VAN LIFE
After hiking the Appalachian Trail I was looking for ways to minimize my life, my possessions, and my expenses, and #VanLife seemed like the ideal solution.
In 2014 I moved into a self converted Honda Element and lived on the streets of Santa Barbara, CA while holding down a regular job, as well as serving as the youngest Club President of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara.
In 2015 I upgraded to a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia campervan, continued living in Santa Barbara for a few more months, secured a Digital Nomad income stream, quit my job, and hit the road to live and travel fulltime.
ALL VAN LIFE ADVENTURES
Western Ramblin’
The summer kicked off with Born To Run and was quickly followed by Race Across America. I enjoyed both, but was looking forward to hitting the open road with less structure and responsibility. I jumped [...]
Winter Ramblings
The best way to ring in the New Year is to run a beer mile with your closest friends at midnight! Well, I'm not sure if that's actually the best way to do it, but [...]
Hiking The Wave, Arizona
The Wave sits peacefully in no man's land at the border of Arizona and Utah. This unique sandstone formation displays vivid red desert strata that have been eroded overtime into a wavelike feature. The otherworldly [...]
Westward Westy
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Canada and driving through New England, but my heart, and Tantor's motor, were both yearning for the place we feel most at home, the Southwest. Before I could drive Tantor west [...]
Nuevo England
I approached a federal border crossing one last time to bring an end to my Great Canadian Road Trip. I'd enjoyed bouncing between the United States and Canada all summer, but was ready to head [...]
The Great Canadian Road Trip – Part 2
After a brief visit to the United States my Great Canadian Road Trip continued in Ontario. I left Chicago, crossed Michigan, and made it through the border crossing with no problems. In Cambrige, just outside [...]
The Great Canadian Road Trip – Part 1
While basking in the February South American sun on a beach in Ecuador I wondered, "What should I do for the summer?" The previous year I spent 6 months driving my van 20,000 miles literally [...]
VanLife – How I Get Drinking Water For Free
I rarely go completely off grid as I travel, but I do utilize the campervan's water tank to carry up to 11 gallons of potable water for cooking, washing, and drinking. To refill the tank [...]
Top 7 Things To Do In Slab City
Slab City is an off grid "community" in the Southern California desert a few hours inland from San Diego. Originally built in the 1940's as a military base, by the 50's it was closed and [...]
20,000 Miles
24,901 Miles - The distance around the earth 20,000 Miles - The distance I traveled in my van around the United States in 2015 In March of 2015 I bought an old Volkswagen van and [...]
Arizona
I could almost hear a sigh of relief from Tantor as we slowed to a park in front of Grandpa's townhouse. 20,000 miles in 5 months was a lot to ask of a 30 year [...]
Go Westy Young Man
Leaving Florida I had 10 days until I needed to be in Arizona for Thanksgiving. It wasn't a lot of time, considering that I wanted to see new cities, visit friends, and get my feet [...]
Florida
I woke up sweating in a truck stop gas station just a mile north of the state line. The overnight temperatures hovered near 80, meaning I had a warm balmy night trying to sleep in [...]
Georgia
My first stop in Georgia was Hiawassee to see Jim and Maggie, our first "Trail Angels" on the Appalachian Trail in 2012. They had met us the day that we started our Thru-Hike and told [...]
Why I Will Probably Sleep In Your Driveway
This summer I've been fortunate to visit friends and family around the country, and each time I arrive in a new town I receive a myriad of offers, most often a request to sleep indoors [...]
Appalachia
The day that I left Indiana I woke up on a couch in my buddy's basement, which was good because it was below freezing inside my van in his driveway. I let the defrost melt [...]
Back Home Again In Indiana
I speed across The Great Plains (read as 'I pressed the pedal to the metal and almost hit 65'), focused on reaching Chicago and kicking off my 3 week visit home with some cold beer. [...]
VanLife Shower
I often get asked how I shower while living in a van. The best way to answer is to show you. Don't worry, the video below is PG. #VanLife Shower Showering [...]
The Great Plains
With Tantor back in running condition we were ready to cover some miles. I had a few more places I wanted to see in Wyoming and South Dakota, but then my sights were set on [...]
Broken in Bighorn
Sunday morning I woke up at 3:00 AM in a Walmart parking lot in Cody, Wyoming. "Am I moving too fast?" I pondered. "Should I slow down and enjoy this trip a little more? Or [...]
Yellowstone Take 2
On a crisp autumn morning I drove toward Yellowstone National Park through patchy clouds below snow capped peaks. My first visit to Yellowstone had been just one month ago, but I was already yearning for [...]
Glacier National Park
I had a few simple goals for my visit to Glacier National Park. Stand on a glacier Unplug for a few days Not get eaten by a grizzly bear The first two I could do [...]
Washington
I was looking forward to my visit to Seattle, partly because I had never been to the city, but mostly because my cousin Brad had just arrived in town for work and I'd have someone [...]
Oregon Coast
It was late August and I'd been FunEmployed and living on the road for just over 2 months. Most of that time I'd been staying with family, sleeping indoors, with access to hot showers and [...]
Going Green TV Interview
Living in a van has a lot of benefits...simplicity, freedom, adventure, and this week I was interviewed by Brooke Welch of WFFT-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana about going green and VanLife. Watch the interview below. [...]