Palmer, the town in Alaska that my wife Paisley spent most of her childhood years. Palmer, the closest town with a grocery store while we lived in the cabin in Alaska. And now, Palmer, the name of our newly arrived baby boy!
Read more
I have never been one to maintain, much less write in the first place, a bucket list. Maybe the closest has been, instead, to do so in retrospect. Sort of what I am doing now, I guess. Sitting here, thinking back on recent experiences, and ticking them off a list that never existed until it was well past the time to mark them off. Fail safe way to not fail at achieving your bucket list! […]
Read more
I followed the two of them down a short gravel road in the dark. As we came to a stop, their headlights lit up a chain link gate ahead. He jumped out of his car and rolled the fence back. It was dark and I could not tell what I was driving into, but as the gate was drawn close behind me, I knew that I was here for the night. I was new to […]
Read more
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
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
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
Life is full of forked roads, vanlife is no different. I often find myself thinking about where I am and how I got here, and how little decisions, made by me or for me, have led me to the place I am today. The other night I was thinking about college. In 2006 I was on the path to get my B.S. in Finance, but then when it came time to take my first finance […]
Read more
Some people come into our lives just as quickly as they leave. Passing through a moment in time where, for whatever reason, our paths cross and conversation is started. These brief interactions bring so much to our lives, if even for a minute. People that know me would likely classify me as an introvert. At a party, I am more likely to be hanging out with those I came with, rather than mingling around the […]
Read more
When I lived in my last Vanagon and traveled all over the US for 6 months, Santa Cruz, one of the first places I stayed, was my all time favorite. Sure, it is a beautiful little city and the coffee and cookies at Verve Coffee are so good I went out of my way to stop there this time around; but the best part of Santa Cruz was the “office”. In 2012 it was the […]
Read more