Well, another adventure, another blog, I suppose. Different journey, same destination: enjoying life and all the nuances of it - the people, the scenery, the unforeseen circumstances that bring us to unexpected places. To begin this journey, we needed a vehicle.
Enter Savannah White, our 2006 Dodge Sprinter 3500. We searched for months for the perfect one, and we found it...in New Jersey. Thankfully I have a masochistic father who enjoys driving until he can’t see straight, and within a couple days of finding The One, she was in our possession. Unfortunately, the previous owners had some roof issues that they passed onto us, so we were about 2 months late in beginning our work. But of course, good things come of challenges, and it meant that we rock climbed in Greece instead of Kentucky, and that we got to work on the build at my mom and stepdad’s place in the suburbs of Chicago rather than in my Chicago parking lot, which was crucial. They had at least one of every tool, a driveway to park in, and any store we might possibly need within 5 minutes of their house. The added bonus of being close to both our families for two months was a huge perk, too.
Once settled in our new place and finished with the prep work on the van, we hauled ass for 7 weeks to build the thing. Countless YouTube videos were watched and Amazon Prime orders were made. We often worked for 12 hours a day, only breaking for food or to make a Home Depot run. It was so fun. Adam tackled the electrical and plumbing, while I drew up designs for the cabinets and benches. I told him, “you make it work, and I’ll make it look pretty.” With the help of my super talented parents, we made an amazing team, and the project came together really well. Now, one month in, we are still so amazed that we did it, and it works, and we love it.
So let the adventure begin! Savannah is our home now (named for a friend of mine that tragically died while climbing in March, who would be SO stoked for us and this journey), June is excitedly on board, and Adam and I are thrilled to hit the road and meet cool new people in cool new places (and see some cool old people in somewhat familiar places too). Have any suggestions? Please send them our way! We are flying by the seat of our pants, and each day will end differently than expected, and that’s part of the beauty of it all.