Four years ago today, we left our home in San Francisco with two backpacks and our best friend Holly. And just a few weeks ago, we unceremoniously returned our minivan camper Red Delicious back into a regular ol’ minivan and moved to Santa Barbara.     We transitioned hard and fast into “normal” life: we have a “real” bed and “real” kitchen now. A lot of people have been curious to know, how are we handling it? I’ll tell you in a moment. But first, I wanted to make something super clear: hitting the road is the best decision we’ve ever made! (We may even do it again one da ..read more

When we first planned to travel by van, we had no idea whether we’d love it or hate it. It’s one of the reasons we kept our minivan conversion very simple: if we only traveled for a few months, it would be easy to turn the van back into a car and sell it. Now that we’re winding down our van travels, we can step back and evaluate what we’d do differently. Chris and I recently asked each other, if we were starting today, what would we change? We don’t regret our van travels, but there are certainly things we could’ve done better. Knowing what we know now, here’s what we would have done: Invested ..read more

Red Delicious is retiring. That’s right: Beginning September 1, we will no longer be van-dwellers or full-time travelers. We’ll have been on the road for four years, with nearly three of them in our van. For those of you considering van life, do not despair! We have loved adventuring and do not regret van-dwelling at all. But we always said we’d do it until we didn’t want to anymore or if it became unsustainable. We’re now at that point. One of the things that has been so rewarding about our travels is hearing from all of you. It gives us a thrill every time someone learns from our e ..read more

Looking back on our two and a half years of van travel, there are six stretches we especially enjoyed. All of this is highly subjective, of course. But people often ask us, “What are your favorite places you’ve been?” And we find that the same answers pop up. So, without further ado, our favorite U.S. road trips:   1. Dark Skies and Red Rocks The Route Great Basin National Park > Moab, UT > Capitol Reef National Park > Bryce Canyon National Park > Zion National Park > Las Vegas, NV Why We Loved It Piety and sin, all against a backdrop of dramatic desert with red rocks you ..read more

Van life isn’t always fun. Hip Instagram portrayals make it seem like one long, perfect, carefree daydream. We think van living is pretty great… except when it’s not. Sometimes, van living sucks. Sometimes, you don’t wake up to ocean waves or a bucolic park — you wake up outside a Walmart. It’s really important to us to be honest with you about van-dwelling and full-time travel. It’s an awesome adventure, yes, but not a vacation. (In fact, when we need a vacation, we find an apartment and do boring things like make frozen pizza and read clickbait.) If you are preparing to set out in ..read more

When you have a two-burner propane stove — and the occasional campfire — what are your meal options? We struggled with this when we first started van-dwelling. Most camping recipes involve preparing something in a full kitchen in a house, then reheating it at the campground. Or food for 8-year-olds who only eat hot dogs and hate vegetables. Regular cookbooks don’t help either, because they call for ovens or fully stocked pantries.     If you need some inspiration, these are the dishes we find ourselves coming back to time and time again. Note that we skipped the obvious things ..read more

If you’re not familiar with IAmA on reddit, it’s when someone says who they are and encourages users to AMA, or “Ask me anything.” It usually looks something like this: I am a van-dweller who has lived in a minivan-turned-camper for 2+ years while traveling full time. AMA There are so many questions we get about the miscellaneous ins and outs of van living that we thought we’d dedicate a whole post and comments section to your questions. So ask me and Chris anything! We’ll start with some questions we’ve gotten from our email subscribers and friends on Facebook. &nbs ..read more

It’s not polite to talk about money, is it? But, hands down, the most popular thing friends and strangers ask is: How the heck can you afford to travel full time? The point of this blog is to make full-time van travel feel more accessible, so we’re disregarding what is polite and tasteful in favor of letting you take a peek behind the curtain. Besides, we’ve mentioned pee jars on multiple occasions, which is probably more impolite and tasteless… Our hope is that sharing our story helps you figure out how to make full-time travel sustainable for you.   The best things in ..read more

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve been living the van life for TWO YEARS. Here we are, about to embark in January 2015. So fresh-faced and full of anticipation!     Since then, we’ve put 53,000 miles on Red Delicious. We’ve visited breathtaking national parks, hiked hundreds of miles, said tearful goodbyes to our best furry friend, prepared countless meals on a two-burner camp stove, struggled to find good showers, slept in Walmart parking lots, met lots of snowbirds, run businesses while on the road, and worked as farmhands and pet sitters in exchange for shelter. It still feels like ..read more

You live in a van and have unreliable refrigeration — or none at all. Which foods should you keep in your van? This is an adjustment for people used to house-dwelling. A fridge and freezer make perishables possible for longer. One thing we’ve noticed about folks our parents’ age is a love of buying lots of meat and stocking it in the freezer. Chris and I love things like yogurt and hummus, and relied heavily on refrigerators to enjoy them for days on end.   Couscous cooks quickly and is a tasty side to sauteed greens and rotisserie chicken   Van-dwelling poses a challenge ..read more