Down the rabbit hole: #vanlife?!

Okay. Not really. We’re not going to become full-timers. We enjoy the creature comforts of a good old-fashioned home too much. But weekend warriors? Week-long trips? Maybe. Just maybe. . .

Where it began?

It started in Alaska. We rented a small RV for our week-long trip on the Kenai Peninsula.

From Anchorage to Homer and even a stop in Whittier. We boondocked, spending only one night in a developed campground. Ran the generator for a bit in the mornings to warm up the cabin and charge our devices more quickly. That was the summer of 2017.

Confident in our abilities, we took the next adventurous step in the fall of 2019 when we explored New Zealand in a camper van for two weeks. Our home was a converted Toyota minivan with swivel driver and passenger seats, a bench seat that converted into a bed, and a trunk kitchen accessible from the outside of the vehicle. We dispersed or primitive camped for nearly the entire trip, opting for a hotel only in Wellington and at the trip’s culmination in Auckland.

The summer of 2021 brought a different type of adventure as we secured a rooftop tent and drove nearly 6,000 miles around the country over approximately two weeks. We combined hotel stays with dispersed and primitive camping, realizing just how much easier the camping opportunities were to the west of the Mississippi.

Did it really begin in 2017? Should we go back to our Kilimanjaro trip in 2012? We did spend 8 days on the side of the mountain.

No, for me at least, I might have to go all the way back to the 1990s when I spent one month every summer for six years at Camp Tanamakoon.

Now – the camper van research begins

Being PNW transplants, we definitely have the itch to explore and spend more time outdoors. Having a 16.5 year old dog makes those ambitions a bit challenging. What to do?

• Airbnbs: We’ve definitely done our share of pet friendly Airbnbs and have been mostly very lucky in the ones that we found. But there have been the not so good ones as well. The costs really start to add up, particularly those stinking cleaning fees. IYKYK.
• Pet-friendly hotels: Our move west involved careful pre-planning so that we could ensure that we had hotels that would let the dogs stay as well. Some charge fees, others don’t. Most do at this point. The real conundrum? Most hotels do not let you leave your pups unoccupied in the room. Even if they did, I wouldn’t What if housekeeping comes in ignoring the do not disturb sign and the pups escape? Nope. The hotels only work for us if intend to the bring the dogs with us when we leave.
• Dog-sitters: Before moving, we had a strong contingent of close friends and even family that could fly in to watch the dogs. We haven’t yet developed that same robust network here. Despite knowing better, we attempted a Rover sitter for a work trip. Let’s just say that trip was cut short and never again. It was traumatizing for both us and the pups.

That brings us to the camper van option. Yes, I have been influenced. Mindlessly scrolling Instagram reels, I have seen a few where furbaby parents have – whether literally or hyperbolically – acknowledged that due to the challenges of leaving the 4-legged children home, they bought a camper van to accommodate them.

Join us as we go down the rabbit hole to find the “perfect” camper van (’cause let’s face it, we don’t have the time nor the patience for a DIY or custom build) and explore with the pups.