Thank you, Carl! It takes some work, but writing a blog (now shifted to Substack, obviously) has been so satisfying for me.
It's also connected me to people who are now good friends. Putting a signal out into the world--"here's who I am"---is a powerful way to find your tribe. May you find yours!
Very impressive story and a great travel blog. I am far behind you, just starting a travel substack, and eager to learn from the experience and wisdom of people like you. Good luck and be well.
I love that you are willing to continually reinvent yourself. It is not a linear or always easy process.
You were one of our first inspirations to consider building a van. We did this back in 2018 when it was still harder to find information or shops to build out vans. And like you, we recently sold our Sprinter. We've had some fantastic trips in that van, and we even brought our son home from the hospital after he was born in that van. But it was time for a new journey and adventure.
And like you, what got us excited was finding a new owner who would love the van and get their journey in it.
Here's the woo woo part, Dakota! Our family was camping and skiing at Anthony Lakes back in February in our new rig. On the last day of the trip, I went outside first thing in the morning and parked right next to us... was our old Sprinter! It was covered in mud and had been well used.
I talked to the new owner, and she's been having the best adventures! She's already put 15K miles on it and was just returning from Hell's Canyon. It made me incredibly happy that she was using the Sprinter to its full potential. And my family was just as satisfied with our new rig.
Congrats on voting in Italy! Those ballots look awesome and possibly very accessibility-friendly. What a great homage to your van and the journeys it opened and how it served you all. Years ago I bought a car from a family who practiced Jainism. They left a small Ganesha figurine for me to keep me safe. It didn't feel like we were transacting a thing but more like we were sharing as a community. It changed how I feel about things. I wonder if we can honor our relationship with things and how they serve us or the community the same way we would a garden. Both take human time and nature's resources and therefore should be honored and cared for, not above humans but in concert. I've been thinking a lot about how we compartmentalize our lives into things, people, them, us, nature, business, etc. I have landed on it's all a concert, a network, a web that we participate in—give and take, share and grow, honor and support. There you go… my musings of the day.
"Hi" Chelsea!
Also, I added some content to my substack about my 2 year-old Tallgrass Prairie Dream.
Wow, those are some beautiful concepts! I love the concert/web idea and am totally into that. I'll think of the koi pond curtains in our van as the Ganesha that I passed along to the new owners.
Cool to see some Prairie Grass action on Substack. Subscribed! Hi from Chelsea and from me too.
A wonderful tale of completely one stage of life and embracing the next!
Thank you, Carl! It takes some work, but writing a blog (now shifted to Substack, obviously) has been so satisfying for me.
It's also connected me to people who are now good friends. Putting a signal out into the world--"here's who I am"---is a powerful way to find your tribe. May you find yours!
Very impressive story and a great travel blog. I am far behind you, just starting a travel substack, and eager to learn from the experience and wisdom of people like you. Good luck and be well.
I love that you are willing to continually reinvent yourself. It is not a linear or always easy process.
You were one of our first inspirations to consider building a van. We did this back in 2018 when it was still harder to find information or shops to build out vans. And like you, we recently sold our Sprinter. We've had some fantastic trips in that van, and we even brought our son home from the hospital after he was born in that van. But it was time for a new journey and adventure.
And like you, what got us excited was finding a new owner who would love the van and get their journey in it.
Here's the woo woo part, Dakota! Our family was camping and skiing at Anthony Lakes back in February in our new rig. On the last day of the trip, I went outside first thing in the morning and parked right next to us... was our old Sprinter! It was covered in mud and had been well used.
I talked to the new owner, and she's been having the best adventures! She's already put 15K miles on it and was just returning from Hell's Canyon. It made me incredibly happy that she was using the Sprinter to its full potential. And my family was just as satisfied with our new rig.
Thank you for sharing that story, Cobin. Love it! You've passed the torch to someone who obviously is going to love your old van and live it up.
Glad you found a new rig that fits you even better. Here's to many more adventures out there!
Congrats on voting in Italy! Those ballots look awesome and possibly very accessibility-friendly. What a great homage to your van and the journeys it opened and how it served you all. Years ago I bought a car from a family who practiced Jainism. They left a small Ganesha figurine for me to keep me safe. It didn't feel like we were transacting a thing but more like we were sharing as a community. It changed how I feel about things. I wonder if we can honor our relationship with things and how they serve us or the community the same way we would a garden. Both take human time and nature's resources and therefore should be honored and cared for, not above humans but in concert. I've been thinking a lot about how we compartmentalize our lives into things, people, them, us, nature, business, etc. I have landed on it's all a concert, a network, a web that we participate in—give and take, share and grow, honor and support. There you go… my musings of the day.
"Hi" Chelsea!
Also, I added some content to my substack about my 2 year-old Tallgrass Prairie Dream.
Wow, those are some beautiful concepts! I love the concert/web idea and am totally into that. I'll think of the koi pond curtains in our van as the Ganesha that I passed along to the new owners.
Cool to see some Prairie Grass action on Substack. Subscribed! Hi from Chelsea and from me too.