#vanlife

A quick little catch up, in case you haven’t been following along… Yes, we live on our sailboat year round, but when we returned to the States in April,  we decided to pick up a van. Originally, the plan was to buy another rental property and get it remodeled/rented during the summer. You know, to increase our beer budget. Unfortunately, the real estate market tanked in our area (actually, prices soared) in the few months it took us to get from the Bahamas, through Florida and settled back in Savannah.

That left us with the decision of what to do with the van!?  We bought it so that we’d have a work vehicle, and then hopefully be able to take a road trip.  With the rental off the table, we just skipped the remodel and made plans for a longer road trip.

Creepy Van

Creepy Van, as it was dubbed thanks to the cage in the back and bars on the windows, got a mini-conversion.  The bars and cage disappeared.  The residue from what was apparently a wrap on the van was removed, and the doors were repainted. With the exterior looking spiffy and the interior less menacing, we tackled the comfort level. Mark built a raised platform for the bed, I ordered a memory foam mattress from Amazon, and then we scavenged some key items from the boat.  Some of our favorite boat things to make the van less creepy and more comfortable?

As soon as we were loaded and ready to go, Mark picked up a boat delivery gig.  While he was off on a 100′ yacht delivery to Boston, Molly and I headed up to Alabama to visit with my family. No way I was putting our start to #vanlife on hold.  A few days later, Mark flew in and we were off!  Check out this post for the first half of our road trip.

Plans Changed. Shocker!

While we were in TX, a blog follower (hey Heather!) contacted us and asked if we wanted to stop by in Mississippi.  Because we were already aiming for New Orleans, Gautier (go-shay…) Mississippi was an easy stop.  Heather and Tom were both lovely – and thankfully, didn’t kill us in our sleep.  One fun fact we learned this summer?  Sailing people are amazing.

Gautier also happens to be the home of Sail Makers Supply.  And you know what?  Heather works there! What?!?  We made sure and stopped in on our way out of town.  I grabbed 10 yards of Sunbrella, some Phifertex and a super-cool floaty pillow that was made in the shop.  They have great prices – but on top of that, you can also get 10% off thru the end of the year.  Yes, you.  YOU can get 10% off.  So go shop. Code: RECOVER2017

With the van loaded, we headed along the gulf coast and back to Savannah.  The views of the gulf were amazing.  We took a bit of time to enjoy the beaches along the way and relax after the 24/7 hurricane stress.  Back in Savannah, I spent a couple of days provisioning the boat and, of course, changing plans again.  After watching the devastation of Harvey, Irma and Maria, we had decided to cancel our plans for the Annapolis Boat Show.  But that decision never set well with me.  The more I thought about it, the more I knew I NEEDED to go.  I can’t explain it.  But with no hotel, no tickets and nowhere to park the van, we still made it happen.  And while I sit here enjoying #vanlife on another 5 hour road trip, and could easily keep typing – I’m going to save The Annapolis Love Fest for my next post.  It deserves it’s own little place in blog history.

Up Next:

We are currently riding the high from the boat show and aimed for an early afternoon arrival in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Many, many weekends in our land lives were spent in Brevard – and we’re looking forward to one last adventure before heading back to Savannah, splashing Luna Sea and heading south to the Caribbean!  Stay tuned for a post on Annapolis as well as our last big push for supplies to help rebuild in the Virgin Islands.

About Author

Jennifer

Artist, food nerd, SUP/yoga enthusiast and travel obsessed blogger – chronicling the process of going from land to sea. Selling all of her worldly possessions so that she can set sail into the sunset with her husband and two dachshunds – searching for that next sunrise paddle. Follow along. It’ll be fun 🙂

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