After Massachusetts I was on my way north to visit a wonderful friend in Maine. Lee was once upon a time my supervisor at work in college, and she took me in as sort of an adopted daughter for dinners and tv watching nights with her family. While visiting Lee told stories of people she’s …
Author Archives: marylandry
On learning that more screws is always a good idea, and other 1st week van lessons
As with most things in life, I thought I was good to go and learned early on that this was… less true than I imagined. We had a fun set up and layout in the van from the building and planning, but once I was on the road I quickly discovered that reinforcement was sorely …
Between NYC and ME
I didn’t stay long in Connecticut this trip, because I intend to come through for longer later on, but coming north from New York I stopped off for the night in Hartford and stayed at a Cabella’s lot, which was actually lovely and quiet and well organized. I’d never actually been inside one of these …
New York: Brooklyn
This was it. Aside from my test run trip and going to my parents’ house after packing up as much of my life as possible from Jane’s house, I finally hit the road on Monday, September 16, 2019. My general plan is to go north so I can come back south with the chilly weather, …
The Build: The Sink
I could have opted for a bucket or basin and a few gallon jugs of water, but to make the van really feel more like a tiny home on wheels rather than an extended camping trip I thought I should add a sink and ‘running’ water. Originally I decided to use a foot pump based …
The Build: The Bed
Sleep was not always my favorite. My mother tells me that as a baby I tried my hardest not to sleep, not to nap, not to close my eyes because I didn’t want to miss anything. In retrospect the earliest sign of my major FOMO in alleged adulthood. But now sleep is THE BEST! Reading …
The Build: Furniture
If I’m going to live in the van, I suppose I need some furniture in there to make it feel like home and hold all my stuff. First of all, I had no clue how to attach anything to the sides of the van. I know it can be done, I mean work vans have …
New York: The Adirondacks
A friend from (my now former) work invited me to visit her family’s vacation camp in the Adirondacks, so it was the perfect excuse to take a few days away to test out the van, make sure it was road-worthy on a longer trip, and relax! I drove north from Delaware where I’d been visiting …
The Build: Fan Install
According to all I’ve heard, the enemy of vehicle dwelling is moisture. Sleeping = breath = condensation = dripping on your face from the ceiling as a wake up call, rust, mildew, mold, blegh. The general consensus from those in the know seems to be the only long-term remedy is a good fan for circulation …
The Build: The floor
After completing the floor insulation and soundproofing application, it was time to actually get a floor in this thing. While I love the look of the gorgeous wood, bamboo, or cork floors in the magically clean, sleek vans of Instagram, my small space, limited budget, and knowing it was a fun trip rather than a …
The Van is Go 