WanderingScribe
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- Nov 15, 2016
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Well, I guess I've been lurking and reading here long enough and I should finally say hi and thank you. This forum has been a huge source of inspiration for me, and now I'm in the thick of this van dwelling thing (the preparation anyway), so I wanted to share it and start contributing. I'm a little shy, which is why it took me so long, though you probably wouldn't think so from the long post I'm about to write.
Let's see where to start? I've always been adventurous, ready to follow what I consider signs from the universe or simply my own desires and dreams. Grew up on a farm, oldest of four kids [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] probably where a lot of my fiercely independent nature comes from. When I was 27, I moved to Austin, Texas, without knowing anyone there, without a job, and with only $1,500 to my name. Me and my cat Rosco P. Coltrane. In my Jeep with just what would fit inside. We traveled from Tennessee to the Wild West and set up shop. I played for quite a while, just working in restaurants and soaking up all the life there. Then around 30, I started getting serious about my "career."
I'd worked at newspapers in high school, thru college and for a while after, and I answered an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to copy edit web content. Got the job, edited the work of freelance writers creating how-tos for the growing internet. I worked for an amazing man who never wore shoes, and eventually the company was sold to another in California, making him rich and leaving him with time to write books and give TEDx Talks. From there, I started freelance editing from home for the company in California and then others.
It didn't take long for it to occur to me that I wasn't tied to any one location. I could be anywhere! Moving from place to place. So I started dreaming about living in an RV. Added it to my vision board. Met a guy in Oklahoma and got sidetracked. (Foreshadowing: When I first met him and started falling in love, the song I would play on repeat while I lay in my bed and dreamed about the future was "Free" by Zac Brown Band. Great song [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] check it out (). Anyway, the lyrics go, "So we live out in our old van, Travel all across this land, Me and you, We'll end up hand in hand, Somewhere down on the sand, Me and you, Just as free, Free as we'll ever be.")
Unfortunately, it turned out he didn't like leaving the house all that much, and we only ever slept away from home together two nights in four years, and those were camping trips to his dad's land out in the country and another buddy's family spread. Which were awesome times actually, and I started dreaming of homesteading and building our own place. I kept myself occupied with friends, community gardens, starting up our own garden, playing house.
But, alas, the urge to get out there, see things and be on the move returned. At this point, I was 38 and I was reading "Walden on Wheels" by Ken Ilgunas. In it, he mentions Bob Wells. So I look him up. I was instantly enthralled, and that's how I found you guys. I couldn't stop reading and watching videos. I've made one great friend already (shout out to Laura/GypsyCamp Studio) and know I'll make many more.
Sometime last summer, I started a notebook of van build ideas and decided I'd need $10,000 to make this happen (including the van itself, modifications and an emergency fund). So I started saving. I got a couple thousand under my belt and was constantly looking at vans for sale. There weren't many available where I was, and I needed to buy a car to be able to even go look at them, plus I wanted to visit my family in Mississippi and Tennessee for Christmas.
I'd overshot what I could do and how fast I could do it, thinking I might have a van and be at RTR 2017 in January. Anyway, I bought an old Honda Accord in December and roadtripped to see family for a couple weeks over the holidays. Got back to Oklahoma, imagined getting some more money together by summer and going down to Austin, where there were lots of vans for sale and I have friends I could stay with until I found one. I also decided to ask the universe to help me out. And lo and behold, it did!
My beautiful baby sister knew all about my dream, and one day we found a perfect van for sale on Craigslist in the town where she and my parents live in Tennessee, a relatively small town. She called about it for me, and it turned out to be sitting within walking distance of my parent's house. She and my dad checked it out, test drove it, sent me pictures, and I thought about it overnight. My sister said she had the cash to buy it and I could head there and pay her back. It was a repo, a big beautiful white beast of a van, a 1992 Dodge Ram high-top conversion with only 89,000 miles. The next day, she haggled with the seller and got it for $1,300!
I told my boyfriend I was leaving and I was sorry (a story for another forum category, maybe Matters of the Heart). I loaded my little Honda (for which I paid $1,000 back in December) with all my possessions and my dog Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, and I hit the road for Tennessee. I'd made some improvements to Accordia and listed her on Craigslist for $1,500 when I got here. I got a call within 10 minutes, and I gladly took $1,300 from the sweet guy who came for her an hour later.) So it was an even trade of Accordia for the Great White Beast (I'm trying to find a prettier name or at least nickname for her because she really is a beauty in my book [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] but I like the strength and reliability that Great White Beast infers).
I've been at my parent's almost a month working on her in between editing sessions. Today, I cleaned up some carpet glue from the barn door well in preparation for laying wood-look vinyl flooring. (Man, I forgot to take a before picture. Tip of the day: Acetone [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] aka heavy-duty nail polish remover [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] removes carpet glue; Goo Gone does not.) I'll start a new thread on my build too. I'm extremely lucky and my dad is the handiest man on earth [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] he's been helping and advising me tons. Most fortunately, he has all the tools needed [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] including some I didn't even know existed, but I'm learning. At any rate, besides this floor thing, I will keep the build as simple as possible.
I'm hoping, no planning, to be on the road by May 1. I'll spend May visiting family and friends as I make my way to Flagstaff for the potential summer RTR. I plan to celebrate my 40th birthday (!) with friends in Austin at the end of May. I'm both terrified and more excited than I can ever remember being. First one and then the other until I remember that my thoughts create my reality and my emotions. So I decided to write this post, knowing it would get me back on the excited track. I'm so glad this forum exists to share my adventures with like-minded folks and hopefully encourage anyone else who has a dream.
