This weekend, after a pleasant trail run out at 1,000 Acres, a couple friends and I got together for brunch. The topic of age came up, as it relates to where we “should” be in life. I recently turned 35, Paisley turns 35 soon, and Melissa is a trailing behind a couple years. The conversation, at one point, brought up the question of where we are, where we are going, and where we “should” be. […]
Read more
They say the more things change, the more they stay the same. That definitely rings true, in some ways, right now. As I write this I am sitting in my van along a noisy street, tucked neatly into my van. Curtains drawn and top popped, I ready for my first night of being back in the van. It’s different this time, this time it’s in Portland, where I have lived off and on for the […]
Read more
It was not the way anyone envisioned. It was a sad chain of events that resulted in a dramatic change of vans. Sometimes that is the way change comes about, a blink of an eye, a flash, an explosion – or in this case a thrown rod. During my 2012 Vanagon trip, Vanagon 1.0, my Father joined me for a one month re-enactment of a trip him and I had done when I was about […]
Read more
How ironic that this post follows my last. It comes in waves, this vanlife. My first foray into vanlife came at the end of 2011, and truly began in early 2012. I would buy a cheap Vanagon off Craigslist, build it out, and hit the road. I would live in it for about 9 months, much of which was exploring the United States. At that time, like this time, I thought it could potentially last […]
Read more
In my usual routine, I woke up and made breakfast and scrolled through social media. In the Portland Vanagon group, yes, we have a Facebook group dedicated to our love affair with these boxy vans; someone had posted yet another video about the #vanlife movement. After watching it, I felt a bit dirty. Honestly, it is this sort of videos are what give this movement such a bad name. It left me with the need […]
Read more
Here in Portland it is feeling like fall has officially arrived and maybe Spring at the same time. Today has been a wet one, but the trees along the street side are making it known that fall has come. Along with the changing of the leaves comes the cooling of the air, and that is very applicable when in the van. I have been house sitting for a friend the past month or so, […]
Read more
Last night, prompted by a recent engine failure and subsequent upgrade, Damon of NRWSTR put together a beer and vans get together here in Portland. In just a matter of day or two, we came out of the woodwork and descended upon HUB brewing – rolling in deep with about 8 vans and one Sunrader (bound.for.nowhere‘s new rig.) While hanging out with these folks, it reminded me of how small and amazing this community is. […]
Read more
After escaping the chill of eastern Oregon in winter (Feb 1st) I headed south and spent the majority of the winter somewhere in the state of California. Honestly, in retrospect, I think I spent a lot more time in that state then I had previously envisioned. That being said, I have no regrets about my decisions to follow the paths made available and to saying yes to whatever the world was sending my way. Fast […]
Read more
The folks over at MightyGoods, a site devoted to stories about adventurers and nomads, has created a giant graphic of 85 vanlifers – I made the list! Fun to look through this list and see some of the other folks I have come to know through my travels.
Read more
To start, I was not paid by ARB, or anyone else, to post this. As of a couple weeks ago, the Vanagon now has an ARB awning mounted to the side, along with some new racking up top. Here in the Portland area it seems that every other car has one of these mounted to its roof, and I really wasn’t sure if it was all that useful or just simply an easy bolt on […]
Read more