Background
Our story started with two engineers dreaming of traveling around North America while still working full time. This progressed into buying a Ford Transit cargo van and converting it into a tiny space that we could live, work, and adventure from. After having worked on the van for six months, we hit the road and have been traveling ever since!
Timeline
February 2015: Started dreaming about traveling around the country.
January 2017: Began planning it all out.
January 24, 2017: Bought a Ford Transit cargo van.
February 2, 2017: Started converting the van into a camper van.
September 4, 2017: Finished the conversion.
September 8, 2017: Started traveling and living/working from the van full time.
Currently: Headed north along Highway 1 in California.
Where Have We Been?
Story Log
Kazumura Cave
Kazumura 🌋 40.7 mi (65.5 km) long and 3,614 ft (1,102 m) deep, making it the worlds longest and deepest lava tube.
Montenegro Aerodrom
Made it to Montenegro 🇲🇪. Hopefully this train station 🚂 gets us where we’re trying to go!
Faustloch Cave
Faustloch | favorite Swiss 🇨🇭 cave thus far!
Gastlosen Hike
Gastlosen - such an inspiring place to go climb 🏔. . .
Faustloch Cave Hut
It’s in the mountains where deeper roots are grown and you become more grounded in reality. . .
Heading Up Highway 1
Continuing to head up the California coast along Highway 1 🌾🌊⛰.
We Found Some Slimy Green Stuff
Found some green algae at Green Wood State Beach. . .
Dune Hiking at Manchester State Park
We hiked through the sand dunes 🌾 and came across this view. . .
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These sorts of places make us so happy 😌. No development, just nature 🌊.
Sea Caves at Greenwood State Beach
It has been foggy and drizzling off and on the past week, but there are still more sea caves to explore!
It’s Getting Warmer
We were exploring the land from the sky today and found this photo still on the SD card from back when we were in Sedona.
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It had snowed ❄️ that morning and melted by the afternoon. Nonetheless, it was still a very cold day. Happy for the winter temperatures to be past us mostly because we can have our doors open when working in the van 🚐.
Nature
Mohawk caterpillar! 🐛
Found a Sinkhole
Philip found a sinkhole via satellite 🛰 images! Does it go?!
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Kind of. . . You could see a small sliver of light throughout the whole passage, so it wasn’t truly a cave. But, none the less, a very fascinating geologic find. Probably our favorite sea cave we’ve ever seen. We did however find a troglossen. There was a sea otter playing around in the cave.
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Troglossen: an animal that ends up living in a cave by chance and has never adapted to actual cave life.
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Can you spot the two sinkholes on the map 🗺?
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. . .excited to be heading to Europe in a couple weeks to find the real thing!
The People Here Have It Figured Out
The geology is changing, making for more solid rock, and the coastline is becoming more rugged. The towns are rustic, and the people spend more time nursing their friendships than keeping up with mainstream society, many being associated with counterculture groups. The land is heavily forested 🌲🌲, with little development. We are beginning to fall in love with northern California, in the same way we did the Sierra, but for different reasons.
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The people are as burly as Mainers, witnessing a dozen or so swimming 🏊♀️ in the 50F rivers with no wetsuits on. As friendly as southwest Virginians, opening their home to you mid-conversation. The homes are small and quaint, with moss growing on rooves, but each has the equivalent of a botanical garden 🌺🌿🌸 in its’ front yard. At first glance, the people may not come across as wealthy, but once you get to talking with them, you’ll soon realize that they are wealthier than the kings and queens, in the freedom they have as free spirits. The people here have figured it out 😊!
Anderson Valley Brewery
Enjoying Anderson Valley’s Framboise Rose 🌹 Gose on a beautiful sunny day ☀️. This may be one of my all-time favorite beers 🍻. . .
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As we were heading towards the coast, we drove through Boonville, and saw that Anderson Valley Brewing was located here. We immediately decided to stay for the night and head over to the brewery the next day after work. What a wonderful little town.
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While in Boonville, we started talking to a woman from Mendocino. Towards the end of the conversation, she invited us to come stay at her house. . .parking our van in her field of flowers 🌼🌸. It is these sorts of interactions with strangers that make us want to give back more and be kinder people to others.
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It’s funny how much more common these sorts of interactions are in small towns than big cities. . .
Visiting Family – Lake Tahoe
Looking out on Lake Tahoe from Sand Point. . .