Van Life

We recently bought a 1980 VW Riviera campervan. This is a journal of our adventures...

[itsinthevan]

[itsinthevan]

My boots look like I skated on a lake of creamed spinach.

When I saw a gaggle of geese walk by our campsite, I was beyond tickled by how cute the families were. A friend posted a comment about how I’m the only person they know who would be happy about Canadian geese in my yard… I totally get it now. *gross*

[itsinthevan]

Since we both work from "home" it was top priority to get our portable power situation worked out. The camper part of the van needs to be rewired, so we needed a temporary solution. We hooked a Stanley 500 watt inverter up to a cheap car battery and voila! We also got a 6/4/2-amp battery charger so we can plug up and recharge whenever we have access to outlets, which many campgrounds do, but they charge more for powered sites. Ultimately, all this will be properly wired into the secondary/camper battery, but for now, it allows us to stay powered up and online. Super thankful for that.

[itsinthevan]

♫ On the road again ♫

Problem solved. It was the coil and condenser. Repairs took a little longer than normal because they got a faulty part, but we worked it out and the journey continues...

[itsinthevan]

We called AAA and they towed us back into Spokane. They're not open on Sundays so the tow truck guy dropped us off at the Walmart across from the auto shop. Yes, we're boondocking the Walmart parking lot. Urban camping at its finest! Hopefully, it's nothing major and we'll back on our merry way tomorrow. According to some of the VW forums, it may be a vacuum hose. Welcome to the world of air cooled engines! 

[itsinthevan]

Lake Spokane Campground, Spokane, Washington

All cheeks and smiles... and phonobot!

[itsinthevan]

We woke up around 9am (entirely NOT typical for us night owls!) and made coffee and beautiful fruit bowls for breakfast. So fresh! The bed's actually pretty cozy! We may get some memory foam to soften things up, but really, it's comfie as it is. 

We met a cool lady parked next to us who, ironically, had also just started living in her camper. She recently retired, sold her house, bought a truck and trailer, packed up her cats and kicked off on a new adventure. A *very* cool and eccentric lady, to say the least. It was fun swapping stories and ideas about how to live in small spaces.

We're already loving this crazy ride... and what an AWESOME way to spend our 8 year 10 month anniversary!

[itsinthevan]

1st night - Riverside State Park in Spokane, Washington. 

After unwrapping all of our new gear (straight from Walmart) we set up camp and moved right in. Bat and I had a blast setting everything up, finding little homes for things, declaring which closets and cubbies serve which purpose best, etc. Like two kids in a candy store, we busy bodied all night with HUGE smiles on our faces.

Dinner: 2 ears of corn and a baked potato, wrapped in foil and thrown right on the coals. Butter and sour cream would have been *lovely* but didn't have our fridge/cooler situation worked out yet, so... dry, it is. But still campalicious and yummy.

[itsinthevan]

And away we go! We have our first few days mapped out.  First stop: Walmart. (oh, the irony!)

We have pretty concise list of stuff we'll need right away: batteries, cooking supplies, knives, flashlights, bug spray, sunblock, blankets, towels, etc. We're starting out in an empty van with nothing but our suitcases and backpacks full of gadgets. Obviously, power is a first. Bat's been researching backup batteries, chargers, inverters, etc and he has a pretty good grip on what we need to keep the studio up and running. We'll have to test it all out and see just how much power we use, because honestly, I have *no* idea. So much to learn!

Once we get all the basics knocked out, we'll stock up on groceries and then... we'll officially be... on our way.

Wherever that may be. :) 

[itsinthevan]

This has been a dream of ours for years. 

And tomorrow... is the day we go pick it up in Spokane, Washington. After only having a handful of pictures to swoon over for the past month since we found it on craigslist, and after all the googling we've done for power this and portable that... we finally get to meet it in person and drive away in our new West Coast home.

Our new home.