VanSpace

6 months ago in a land far, far away: Our hearts raced and our minds filled with excitement as we realized we were pulling out of the driveway to our house for the last time.  This was it.  The moment we'd talked about for the last 2 years.  Happening.  Really.  We headed down the road in giddy anticipation for our first real night as van dwelling vagabonds.  So many realizations floated through my head as I piloted our new home out of suburbia.  Filled with euphoria, my focus shifted back and forth from the road to the windshield as oncoming headlights hit the glass and passed from bottom to top, bottom to top.  Each car making it's way past us on their rhythmic return to their assigned suburban plot.  We find our back door exit from the neighborhood and head down a dirt road to some camper-friendly public lands.  Street lights and houses fade in the dust behind us.   Read more

The gravel crackles under our tires as the van rolls slowly into it's spot and the engine shuts off.  It's quiet, but only for a moment as our ears adjust and the hum-drum-rumbles of the surrounding 18 wheelers fill the night air.  At first I find myself miffed by their inconsideration of my peaceful roadside moment, but within minutes my level of understanding raises along with the internal temperature of our van.