Van life is calling me! It has been for a number of years if I am being completely honest with myself. Camping has always been a part of my life, in fact at one point when life was most challenging as a kid, my family lived in a campground. As I grew older, I moved away from many of the things about my youth that I was frustrated about and relived many of the opportunities the I felt were missed from my family’s rules.
For instance, when I first moved out, I would buy whole gallons of milk and drink them straight out of the container. Because when I was a kid, milk was one of the many things that was rationed and heavily monitored in our household. It was expensive, and I really don’t know how my parents made ends meet, especially with me sneaking milk in the middle of the night (uh-oh, now they know! Sorry, mom!). On the flip side, things like camping that we did regularly, was something I moved away from once I began creating my own life.
My love affair with Mother Nature is at its height when I am standing with my feet in the ocean and staring off into the endless horizon of waves crashing upon me, and camping for many years was something I wasn’t really interested in. I am sure there is something deeper about it that I still need unpack but in short, I just felt like I had done enough of that, and not necessarily by choice. However, over the past 5-10 years we have been camping at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey when we attend the races. Those 2-3 times a year turned into an itch that seems to never go away.
Camping at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.
A couple years back I picked up a 2008 Honda Element SC and the ability to have a place to sleep in the back as made for some pretty fun road trips up and down the California coast. With the OEM pop-tent/cabana for the back, I can fit a folding twin mattress (this is the one I bought) and other than the chill from the breeze through the cabana, it’s been amazing. Although if you have a non-SC model Element, it would be even better, as the factory rear wing on the Element SC causes for an awkward fit. Nonetheless, it has been awesome to own an Element and it has me eyeing the next move towards #VANLIFE, so expect some updates on what I am looking at in the coming months as I continue my journey towards mobile living. As I said, van life is calling me!