Wrapping up and Back to VanLife

Officially hitting the road for summer  We spent our last few days in town trying to wrap up projects...which proved a lesson in patience and acceptance with the current condition of my back.  Don't get me wrong... I'm just happy to feel mostly human again and to be walking upright like post-neanderthal man, but it's tough having to ask someone to carry anything thats over 10lbs for me.

Beg borrowed and stole key hours from a few friends to help pour the last remaining concrete countertop for the garage.  A long-outstanding item that we couldn't wait to have done but somehow kept getting postponed for other projects over the last few years.  Between the pouring and moving into place I have any number of huge favors to repay to amazing friends.

We got the counters installed just before a film crew arrived at our house the next morning. Funny story... but essentially a carry over from our goal of doing things that terrify us.  Houzz contacted us a month or two ago and asked if they could do a quick video of our space to share on HouzzTV.  We of course said they could and blocked out the dates; but somehow missed the fact that they would want us present as well.

A few days before filming we get an email asking us to show up at a certain time, suggesting certain colors etc.  "Wait, what now??" Apparently the segment was supposed to be about both us and our space.  Yikes! A podcast was one thing, but being on camera tapped into our inner nerves like nothing else.

Fun to see and experience how these things work "behind the scenes" but would have been far better if we were the ones holding the cameras pointed at someone else.  Also pretty awesome to see how they paired down 10 hours of filming into a 6 minute segment that tells the whole story.  All new experiences for us, but maybe not ones we need to relive anytime soon.

Luckily, the crew was great (likely will remain new friends after coaching us through this experience) and we actually had a pretty good time of it by the end of the day.  If you want a good laugh, you can see the final (much edited, I assure you) video about our garage-turned-home here on Houzz.  If we seem nervous... that would be because we were.  Freaked out and just trying to hold it together is probably closer.

After that we got back to work on the Sprinter, finished up the roof rack and awning install and tried to get a few more cabinet/storage additions made.  Slow progress and certainly not where we would like to be before heading out for a summer of living out of the van...but not enough missing to stop us from going either.

We have no electrical (though we mounted the solar panel on the rack in case we get a chance to wire it up while in route), no stove, no fridge, no insulation...but the bed is comfortable, we have privacy and we can make coffee...so I think we'll be just fine.

Hopefully we can wrap up a few of those other items from the road.  Im sure we'll be spending plenty of time at the marine stores and I cant wait to make the home-on-wheels a bit more complete.

The process of building out the van keeps taking me back to the days we spent prepping the bus for our adventure south, but things are so different these days.  There is none of the stress or fear or worries about what's to come.  The life change portion of our prep is a distant memory and despite the similarities of packing up and moving into our vehicle this simply seems like a road trip.  We have the home base to come back to whenever we want or choose it, we have friends and family that will bring us back and forth constantly, we just merely want to make sure we are taking full advantage of every day in the middle.  Exploring, traveling, seeing new things and new places, and taking advantage of the work we've done over the last few years.

The storfa parents came to town to see their grandson again and the timing worked out perfectly for us to steal away for another wine-tasting day with them in the valley.  Combine that with a few dinners, a poker party and some well-timed happy hours and we got to see many people before leaving town.  Sadly, everyone is busy...so we don't get the time with them that we truly crave...but all the more reason to head out and explore for the summer.

Luckily, we also have plans to return in a few weeks for SprinterFest, so easy enough for us to plan further get togethers in the near future.  Love a low-stress and low-thought requirement departure!  Next stop- Okanagan Valley, BC!