My vanlife experience - @tashofalltrades

I looked over excitedly at my daughter Rowyn.

“Are you excited?” I asked. She grinned and said “I can’t wait to see everyone’s vans Mom!”

We were headed to our first Vanlife event. Fiesta Island in San Diego. I had been wanting to be a part of the van life community for a few years now, and had finally purchased a van. So far it had only been gutted, and I had pulled my queen bed into the van, threw in a cooler with some snacks, and put a rug in the van. Rowyn and I piled into the van and headed out on our first weekend adventure trip in the van.

As I pulled up and saw the different types of vehicles - converted ambulances, skoolies, sprinters, fords, and more - I felt nervous and shy. My van wasn’t actually converted, and how would these strangers react to someone who didn’t actually have a converted vehicle yet?

Everyone had the doors open to their vehicles, and Rowy and I hopped out and started walking around. As I walked and looked, each person took the time to say hello, invite me to check out their build, and ask me about myself. Rowyn was offered cool drinks from peoples fridges, and tons of snacks. Next thing I knew, we were sitting in a van chatting with strangers we had just met as if we had been friends for months. My daughter was shown how to hula hoop, and people took time to play with her, and other van life kids came to say hello.

I felt at home. I felt accepted. And surprisingly, people asked to see my van. They were super encouraging and shared about their beginnings, of sleeping in their unconverted vans and let me know this was all a normal part of the journey. I knew this was going to be a wonderful beginning of a new journey.

We were invited to stay late for pizza, and watch the sunset. We joined in a huge circle and talked, and hung out until late.

I felt happy. This community was my community. I found my people. This was a feeling I had been blessed to experience whenever I traveled overseas and was accepted into a culture, or when I had gone to summer camp as a kid. As an adult i struggled to find my people, and in less than an hour found an entire group of people who accepted you for who you were and who had a knowledge of wealth and ideas. There were entrepreneurial ideas being shared, educational ideas for kids, and much more. The entire group was creative, and looking for a way to better the world.

I came home further inspired, and less fearful of taking this big step into Vanlife. As a single mom with a limited income, I knew I would need to find a way to prioritize my goal of Vanlife. I gave myself a deadline - I would move into my van at the end of my apartment lease, even if the van weren’t ready yet.

As I started to convert my van, I was further surprised by the interest of coworkers, friends, family, and even by passers who saw me parked with my partially converted van. Some thought I was crazy, but still offered their support in way of tools, helping me fix the vehicle, or in the conversion process. In building the van, I became closer with my community in town. People offered their homes for showers, or a safe place to park.

As of the end of July, I have officially moved out of my apartment. My van is not fully converted yet, as I need to finish my electrical system. I have run into some hiccups along the way. Just as I was getting ready to purchase my power bank, I noticed a leak from my van, fondly dubbed Sahara.

After taking Sahara to the mechanic, it was found that she had multiple critical things to be fixed. I groaned inwardly as I realized my electrical timeline was being pushed back. At the same time I felt this gratitude that I no longer had to pay rent and could actually not stress as hard about paying to fix my car. Because Sahara is no longer just my car - she’s my home.

Perhaps my favorite thing about starting van life is that I’m not longer just working to make ends meet - I’m finally able to live freely. Rowyn and I have more adventures together. She has become quite the navigator.

I had a fear that my daughter would be upset with our downsizing, but after she went through her toys, she had picked out 5 items and said “Hey Mom, these are only my favorites. Can we give the rest away to my friends?” I felt proud that she was not afraid to downsize.

As I started to go through my apartment, and pick out what I would need to donate, and what I would keep, I was shocked to see how many things I had that I had thought I needed, but had barely used. All those extra bed sheets I had bought “In case I have a lot of company”, and millions of pens and pencils that somehow magically accumulated. The stored craft box that was never opened, and the stack of games that somehow we had only played once. Although I had a cute apartment, full of items - it was more like a storage unit of things I didn’t need, and that I was barely home for.

As we have moved into the van, we have realized that there are more ways we can minimize. It’s become a source of peace for us to have less. We don’t lose items as often, and now everything we own is our favorite items. We think before we buy, and we hate making waste. I always loved being environmentally conscious, but van life showed me that I still made more waste than I thought. We have since been able to start to be more minimal in our impact, and we love the process.

There are struggles to come, and we still have a lot left to adjust to in the van, but so far Sahara is our pride and joy and we are excited to join this community.

__________________________

Follow along with @tashofalltrades

Produced and published by Jared Melrose Campbell @youandiandthesky & @vanlifediaries