Week 1: What Did We Just Get Ourselves Into?

This is a question I've asked myself and Trevor a number of times the first couple of days after we left. What did we just get ourselves into? Did I really just commit to this? I have been mentally preparing myself for these panic thoughts over the past few months in anticipation of leaving for this trip. I don't think I would qualify as your typical vanlifer. I am an introverted homebody who loves being with my family and friends. While I do love seeing new places and adventure, I also need routine in my life. I fully expect that this season of our life will challenge me in many ways, and I know that is good. I know that it will challenge me to grow as an individual and in my relationship with Trevor...and while we're at it we will get to see so many neat places!

So now that it sounds like I've been dragged along on this trip slightly against my will, let me ease your worries in telling you that the truth is, I think this all spurred from my own idea almost a year ago. At the beginning of 2023 I was feeling stagnant in my life. I felt like I wanted a little more excitement and adventure and I continued to come back to wanting to travel. Trevor and I have always loved traveling together and exploring new places. As I thought more about it, I realized how perfect a season of life we were in to travel. I was working a remote job and Trevor had the capability to work remotely. We were living in my parent's basement under no lease contract. We don't have kids or pets or anything tying us down. As I discussed this more with Trevor we talked about different options for traveling and felt like the most cost effective way to do it would be to travel in a van. My ideal way to travel would be to go from one cushy Airbnb to the next but that was just not in the budget for us 😊 So for several months we did lots of research, talked with friends and family, prayed about it, and at the beginning of July we bought our van!

When I say we've spent nearly every free moment working on the van over the past 7 and a half months that is not an exaggeration. We have truly put our blood, sweat, and tears into it. While overall it was a fun project, the past few months we started to feel very burnt out and ready for the next season. We are very happy to be on this side of the van build. We are so grateful for the family members that contributed their time and expertise to the van. We appreciate you!

To give you a glimpse into the first week of van life, here's what we have been up to this week. Saturday morning we packed up our few last things, said our final goodbyes 😢, and pulled out of the driveway. We made our way to Memphis, TN where we stayed the night in a casino parking lot. Sunday we drove some more. We made a pit stop in Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas since it wasn't far out of the way. Hot Springs is a very unconventional National Park. It is known for its natural thermal spring waters that flow from the ground at an average temperature of 143 degrees. Bathhouses were built to make use of these natural springs and there are a number of bathhouses along the main street called "Bathhouse Row." We walked through one of the old bathhouses, felt the hot spring water, ate some yummy tacos, and went on our way. We spent the night at a Harvest Host which is kind of like an Airbnb where people offer up their yards/driveways or businesses and let you stay in their parking lots overnight. Monday we finished our long trek and ended in Padre Island National Seashore in Texas. This is a beach where you can park right on the sand for free. We stayed on the beach for a couple days and mostly just got some work done during the days and relaxed in the evenings. Wednesday we were running low on battery since it wasn't very sunny. It was supposed to be cloudy for the next few days and our solar wasn't keeping us charged enough so we decided we needed to move somewhere that we could plug in. As we were leaving the beach we ended up getting stuck in the sand - which we were afraid would happen since our van is not four wheel drive! Thankfully, a nice family stopped and helped push us out. Wednesday was a pretty stressful day between low battery, getting stuck, and not knowing for sure where we were staying the night. It wasn't exactly the fun Valentine's Day I had in mind, but we found a cheap campsite, picked up some pizza and watched a show together so we tried to end the day on a positive note. Thursday we drove to a Harvest Host near San Antonio. Thursday and Friday we worked and did some planning ahead/booking campsites in the evenings. Saturday we drove to downtown San Antonio and did some exploring. We spent most of the day walking along the riverwalk and then spent some time at The Alamo. The riverwalk was a beautiful area and of course we got some delicious tex mex while we were there. Sunday we were so excited to go on our first hike at Enchanted Rock State Park. We made the hour drive there from where we were staying only to find out that reservations were required and they were sold out for the day. We were a little frustrated with ourselves but ended up at Guadalupe River State Park and still got some hiking in. We packed everything up Sunday evening so that we could head out early Monday morning for Big Bend National Park.

I'll be honest, this week was not the funnest. There are so many things you have to learn to juggle - keeping the batteries charged, filling up fresh water, emptying gray water, emptying the toilet (we did have our first minor pee overflow 😫), and keeping things tidy because things can get out of hand quickly! But I'm hopeful those things will get easier and become a normal part of our routine. I'm thankful for the sunshine and warmer weather we've been able to experience. And as we plan to head to Big Bend National Park this next week I'm looking forward to going on some hikes and seeing a little more scenery.

If you read all the way through this blog, thank you 😊 Trevor and I knew that some of the downsides of this season would be difficulty maintaining the close relationships we have with many back home and maybe even feeling lonely sometimes. And while this blog in no way replicates living life closely beside the people we love and care about, we hope that it is a way to give others a peek into our life and create a journal for us to be able to look back on someday and remember all the memories we made along the way. Hopefully, you can laugh, cry, and enjoy making memories with us. And maybe if you feel so inspired you can join us somewhere along the way 😉