Chapter

Vanlife

Minivan nights.

Not your ordinary high schooler's dream car — and honestly, the best decision I ever made.

The van build — hardwood floor and sleeping platform

The story

My parents gave me a great gift in high school — the option to pick my own car. One rule: keep it under 10,000 or cover the rest myself. While everyone else was eyeing a Prius or a Subaru or the classic surfer Toyota 4Runner, I went a different direction entirely.

I got my dream car: a 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan. The logic was simple, you can either have a car that you can drive or have a car that you can drive, looks cool, and also you can sleep in. It was for long that I was gutting the rear seats, building a utterly overengineered wood floor and bed. Instant camper van. "Karen" and I charged the sand at Grover beach, the terible dirt roads on sunrise highway, the desert at Dove Springs, and the Snow at Big Bear and Mammoth. All with Free lodging every night :)

Best decision ever.

Some of the many Photos + notes

The night at San Simeon before my first bikeride through Big Sur. We hosted "Bagel" the stray dog who really liked bagels.

Desert stars, campfire, good people after an epic Field Studies Mammoth trip.

$Surf day — board in the van, YETI loaded$

Board's in, backpacking backpack ready. PCH road trip here we.

Woke up on top of the misty Redwood Forest.

The build. Hardwood floors, raised bed, memory foam. Only if we knew then the adventures we'd get into.

Notes

When you simplify your space, you simplify your mind. Turns out you don't need much — just somewhere to sleep and somewhere/one worth waking up for.