Getting Into It
Oof! I really intended to write way more often. I have been writing about everything to I keep the memories fresh but just haven't been able to get to the blogging. Here I am! I vow to try to do better here on out.
I am officially a month into my van life adventure. It's been a real experience... from setting off with frustrations and worries with the van and figuring out the secrets to free camping, to spending time with several different families and friends around the east coast, cities and national parks and small towns. I haven't really spent as much alone as I thought I would, which means my writing and guitar practicing time has been very limited. The really awesome thing is that through my moving to 4 places in my adult life, and getting know people in all of them, and those people moved around means I get to visit people all over the country!
First, Maryland to see my old college bestie, Libby. I had met her husband only briefly at their wedding 8 years ago, so getting to know him a bit and to meet their 2 beautiful children was a great start to the range of people I'd spend time and reconnect with over the next month. I felt so welcomed by them and loved bonding with the kids and talking to Libby about her life and her grown-up concerns. She always had this certainty about her when it came to love; I knew when she found someone, she would love him unconditionally and absolutely and I can see that she does. After blue crab, family dinners, a house party and bedtime book-reading to their daughter, it was time to hit the road.
Outside of Philly in the town of Phoenixville, I pulled up to a lovely house where my old friend Bob lives with his parents, a warm and life-loving Dutch couple. I met Bob back in Pittsburgh several years ago when a friend and I started a little fashion magazine and we scouted him to model for us. He quickly became a friend and joined us for karaoke and late-night diners on a regular basis. Bob and his parents were wonderful hosts. After relaxing with him and his mother over her favorite tea and Bob's homemade cookies, Bob took me for a short driving tour of the town where he grew up.
When we got back, we caught up over ping pong, and I spilled it all, about how I was doing the van trip now because I hoped to get pregnant next year. I don't have a real plan on how to do that and it was funny bouncing ideas around with a 30-year old guy. Later we went up to start cocktail hour and hang out in the kitchen while his mom made dinner and his dad got home from work. Seeing Bob's parents made so much sense. I love meeting a friend's parents and you just think "Ah yes, I totally get why you're you." His girlfriend also came to join us and I loved spending the evening with all of them over a delicious dinner.
The next day, I had decided I would go camping the next 2 nights since my friend in Brooklyn wasn't ready for me just yet. I also had a lot to do - I had a big mission to replace the the damn Passport I couldn't find before leaving my home. I had an appointment at a post office south towards Philly, which turned out to have a system outage issue and couldn't do any processing. I went up towards Phoenixville to a cute town to use WiFi and figure out what to do next. I found a little library nearby that did them and was able to get it al settled and done without much more trouble. It was really lucky I had grabbed the one blank check I had. After all of that got settled, I ran errands gathering van supplies and then met Bob at Whole Foods and grabbed groceries for my next two days of camping. By the time I left, it was already near 6:00 and I knew I'd be arriving to my campsite after dark, which is less than ideal... and I didn't know just how much less.
Earlier I had posted in my Facebook group to other female van travelers about campsites, since all of them in the Pocono area were really expensive. They pointed me to freecampsites.net, where I found Delware State Park and free camping with a call-in permit. I got that all set up, and got the coordinates in my phone to guide me into the forest. The drive up was great, until I was getting close and noticed my headlights suddenly got brighter, like the brightness they should be, and then starting flickering... and then went out completely. Luckily, it was just for a minute and I was still around other cars to give me light but I knew if they went off again I would be in serious trouble.
I was getting just about 10 minutes away when I missed my exit off the highway, and when Google maps showed me I just added half an hour to my trip, I started to panic. I couldn't do anything but keep driving, hoping and hoping the headlights wouldn't fail me again. I finally got to my exit and pulled off to very dark, windy, forest roads until I found the little gravel road to my campsite, and then finally to my spot. Relieved but a little freaked out, I poured myself a cocktail and set about reorganizing the van storage and focused on the positive - it was my first night in my van on my big adventure! And an adventure it already was...
I slept terribly that night, finding out the the cushions I made from foam mattress topper material was not at all sufficient, and my shoulders and hips sunk between and through them to the plywood underneath. Then the rain began early in the morning and I discovered just how loud it is, even through all the added insulation. Unable to sleep more, I checked the weather to find severe warnings for hail and even possibly tornados, so I decided hanging at the campsite wasn't wise. Plus, I needed to work on some freelancing and this was not a great environment to do that. I packed up and found a quaint restaurant not too far, the Forklift Cafe. I worked, found a Chevy dealer an hour away that could check out the headlights issue, and sufficiently fueled on coffee and a Rueben sandwich, headed south into New Jersey.