Sprintervan builds - beachtime
a much needed break... After the last week of chaos trying to get the vans "put together" for our DWP events (combined with the news that our business partners have decided to move onto other things) it became abundantly clear that we needed a quick break in order to reset ourselves for the next big push.
Our "deadline" for these builds has always been the end of May, when we plan on taking both down to AZ for Overland Expo (which we experienced last year and know first-hand what a great event it is for launching a business like the one we're building)... but we know there's a ton of work to be done before then and were already completely exhausted.
It also seems like a really good time for a photo shoot because while the van isn't actually finished and functional, it does look really good put together even if its just faking it. Where better to recharge for a few days AND get a perfect backdrop for an overland van photo shoot.. the oregon coast of course!
We were thrilled, jubilent, maybe even giddy as soon as we came up with the idea, so we did the van-transfer we've been doing all to often these days and left town pointing west.
The weather couldn't have been better and as soon as our eyes saw the pacific we felt ourselves start to take a few deep breaths.
We still got a bit (a very very small bit) of work done on the van...a little bit of beach wiring and some awning adjustments...but mostly we did as much nothing as we could.
We spent an enormous amount of time staring at the ocean, much of it while in deep conversation about our lives, our business, our friends... and as always- where we go from here. This thing is still exciting, but its also turned into a 80+ hour job for both of us and has us moving at a rush that neither of us are comfortable with 24/7. Its not sustainable, and its certainly not the way we choose to live or work or play.
We didn't come up with any answers...and we're too deep in this to run away (even if thats what our history probably suggests we would do), but we also have a few more weeks of even more intense work than what we've been doing- and thats simply a terrifying thought.
We also know that after this weekend we have to pull the van(s) back apart. To get back underneath the wall panels and finish out the electrical and insulation and do the finishing work to seal and make sure all these beautiful panels stay beautiful longterm.
We knew it was coming... but after a few days looking at this van put together and clean and looking like a finished piece- that process of taking it all apart again is going to hurt. A LOT.
But we're ready... Or at the very least more ready than we were before staring at the ocean.
I'm so proud of us for realizing how badly we needed this. For making the tough decision to take few days off for us (in the middle of the maelstrom that has become our lives recently).
By the end of our weekend we were breathing deeply, we were smiling, and I might have even caught a glimpse of jen doing cartwheels and dancing/singing on the beach.
And that... that feeds my soul and that give me energy to finish these projects so we can get back to doing what we do best. To living simply day by day, traveling where and when we want, and focusing on happiness. We are still happy and beneath it all still having some fun... but the ideas of simplicity, peaceful thoughts, and slow wandering travel all seem very far away indeed recently.
