The Story Till Now

A fishing village just North of Klamath, Ca.

You made it. Somehow you’ve clicked enough words scattered somewhere on the internet that has filled whatever screen you’ve probably been looking at for too long with this blog. Let me be the first to welcome you. My aim with this blog is to document what I am experiencing. To document the memories I am making not just for your vicarious travels but for my memory as well. Rooted deep in me is a thirst for the unknown and to see just how far I can take myself and anyone brave enough to trust me into it.

To catch everyone up to speed, I had a hankering for a project. My wife, Abby, and I have long had discussions about adventure and getting out there. A complete departure from normalcy for a while. Enter the van.

It’s faster than a Ford Mustang, sometimes.

I built out this Ford Transit to sustain us in varying climates and locales. It is powered by a mixture of internal combustion and the sun. It sleeps two people and transports two people, legally. Our food is cooled and our water is hot. It is easy to mistake the exterior of the van as a contractor’s preferred mode of transport for their persons and equipment, but step inside and I think it feels like a small rolling beach house. Or beach shack, maybe. Cool either way and the Misses approves and agreed to live in a car with me because of it. Me - 1 Normalcy - 0.

Our destination was purely adventure. We didn’t have expectations of luxury or comfort but expected to rough it sometimes and experience this vast union of self-governing land masses connected by invisible seams and differentiated by varying amounts of pride and geographical constituents. At this point, almost a month into the journey, it is going okay. I’ll save the details for later posts. Maybe that will keep you reading. Maybe not.

One of the most important lessons I have learned thus far is that everyone has a story. Everyone has either had a long life full of stories to tell or a short life full of anticipation of what is to come. I’ve spoken to complete strangers at picnic tables and sitting next to campfires about their goals, their aspirations, their pasts, and their successes and failures. Most importantly though, I’ve made it a point to talk to people and listen to them. They’ve inspired me. They’ve reminded me. They’ve gratified me.

This blog is about the people I’ve met. This blog is dedicated to them.

See you out there.