{"id":14933,"date":"2021-11-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nucamprv.com\/?p=14933"},"modified":"2021-10-21T13:17:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T18:17:19","slug":"nothin-but-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nucamprv.com\/blog\/nothin-but-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothin\u2019 But Love: A Motto Alison Miller Lives By"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Perhaps you\u2019ve seen the pair on the road: a Ford Escape SUV pulling a TAB, both painted white and \u201cChuck\u2019s-Watchin\u2019-Over-Me-Pink\u201d and emblazoned with the motto \u201cNothin\u2019 But Love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or you might have run into their owner, Alison Miller, at a campground and wondered about this woman who is traveling on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she isn\u2019t the first woman who has taken to the open road sans travel companion (see our posts featuring solo travelers Joei Carlton Hossack<\/a> and Marti Wieschowski<\/a> as well as Women on the Road: The Female RV-er<\/a>), Alison\u2019s is not the usual \u201cI want to try something new\u201d story. Rather, it\u2019s a tale of heartbreak and hope, of loss and recovery, and most importantly, about the indomitable force of love \u2014 a lot to pack into one teardrop trailer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her story as a woman on her own began with a devastating loss: the death of her husband retired Master Sgt. Chuck Dearing on April 21, 2013. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple set out on a journey through the country in May 2009 after Chuck retired from the Air Force. They hit a roadblock in 2011, however, when Chuck was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment seemed to be successful, and the couple continued their journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But their plans took a painful detour when, in 2013, the cancer recurred. In just a few short weeks, the man who had been the love of Alison\u2019s life for 24 years and her husband for 23, died at age 60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though I knew it would happen \u2014 that this cancer would kill him \u2014 it shocked and devastated me, and my entire world disintegrated,\u201d recalled Alison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barely seven months after her loss, Alison made up her mind to begin her own journey, which she dubbed Odyssey of Love<\/a>. Alison sought to continue the travels she had once undertaken with her husband but in a different way, to reflect the major change in her life. Although her son Nick shared the first leg of her trip that she undertook with TAB, from that point on with just a few exceptions Alison was driver and navigator, traveling with mementos of their life together adorning the interior of her TAB and tow vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While her children had been supporters of the couple\u2019s travels on the open road, they were less than enthusiastic about their mother being on her own, especially since she had next to no experience towing a trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut they also knew that I had a mind of my own and would do my life as I saw fit,\u201d Alison acknowledged. \u201cI was too young to move in with any of them, even if I wanted to \u2014 which I didn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t want to become a burden to them. It was ironic in every way; I was determined to show them that I didn\u2019t need them, that I could figure this out when all I craved was to be with any of the three of them and be cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Documenting her Odyssey of Love journey<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the summer before the pandemic, Alison was ready to turn her personal journey into something visual that she could share with the world. And thus the idea for the documentary, \u201cAn Odyssey of Love\u2026in pink\u201d was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, she was working at Opera in the Ozarks in Arkansas, as she had during previous summers. But she knew she had to give her new project her full attention, especially given that she had no idea at all how to go about filming a documentary; nor did she know anyone who knew. She decided to rent a room from a dear friend in Arizona who was also a \u201cwidow sister\u201d and then, through her daughter, met Emily, a photographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a meeting with Emily and a discussion with her business partner, Alison signed a contract with them agreeing on the project. The film is the first documentary the duo has taken on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of the documentary was filmed before the pandemic, which worked well for Alison as it kept her in one location amid the coronavirus pandemic and allowed her to be hands-on with editing, narration, and other elements of the documentary. Alison stayed in Arizona with her friend Lorri for a year working on the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic not only temporarily disrupted her travel plans but is also a factor to be considered as Alison decides how to promote her documentary. Alison hopes to take the documentary on the road to show around the countries. She also hopes to host Love Leaves the Way rallies, conduct workshops, and do talks and discussions based on her Odyssey of Love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of travel has also made an impact on Alison’s plans as it continues to increase during the pandemic. Costs of campsites have gone up as have gas prices, she said. Making reservations requires a lot of planning \u2014 both time-wise and location-wise, Alison said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m waiting to see out this next year and how the pandemic continues or not, and whether some semblance of an ordinary life returns,” Alison said. “I\u2019m more or less in a holding pattern while the country settles down some.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not that Alison is much of a planner, as she would be the first to acknowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaking plans just isn\u2019t my thing and hasn\u2019t been since Chuck\u2019s death. I\u2019ve truly just let my heart lead me as to where I go and how long or short a time I stay in any one place.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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