Hey Reader! For the past number of days, we've been bumming around the San Francisco Bay area in our campervan visiting friends and family, mountain biking and sailing. This is a wonderful place to visit,.....but not when you're in a camper. Every day, I relentlessly check the area's few campgrounds for cancellations. Full and booked. Every time. The only available campsites are at privately owned RV parks that are basically a parking lot - no beauty, no views - and charging over $100 per...
2 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader! This morning I woke up to a crazy text alert on my phone: "High Humidity Detected: 86%" 86% humidity is a whopper. We're at the boatyard in Puerto Peñasco in June, when the sea temp rises and drags the humidity right along with it. Not exactly comfortable conditions. I'm monitoring all this from my phone using a small cellular device called the Necto 4G Multisensor. I set upper and lower limits for heat and humidity, and it texts me the moment things go beyond those limits. No...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader! A lot of people wonder what the hardest part of van life is. And the answer might surprise you. It's not the lack of hot running water, washing machine, full-size fridge, bathtub, or comfortable couch to rest and watch TV after a long day at work. It's not the dirt or inconveniences or tiny space. It's the uncertainty. The decision fatigue. The overwhelming aspect of trying to find all the parts and pieces to make living in a campervan work. Questions like: Where will I park and...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader! Every time I rent a camper in Europe and come back to the U.S., I notice the same thing. The small rigs over there just feel… better thought out. They’re easy to drive. Easy to park. And somehow still manage to feel comfortable inside. I’ve always wished we had more options like that here. And FINALLY. I’ve found one that makes the cut. In fact exceeds it. It’s made by Wingamm and is called the Oasi 610. Have you ever seen a 20 foot motorhome with a dry bath and a garage that can...
7 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader! When we first cast off on our CT-41 sailboat headed down to Mexico in 2020, we were so excited. There was a LOT to learn about cruising that differed from our simple sailing and anchoring around the San Francisco Bay, which we'd done since 2016. Looking back now, each frustration taught us something valuable about what it really takes to live and travel by boat. If you’re new to cruising — or just dreaming about it — these lessons will help you skip the headaches and sail with a...
9 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader! Just a couple weeks ago, I had no idea we were going to come back to Italy this year. But when Indie campers offered us a camper in exchange for a review on my blog, it was hard to refuse. Especially when I'm so into travel hacking with points that I found AMAZING flight deals using my Capital One Venture rewards card. (two one-way airfares on Air France from MSP-Venice for just $50 and 20,000 points). So, we booked the tickets and picked up the camper just five days later in...
10 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader! Yes, I live in a van, and no, I am not a huge fan of road trips. The long hours in the car, the researching where to camp, the meals on the go, searching for water to fill our tanks. I need exercise! I hate sitting around! But there is ONE THING that keeps me sane when we do our cross-country drives. And that is Planet Fitness. The Yuma, Arizona Planet Fitness No matter where we go in the U.S., we plan our routes and stops wherever there's a Planet Fitness. We can get out of the...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader! People love to ask me how I afford this life. Here are questions I get on my Facebook pages all the time: “Are you a trust fund baby?” “Do your parents pay for all this?” “Do you even pay taxes?” Yep, I’ve heard it all. The truth is, it took years of hard work, many moments of doubt, and learning a ton about online business to build the life I have now: traveling full-time in both a campervan and on a sailboat. In my latest blog post, I’m spilling the details on: The exact ways I...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader! As we journey north through the Sea of Cortez to haul our boat out at the boatyard, I'm starting to think about summer van life adventures. I'm looking forward to easy access to hiking, jogging, and mountain biking, things that are harder to achieve with sailboat life. By the way, if you don't have a van yet, I HIGHLY recommend renting one before buying. Check out this offer from Escape Campervans: SPONSOR Looking for an affordable, well-equipped campervan for summer adventures?...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read