VAN LIFE

After hiking the Appalachian Trail I was looking for a way to minimize my stuff and maximize my life and #VanLife seemed like the ideal solution. In 2014 I moved into a self-built Honda Element home and lived on the streets of Santa Barbara, California while holding down a regular job and serving as the youngest Club President of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara. In 2015 I upgraded to a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia campervan, secured a Digital Nomad income stream, quit my job, and hit the road to travel full-time. For 3 years I crisscrossed North Ameican in Tantor the VW van visiting friends and family and having adventures including driving the Trans-Canada Highway, camping in the Florida Keys, and getting to know a few tow truck drivers due to breakdowns along the way.


Van Life Videos

1985 Volkswagen Westy Tour

VanLife Shower

VanLife Shower


Van Life Highlights

Living in my Honda Element

Home Sweet Honda

Published: October 2, 2014

2015 Road Trip Map

2015 Road Trip

Published: January 11, 2016

Getting My Trail Legs - Springer Mountain

Me Tarzan. Meet Tantor.

Published: June 5, 2015

Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway

Published: February 23, 2017


All Van Life Posts

Western Ramblin'

Western Ramblin’

Published:
The summer kicked off with Born To Run and was quickly followed by Race Across America. I enjoyed both, but was looking forward to hitting the open road with less…
Read More Western Ramblin’
Sedona VanLife

Winter Ramblings

Published:
The best way to ring in the New Year is to run a beer mile with your closest friends at midnight! Well, I’m not sure if that’s actually the best…
Read More Winter Ramblings
Westward Westy

Westward Westy

Published:
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Canada and driving through New England, but my heart, and Tantor’s motor, were both yearning for the place we feel most at home, the Southwest. Before…
Read More Westward Westy
Nuevo England

Nuevo England

Published:
I approached a federal border crossing one last time to bring an end to my Great Canadian Road Trip. I’d enjoyed bouncing between the United States and Canada all summer,…
Read More Nuevo England
2015 Around America

20,000 Miles

Published:
24,901 Miles – The distance around the earth 20,000 Miles – The distance I traveled in my van around the United States in 2015 In March of 2015 I bought…
Read More 20,000 Miles
Arizona Vans

Arizona

Published:
I could almost hear a sigh of relief from Tantor as we slowed to a park in front of Grandpa’s townhouse. 20,000 miles in 5 months was a lot to…
Read More Arizona
Go Westy Young Man

Go Westy Young Man

Published:
Leaving Florida I had 10 days until I needed to be in Arizona for Thanksgiving. It wasn’t a lot of time, considering that I wanted to see new cities, visit…
Read More Go Westy Young Man
Florida

Florida

Published:
I woke up sweating in a truck stop gas station just a mile north of the state line. The overnight temperatures hovered near 80, meaning I had a warm balmy…
Read More Florida
Georgia

Georgia

Published:
My first stop in Georgia was Hiawassee to see Jim and Maggie, our first “Trail Angels” on the Appalachian Trail in 2012. They had met us the day that we…
Read More Georgia
Appalachia

Appalachia

Published:
The day that I left Indiana I woke up on a couch in my buddy’s basement, which was good because it was below freezing inside my van in his driveway….
Read More Appalachia
VanLife Shower

VanLife Shower

Published:
I often get asked how I shower while living in a van. The best way to answer is to show you. Don’t worry, the video below is PG. #VanLife Shower…
Read More VanLife Shower
The Great Plains

The Great Plains

Published:
With Tantor back in running condition we were ready to cover some miles. I had a few more places I wanted to see in Wyoming and South Dakota, but then…
Read More The Great Plains
Broken in Bighorn

Broken in Bighorn

Published:
Sunday morning I woke up at 3:00 AM in a Walmart parking lot in Cody, Wyoming. “Am I moving too fast?” I pondered. “Should I slow down and enjoy this…
Read More Broken in Bighorn
Yellowstone Take 2

Yellowstone Take 2

Published:
On a crisp autumn morning I drove toward Yellowstone National Park through patchy clouds below snow capped peaks. My first visit to Yellowstone had been just one month ago, but…
Read More Yellowstone Take 2
Washington

Washington

Published:
I was looking forward to my visit to Seattle, partly because I had never been to the city, but mostly because my cousin Brad had just arrived in town for…
Read More Washington
Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast

Published:
It was late August and I’d been FunEmployed and living on the road for just over 2 months. Most of that time I’d been staying with family, sleeping indoors, with…
Read More Oregon Coast
Ashland Oregon

Ashland, Oregon

Published:
I drove east along the Oregon Trail and got lost in the nostalgia of sitting in the middle school computer lab, shooting pixilated deer, and praying that I wouldn’t drown…
Read More Ashland, Oregon
Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Published:
I left Breckenridge and drove north through Colorado and into Wyoming, covering 500 miles in a single day. It was more driving than I like to do in one stretch,…
Read More Yellowstone
Colorado

Colorado

Published:
My first month of FunEmployment was spent based in Arizona, as well as traveling to Michigan and the Appalachian Trail in New England. I had not slept in the van…
Read More Colorado
Big Sur

Re-Creating in Big Sur

Published:
Recreation. Re-Creation. To create anew, restore, refresh. As 2015 began, we knew that we not only needed adventure and recreation for the fun, but to also continually “re-create” ourselves, to…
Read More Re-Creating in Big Sur
Honda Element Camper

Home Sweet Honda

Published:
I wake up every morning with a weird sensation and a brief nightmare. In my half awake haze I see Matt Foley from Saturday Night Live standing above me saying…
Read More Home Sweet Honda
Summer Vagabonding

Summer Vagabonding

Published:
Vag·a·bond (ˈva-gə-ˌbänd) 1: moving from place to place without a fixed home: wandering 2: of, relating to, or characteristic of a wanderer My life changed a lot in 2014. I…
Read More Summer Vagabonding