Originally written on October 24, 2018
Personal Hygiene
Try to keep yourself clean.
You can’t escape the duties of personal hygiene just because you’re living in a van.
Hot showers are glorious.
You don’t need nearly as many showers per week as you might think.
A hot shower is a real luxury.
Our Sprinter Starship
An RV has a life of its own - many admirers. It also makes sounds at night and at all times (e.g. heating systems, refrigerator and water pumps).
RV coach systems, no matter how well designed, will act quirky. The bumps and jangles of the vehicle due to travel tends to upset electronics and whatnot.
It’s okay for your RV bed to double as a dinner table, a movie theater, a work office, a yoga studio, a seat near the campfire, a wildlife viewing station, and the list goes on.
Our Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van home is sexy and we know it. This helps us both stick out and blend in with our surroundings, depending on the locale we’re visiting.
The small space of our van life home (it’s literally a small hallway and bed) encourages immediacy in our behavior: e.g. dishes get done right away, because if they sit piled up in the sink, then we cannot drive without them flying around, and they take up too much of our “standing desk” kitchen workspace; if we don’t make our bed or put away our clothing, then our entire home looks a mess, and again, multi-use spaces then become single use storage spots, so we tend to put things away immediately after taking them out
Culture
Our first concrete understanding of the West Coast (besides its unarguable geologic beauty) is that it’s made up of three critical ingredients (in other words, you see these everywhere in plentitude): Coffee Shops, Breweries, and Dispensaries
Subway is eVeRyWheRe! And so is Burger King, McDonalds, Walmart, Starbucks, and pizza shops. And, there’s other weird fast food chains we’ve never heard of, like Wienerschnitzel, the world’s largest hot dog chain.
Don’t let the storefronts fool you (commerce is commerce is commerce is commerce).
Homelessness is a real problem in our country, and more noticeable and plentiful in temperate weather environments. It is heartbreaking to see, and we’re not sure how to help.
Nomadic Life
Water is the most important commodity.
We have a more intimate relationship with the waste we produce (garbage bag hanging in hallway, the necessity of dumping our black and gray water tanks every few days).
Humans produce A LOT of waste (both organic and non-organic) and someone/something must take care of all that waste (e.g. campground dumping system, garbage dumpsters that companies pay to have others haul away, garbage bins in shopping plazas that employees must tend to, etc).
Our shit really does stink.
The multitude of moments, in van life, where you feel or experience something new is certainly a draw and an enjoyment. Just as exciting is also the opportunity to become familiar with a locale, to get to know a place and develop a routine there.
California campgrounds offer en route camping which is so helpful for those who don’t plan ahead (ahem..) and for busy summer months when campsites are all booked up.
It is harder to recycle ♻️ bottles and cans and paper when living nomadically.
The idea of having a bonfire in your boondocking spot every night (in places where fires are allowed) is so thrilling and fun, yet in reality, the strong smoke stench that remains on your clothing for days later is less than desirable.
Smart wool clothing yields the most utility for long stretches of time without needing to be washed (doesn’t hold scents, doesn’t wrinkle, keeps its shape, wicks away moisture).
Living nomadically, we spend a lot more time looking at the stars.
There is an aspect of immediacy in the lifestyle we live,
You ALWAYS need quarters (parking, campground showers, and laundry). I’m reminded of being in college again.
If you have money, you can pay to be comfortable.
Good boondocking spots are hard to leave.
Good boondocking spots have the following characteristics:
Privacy (allowing for outdoor shower, private yoga, ability to make noise without disturbing others)
Flat ground
Space to spread out
Away from a main road
Limited vehicular and commercial noise
Free (that’s the main characteristic of boondocking)
Not too far from downtown amenities
Vistas (a definite bonus!)
Close to hiking trails (a definite bonus!)
Great boondocking spots from the first 6.5 months of our nomadic life:
Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle, WA
Barker Pass Road, Tahoe City, CA
Sierra Vista Trailhead @ Organ Mountains National Monument, New Mexico
Sedona, Arizona - Forest Road 525C
New Understandings
Don’t mistake vehicular motion for personal growth. Different sights and states can awaken you, but it is your choice to become awakened or not. It is through your personal effort alone that patterns of behavior and thought can be transformed. It is a choice to see yourself honestly and to choose how you’d like to be. You can just as easily choose not to change, too. Whatever positively suits you, though I encourage you to make efforts toward growth. The effects of positive growth manifest in twofold! However you understand it, it’s your choice. Yours alone.
With what intent and perspective do you choose? For whom do you choose? Toward what goal or with what aim do you choose?
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It is easy to mistake comforts for necessities.
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Friendships on the road deepen quicker than those with friends you make back home. Whether you’re both living the nomadic lifestyle and connect on that unique level, or perhaps your new friend is a local who shows you the ropes - in either scenario, an immediate connection full of gratitude and meaning arises. Also, the fact that your time together is knowingly short, which also breeds feelings of closeness quicker than usual, as you’re more willing to commit time and energy toward one another knowing that it may be the last time you’ll ever see each other or talk. There is a freedom in that exchange which allows for more honesty. Take for instance the feeling I’ve had before, when traveling through parts unknown, of wearing whatever I damn well please (e.g. colorful knee-high socks, something more gender neutral, a clothing choice that is fashion-averse…) because I feel less of a servant to whatever culture resides there— I am a passerby, I am passing through, so I feel less obligation to conform to a cultural norm that shapes the people living there. I am less aware of it, too, so in this space of not knowing, I express my choices of fashion more easily. I like this feeling and the freedom that I give to myself, that is in large part provided by van-life.
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People genuinely desire to be helpful. When traveling, and arriving to a place as an outsider, this innate human trait becomes more noticeable. Locals, and those in the know, often like to provide tips on places to visit, or where to eat, and this exchange is enjoyable for both giver and receiver.