~Beverly
Let's see where to start? I've always been adventurous, ready to follow what I consider signs from the universe or simply my own desires and dreams. Grew up on a farm, oldest of four kids [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] probably where a lot of my fiercely independent nature comes from. When I was 27, I moved to Austin, Texas, without knowing anyone there, without a job, and with only $1,500 to my name. Me and my cat Rosco P. Coltrane. In my Jeep with just what would fit inside. We traveled from Tennessee to the Wild West and set up shop. I played for quite a while, just working in restaurants and soaking up all the life there. Then around 30, I started getting serious about my "career."
I'd worked at newspapers in high school, thru college and for a while after, and I answered an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to copy edit web content. Got the job, edited the work of freelance writers creating how-tos for the growing internet. I worked for an amazing man who never wore shoes, and eventually the company was sold to another in California, making him rich and leaving him with time to write books and give TEDx Talks. From there, I started freelance editing from home for the company in California and then others.
It didn't take long for it to occur to me that I wasn't tied to any one location. I could be anywhere! Moving from place to place. So I started dreaming about living in an RV. Added it to my vision board. Met a guy in Oklahoma and got sidetracked. (Foreshadowing: When I first met him and started falling in love, the song I would play on repeat while I lay in my bed and dreamed about the future was "Free" by Zac Brown Band. Great song [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] check it out (). Anyway, the lyrics go, "So we live out in our old van, Travel all across this land, Me and you, We'll end up hand in hand, Somewhere down on the sand, Me and you, Just as free, Free as we'll ever be.")
Unfortunately, it turned out he didn't like leaving the house all that much, and we only ever slept away from home together two nights in four years, and those were camping trips to his dad's land out in the country and another buddy's family spread. Which were awesome times actually, and I started dreaming of homesteading and building our own place. I kept myself occupied with friends, community gardens, starting up our own garden, playing house.
But, alas, the urge to get out there, see things and be on the move returned. At this point, I was 38 and I was reading "Walden on Wheels" by Ken Ilgunas. In it, he mentions Bob Wells. So I look him up. I was instantly enthralled, and that's how I found you guys. I couldn't stop reading and watching videos. I've made one great friend already (shout out to Laura/GypsyCamp Studio) and know I'll make many more.
Sometime last summer, I started a notebook of van build ideas and decided I'd need $10,000 to make this happen (including the van itself, modifications and an emergency fund). So I started saving. I got a couple thousand under my belt and was constantly looking at vans for sale. There weren't many available where I was, and I needed to buy a car to be able to even go look at them, plus I wanted to visit my family in Mississippi and Tennessee for Christmas.
I'd overshot what I could do and how fast I could do it, thinking I might have a van and be at RTR 2017 in January. Anyway, I bought an old Honda Accord in December and roadtripped to see family for a couple weeks over the holidays. Got back to Oklahoma, imagined getting some more money together by summer and going down to Austin, where there were lots of vans for sale and I have friends I could stay with until I found one. I also decided to ask the universe to help me out. And lo and behold, it did!
My beautiful baby sister knew all about my dream, and one day we found a perfect van for sale on Craigslist in the town where she and my parents live in Tennessee, a relatively small town. She called about it for me, and it turned out to be sitting within walking distance of my parent's house. She and my dad checked it out, test drove it, sent me pictures, and I thought about it overnight. My sister said she had the cash to buy it and I could head there and pay her back. It was a repo, a big beautiful white beast of a van, a 1992 Dodge Ram high-top conversion with only 89,000 miles. The next day, she haggled with the seller and got it for $1,300!
I told my boyfriend I was leaving and I was sorry (a story for another forum category, maybe Matters of the Heart). I loaded my little Honda (for which I paid $1,000 back in December) with all my possessions and my dog Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, and I hit the road for Tennessee. I'd made some improvements to Accordia and listed her on Craigslist for $1,500 when I got here. I got a call within 10 minutes, and I gladly took $1,300 from the sweet guy who came for her an hour later.) So it was an even trade of Accordia for the Great White Beast (I'm trying to find a prettier name or at least nickname for her because she really is a beauty in my book [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] but I like the strength and reliability that Great White Beast infers).
I've been at my parent's almost a month working on her in between editing sessions. Today, I cleaned up some carpet glue from the barn door well in preparation for laying wood-look vinyl flooring. (Man, I forgot to take a before picture. Tip of the day: Acetone [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] aka heavy-duty nail polish remover [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] removes carpet glue; Goo Gone does not.) I'll start a new thread on my build too. I'm extremely lucky and my dad is the handiest man on earth [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] he's been helping and advising me tons. Most fortunately, he has all the tools needed [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]—[/font] including some I didn't even know existed, but I'm learning. At any rate, besides this floor thing, I will keep the build as simple as possible.
I'm hoping, no planning, to be on the road by May 1. I'll spend May visiting family and friends as I make my way to Flagstaff for the potential summer RTR. I plan to celebrate my 40th birthday (!) with friends in Austin at the end of May. I'm both terrified and more excited than I can ever remember being. First one and then the other until I remember that my thoughts create my reality and my emotions. So I decided to write this post, knowing it would get me back on the excited track. I'm so glad this forum exists to share my adventures with like-minded folks and hopefully encourage anyone else who has a dream.
~Beverly
