Moving in!

Whew!  What a time it has been.  Well, since my last post, we have officially moved into our van.  Out of the apartment and into the VAN!  What a transformation it has been.  If you are seriously considering this lifestyle, be prepared to lose your mind for a bit while you get everything situated.  For a month I just kept walking around in circles in my apartment because I didn’t even know where to begin.  Keep in mind, we don’t even have a large apt, just a small two bedroom.  It was very overwhelming just figuring out what all needed to be packed, what little things we were actually going to take in the van, and what we wanted to store for later.  I know I’ll probably look at the junk in storage later and wonder why I packed it up at all.  We had a big yard sale and sold everything we owned, which wasn’t much, and the stuff we did have wasn’t very nice either.  We ended up making $252 at the yard sale, which was great because it was $252 more than we had before the sale, but also a little depressing because that was our life for so long.  The silver lining though:  materialistic things should not define your life, and making this move has really helped cement that into my brain.  I’m not going to be able to own very much while we live in the van, and I’ve still got some adjusting to do.  We don’t have everything set up how it’s going to be permanently yet, but we are on the right road. 

Life in the van so far:

Right now we’re staying on my parents property so we’re able to adjust to life in the van a little better than if we were just thrown into straight from our apartment.  We’ve been using their shower (we have an outside shower but haven’t set it up yet), and cooking at their place.  We have been sleeping in the van with two of the back windows popped open, with a mosquito net over the windows, because bugs are bad here.  We have three more “major” things to do to the van.  1) we need to get an air conditioner put in, 2) we have to get the solar panels installed on the roof and 3) we have to get the starter looked at, when we try to start the van, it seems to not want to turn over.  We haven’t made a decision about the air conditioner yet.  We would love to put in a roof unit, but that is definitely a costly way to go compared to having a window unit put in the back window.  The roof air units cost upwards of $400.  Plus, they seem to pose more of a problem with possible leaks from the seams.  A back window unit completely kills stealth, but we were planning on having a bike rack on the back anyway, which would have been just as bad.  The window unit will hopefully be easier to install and only cost about $150.  We’re probably going this way.

Time to get serious about blogging!  I have more time to do it now, so here's our progress and so forth:

Our van!

The view of the back of our van; starting the flooring!

Flooring is down.  We're definitely not carpenters by any means, but we did the best we could.  I like the way it turned out.

Our batteries.

Our sink area. 

Our original thought for storage area.  We thought we were going to have more room under the bed, but we didn't.  We ended up not going with this idea either.

Some of these ideas and or things we have added to or changed completely.  Its just a matter of trying things and seeing what works for you.  This has definitely been an experience neither one of us will forget. 

New Van

Yay!  We finally bought a van.  Well, by finally, I mean we bought one at the end of February and are just getting back on our feet financially and able to actually start working on the van.  I will be posting pictures of our van and our progress soon.  Its a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 cargo van.  I think we lucked out, it had really low mileage and checked out ok at the mechanics.  We paid $3,000 for the van, a little more than we wanted to, but hey, hopefully we got a good one!  Ideally I would have a different van, one just a tad bit longer and taller.  Kinda like the shuttle buses for resorts and things.  Or a really little school bus, something with a little more room. 

My dad and I got started on the van this past weekend, we got the backseat yanked out and started putting the floor down.  Since we're going to be traveling with our dog, there's a few extra things we need to do for him.  We're going to insulate the inside really good so all of us will be cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  The van has windows on the side, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.  Maybe limousine tint.  Hopefully next week we'll get the electricity hooked up. 

I don't know if everyone else has spent oodles of cash on the electrical system, but that seems to be the most costly thing thus far.  We want to buy the things we need cheaply, but also good quality.  The thing we've spent the most money on so far is the batteries!  We did get a really good battery though.  I will do a whole blog later on the electrical system and explain about the batteries then.  It's only a little after 10 but I'm really tired and will be hitting the sack soon. 

All in all, I'm happy with the way things are going.  Do I wish we had more money saved and were able to go search for freedom and happiness now?? Of course!  But as such matters are, we don't, so we'll have to stay put for a little while longer until we get everything in order.  Until then, we'll be looking towards the horizon. 

New year, new plans

Well, it's that time of year again: New years resolutions!  I have set some new goals for the new year, I just don't know that I would call them "resolutions".  My first and foremost goal is to get everything in order and hit the road!  But before that can happen, first we have to pick out a van.  Easier said than done.  I think we've finally decided on a cargo van, and we're just going to fix the inside exactly how we want it.  I'm still worried about some of the smaller things, like how we're going to have air circulation in a cargo van with no windows.  We'll just have to find the right van for us and our needs.

It's been a weird season of weather here in East Tennessee.  Meaning, it's been snowing more than it has in years!  I don't mind it though, because I'm finally happy with my life, goals and dreams.  We'll probably be here in ET for the springtime, so we'll get to enjoy the Smoky Mtns before we take off.  I'm getting antsy though, being cooped up inside and dreaming about what it's going to be like in five or six months when we finally take off! 

We really want to stay in mild weather all year.  More north in the summer, more of the southern states in winter.  We'll figure out most of our plans after we get settled into our van.  Right now, it's about a) finding a van; b) fixing the van to our specific needs; c) downsizing from our small apartment to our home on wheels; and d) saving as much money as we can!  I don't want to have to worry about earning more money when we're finally free from the shackles of this American life. 

More blogging soon, when I have more to blog about; and of course pictures when we finally get our van!  Until then, keep on truckin.

What it's all about

As I'm sitting here staring out the window at the swirling snow flurries, I can't help but to look forward to the time when I'm out on the open road, able to go wherever I choose, whenever I choose. 

That's what it's all about for me folks.  Freedom.  I'm tired of "normal" life.  I've never felt comfortable in this life, I've always thought there was supposed to be something else I was supposed to be doing.  I've finally found it!  I'm not saying I'm going all grizzly man style, but in a few short months, my life will change from what I've always known to a new and exciting adventure.

It's going to be my beau/boyfriend/personal chef/best friend (whatever you want to call my honey!), my frisky pooch, Rosco, and myself living in a van, traveling the country in search of living a carefree, simple life.


We live in a beautiful place right now, the Smoky Mountains, but we're planning on starting our journey in April or May 2011. The first big thing we have to do is: decide on a van and outfit it for the road!  Cheers, here's to the unknown!