground.
I did make it to the Bay Area before it got too late. I found a place to park for the night and got the van ready for the evening. I put up the black out shades, turned the interior lights on and got my dinner ready. After eating I decided to film the ending of my vlog. I had done some editing in the evenings, but it wasn’t going to be a very long video.
“Hey everyone! It’s Saturday already. I know this one has been kinda short, and I apologize for that. But I ended up spending the last few days with some new friends. So I just didn’t film that much.” I said into my camera.
“I’m just outside of San Francisco. I’m heading north. This summer I’m going to Alaska! I plan on spending all summer up there. There’s lots to see and do. And, I’m going to be visiting some friends while I’m there. I’ll tell you more about that when we get closer to the visit. But, they have a YouTube channel too so they will be in the vlogs.”
“If you have any suggestions on places I should see while I’m up there, leave them in the comments. Well, I need to sign off here and get this ready to post. So, until next time, be good to yourself, be good to others, be positive, and live your own adventures. Bye everyone.”
I turned off my camera and went to work on editing the video. A little while later, my phone pinged. It was my email notification. I picked up my phone to see an email from Bronx and the littles. They had gotten home safe. Hoped I was safe. Marvel wanted to send me a picture of their cat Mr. Fluff. And wanted to know if the boys missed her. As I had promised them, I answered the email. This started an ongoing exchange between me and the Wentz family.
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