Giving Thanks
and (a lot) more shop time... We took a few much needed days off to enjoy the holiday with friends. It was a much needed break from our current schedule, and it was so great to soak up days on end with loved ones playing games, cooking, eating and drinking together. We are so thankful to have such amazing people in our lives, even if we don't see them often enough!
Otherwise... we've still been leading the not-so-very-exciting life of long days spent in the shop. Sadly, for those of you not interested in the build details our home on wheels...I realized we really haven't been anywhere or done anything else, so the exciting photos are few and far between.
Our typical day seems to be waking up on a random street, driving to the shop to pull the van inside as soon as they open in the morning, working until 6 or 7 pm, picking a neighborhood we want to park in for the night (typically based on a meal or an activity/entertainment nearby), setting the van up for "stealth mode", walking to grab a bite to eat or a drink nearby and crashing in van.
It's far from luxurious or the exciting something-new-everyday lifestyle we seemed to be experiencing in BC all summer...but it's getting the job done (slowly).
In the shop Jen has been point on making templates for the door and wall panels. I then follow behind her and make the final pieces out of bamboo.
Its a simple and gratifying task as the van looks immediately more complete and homelike as soon as each one is screwed into place.
I've also been working on the slats that will make up our ceiling. This seemed like a simple job before i started (in fact, we chose this technique largely because on top of looking good I thought it would be quicker than trying to template out a giant panel that covered the whole ceiling). Days of tweaking later I realized the error in my ways... but i am happy with the result (finally)!
We have also started diving more into the details of our layout/space. Solving what will live where, planning the infill/walls of our cabinets once the aluminum frames are finished, and prototyping possibilities for making the curves that i planned into the cabinets oh so long ago.
Our biggest decisions are simply whether to make the bamboo walls by building up layers to create a "structural" curve, or merely bending a "skin" more like we did back when we were building the teardrop. Wow that seems forever ago now!
We also took a few hours/days off to see old friends, catch a show/watch a game...but we haven't exactly been living up to that focus on balance i seem to talk so much about. Earlier this week we drove down to Eugene to pick up the components of our electrical system and i realized its probably the first time since driving the bus down to cali that we haven't stopped along the way during a road trip to catch some sites or enjoy ourselves.
The electrical kit seems like it will easily be the single most expensive part of our build, but Im excited to get everything in the van and start reaping the benefits. We'll likely be wrapping the boxes up and putting them under the tree at christmas... merry electrical christmas to us!!
I remember these days well from back when we were living in Vancouver and prepping for our trip south. We were still working insane hours at our jobs and racing home each afternoon to change, pull the bus onto a back road and work feverishly to get as much done as we could before dark (or before the batteries died on our portable jigsaw).
At least this time we have a full shop at our disposal. And this time we know the trip will only last a few months rather expecting to be away for 2 years. It makes things easier knowing that we can simply drive away later this month even if things aren't finished.
We're also used to this lifestyle now. There is no longer the need to know everything or solve everything before hitting the road. It's become normalcy now. All we're doing is trying to make our home a bit more beautiful and comfortable than it was before.
The only real question is whether this winter thing is for us. Whether we will enjoy a few months in the snow, hopping from resort to resort and logging hours on the lifts and slopes...or whether we get a few weeks/resorts into the journey and realize we would way prefer to be basking in the sun somewhere on a beach... I guess the good news is- it's never that far of a drive back to mexico! ;)