For the month of September and part of October we have been AWOL on posting here because we visited the States and our families. It was a beautiful time of year to visit, and the West Coast weather was *chef’s kiss* amazing compared to the hot heat and humidity in the Caribbean right now. We relished in wearing hoodies and jeans, and shivering when we dipped our toes into the cold of the Northern Pacific.
While in Orange County, CA Paul’s very good friend gave an amazing birthday gift to Paul and I- the use of his family’s sprinter van. Delivered to us in Seal Beach California and expected back in Vancouver Washington some weeks later. Thus began our road trip- and our short time as #vanlife people, instead of our usual #boatlife
In many ways the van was just like our boat. We could monitor the battery levels on a smart phone. We had to worry about the water tank levels, the waste tank levels, the fuel levels. The amount of personal items we could have with us being limited to what could be stowed. We would be sleeping within a few feet of where we eat, shower, sleep, and spend our leisure time. The ceilings are still lower, and space is still limited. But there were big differences we’d come to learn as time and miles passed.
For our maiden drive we motored 301 miles out of Orange County and spent our first night in the van (which at this point we had nicknamed Timothy Ollyphant or just Timothy) at Bass Lake, just outside of Yosemite National Park. On this first day of driving we learned some important lessons: Stowing away is extremely important. Like being on a boat, even stowed items can work their way loose. We also ran across our first big difference to living on a boat- every night, we had to unpack the back of the van into the forward driver and passenger seats in order to fold out the bed, and every morning we had to repack the back and re-stow the bed. In our boat, our bed is always available.
Our second difference was the shower. Timothy the Van did have a shower, but it was a sink shower with an extendable faucet, and a drain that usually needed some help. On the boat we can shower inside in a designated shower, but I mostly shower on the deck to prevent my hair from getting caught in the drain- so I decided outside showers were the way to go with the van as well. There was an outside hose we could use, but because we were staying in National Parks, Paul and I decided to use the quarter powered showers in the campground bathrooms. They were extremely satisfactory, and warmer than showering outside, and used their own water and waste systems.
Another likeness: head bonks (and loud swearing) We are used to our boat, so we both hit our heads a lot less than we used to, but living in the van gave Paul new opportunities to hit his very tall head on cabinets, TV’s, low hanging shelves, the roof and even, once, on the bottom of a chair. He was not quiet when he did.
Overall, the amount of space we had to live in was about the same-but like the boat, we spent a lot of our time “at anchor” aka parked and outside. There was much more space outside that we have on the boat- it wasn’t just a deck; it was the whole wide world (and often a national/state park campground). It was wonderful to walk outside the door, and go for a 10-mile hike, and then walk back inside the van and take our shoes off and shower. On our boat, we always must take our dinghy to shore, tie up, and then come back again, which means that we always get a bit wet, and have to carry everything to and fro more than most people do. To be short, it takes much less energy to open the door in the parking lot of a grocery store and walk inside to provision than it does to take the dinghy to shore, bus/taxi to the store, shop, bus/taxi back, pack up the dinghy, return, unpack the dinghy and put away groceries.
We took Timothy through Yosemite National Park, then through the Redwoods National and State Parks, and then onward to Crater Lake Park, and Bend, Oregon. After Bend, we drove through Timberline lodge for a cup of soup and a view of the mountains- and then returned Timothy to his family in Washington State, where we became regular Americans in normalish size cars once again (also on loan from the Whites and Paul’s sister, Ruth).
It was a charmed time for us, getting to see California the way we think of it- by car, with immense trees, picturesque mountains and rocky beaches stretched out for miles. It was a 1000+ mile love letter to the wilds of the West Coast and we are thankful for that gift. We’ll be back some day but for now it’s memory will have to keep us cool as we swelter 12 degrees above the equator.
with love,
Paul and Lindsay
Our road trip-
TIBURON MARINO 