It was just crazy enough to thrill me, and just practical enough to prove possible A psychic in upstate New York once told me I?d meet the love of my life on the road. That?s not why I moved into my campervan just two years after buying my first home. But I can?t say I didn?t consider the romantic possibilities of life in motion. I was broke and bored, terrified of settling for the wrong place or person, and looking in all directions for an alternative.
I found the 1986 GMC Vandura on Craigslist. Photos of the big white van with its red bumper and extended ceiling told a story of travel and life among big trees and bigger mountains. In one, the interior glowed through the doors like cottages do in fairy tales, an opening of warmth and comfort, surrounded by the dark forest at night. I wanted to crawl out of my job search and through that sliding door. I wanted to drive to the woods and forget about my mortgage. I texted the owner and bought the van the next day. Here was my plan: I would rent out my house as a vacation home and hit the road whenever it was booked. I could be a homeowner with freedom. A van dweller with stability. It was just crazy enough to thrill me, and just practical enough to prove possible.
And I did it. People started booking my house, and I started living in my van. Sometimes I would get out of Portland and head to the mountains. Other times, I would stick around the city and park in crowded neighborhoods, my presence hidden by homemade wind...