from the van

We're stuck posted up in a driveway in Oceanside. We miss our friends, and we can't meet up with them to record podcasts. So we tried one on Zoom with our buddies Shane Dennis and Jarrod Tocci. We're all pretty close, so it was a total train wreck. Hopefully you enjoy it anyway. Stay safe.

In the midst of a global crisis, Colette lost her car and computer in a matter of two days. We are having a good time.

So, Colette, Spin, and I are observing social distancing and lockdown. We've only been to the grocery store in the last six days and only went there once. We've had a lot of #vanlife sort of stuff going on notwithstanding the global pandemic spreading around us. We took this isolation as an opportunity to talk about our new van, last month's TinyFest, and, of course, van life under this shelter in place order. We like chatting with each other, and we're super thankful that anybody cares to listen to us. Stay safe, friends. 

Peya is a lovely young woman from Idaho living in a large Dodge Promaster. She plunged into van life based just on research she performed on the internet. We talk about her journey from her father helping her build out the van in his shop, to finding a close knit community of people in a small Northern California town.

Jenny & Alex run a van building shop called Terra X. Their vans are dope, and so are they. We've just known them for under a year, but they're already some of our favorite folks. Our conversation flew all over the map, as it always does. We had a good time with it. Hopefully you do too!

@terrax.build

We sat down with Sydney on the stage at TinyFest CA to talk about her life on the road, making money as a digital nomad, and her ascent to Instagram stardom. It was a wonderful conversation, but the room had a myriad gnarly echos. Apologies for the sound quality. We'll have her on the podcast from the actual van soon, so listen to this now if you can tolerate it.

@divineontheroad

Renee is the creator and organizer of Tiny Fest events around the country. This coming weekend is Tiny Fest California at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County, featuring tiny homes, container homes, skoolies, and vans. It was super cool to sit down and chat with her about minimal living and the societal shift that these movements will inevitably bring. She's also offered us stage time on Saturday, February 29, to host our first podcast episode in front of an audience. Tune in at 5pm on instagram. I'll do my best to live-stream the podcast.

This week, I sat down to talk with Jessie about living in a van with her shepherd pup, Shasta. It's always interesting to me to hear why folks are in vans, and how it guides them to reflect on their pasts and futures.  Jessie has been living full-time in an old Dodge conversion van, and we dug into what living in a van has taught her about herself in her short journey on the road. 

@sandsunsaltwater

Madelyn & Caleb are living in a rare, 25 year-old, Toyota Hiace. It's a little, pinkish 4WD van with the steering wheel on the right side. It's cute and quirky just like this couple. They're super stoked on their departure from conventional routines and their life on the road work with their cat, Nora.

@patchworkcanteen

Christian Henkel is a photographer, outdoorsman, and full-time van lifer in San Diego County. Like many of us, he's chosen the van for the flexibility and affordability. He realized a few years ago that he wants to be a professional photographer, and he's working really hard to make that happen while he makes ends meet working for REI. I'm inspired by his drive and tenacity. He's also a good conversation.

@christian.henkel.photo