Van Life was a dream a long time in the making. I planned, imagined, and fantasized about what it would be like to travel the country in a van. I imagined simple living, days of freedom, and most importantly time to explore nature. Hiking, biking, paddle boarding, and so many other activities ran through my mind on a continuous loop. The funny part about it is that the idea of doing most of these things terrifies me. Hiking alone gives me visions of bear attacks, biking alone gives me visions of epic disasters leading to broken bones, and paddling boarding of course leads to visions of shark attacks. Are these fears rational, no. But do they still strongly influence my behavior? 100% yes!

Sometime in middle school I developed an irrational fear being attacked by a shark when I was swimming in the ocean. I don’t know if it was the movie Jaws or a crazy encounter I had with a barracuda during a school field trip that initiated the fear, but whatever the cause the fear is real. When my boys were young I wanted to give them the experiences of snorkeling, boating, and all things ocean but my fear would stand in the way. In 2015, I took my boys on an epic vacation to Oahu and Maui. When we were on the island of Maui I planned a trip to snorkel at Molokini Crater which is a partially submerged volcanic crater a few miles off the coast of Maui. This excursion would essentially have us snorkeling in the middle of the ocean. The night before our snorkel trip I hardly slept. I was so scared and kept imagining one of the boys getting attacked. So, why did I plan this activity? Well, because I didn’t want to pass my fears on to my children.

After a beautiful week with friends and several productive days with my oldest son, I felt ready to hit the road. It was exciting and bittersweet to say goodbye to my friends and a familiar place, but it was time to head out on my own. Being on the East Coast means camping mostly in campgrounds. While Lucy is set up for boon docking with her solar panels, Lithium batteries and DC powered devices, I didn’t feel quite ready for that big of an adventure. I figured starting at a campground was the best way to go.

On a side note, I have been holding off on posting these few weeks of adventures due to the effects of Hurricane Helene. My time spent in the mountains near Asheville, NC was amazing, but posting about those experiences didn’t feel right in the midst of the devastation the people there were experiencing. As a native Floridian, I am no stranger to Hurricanes and their aftermath, so I felt like waiting was the most respectful option. Most of the campgrounds I stayed at are up and running again. So, I am doing my best to highlight them in hopes supporting their businesses.

For the last 3 days I have been driving from the site of my epic melt down in Ohio to a friend’s home in North Carolina. Each of these days has been about 6-7 hours of driving which has been exhausting. Thankfully I borrowed some audiobooks from my library to keep me company on the way. During this drive, I have been trying really hard to focus on all of my small accomplishments and the positive experiences to boost my confidence and moral. Here are a few of the highlights.

• About an hour into my drive out of Ohio all of the traffic on the interstate came to a halt. At the time, I had no idea why we were stopping, but the drivers of the semi-trucks surrounding me put their rigs in park and hopped out. I figured this was a sign that we were going to be here for a while. My initial thought was I hope I have enough gas to wait this out, but then thought duh turn off the van. Once the van was off I realized having a home on wheels with me means that as I wait out this traffic I have snacks, AC, and a toilet. That was a small win. Unfortunately, the cause of

Here are some important things you probably need to know about me.

1. Until I bought Lucy, I had never traveled in or spent any time in a Camper Van.

I distinctly remember this moment a few weeks after my first child was born when I was sleep deprived, sore from my emergency c-section, and failing miserably at breast feeding when I thought What did I do???