Here We Van-Again!

You all know that we love a good recreational vehicle. From motorcycle tours in Korea, roadtripping in Australia and vanlife in the Balkans, it's our favourite way to travel. After moving back to Canada, where the national fondness for camping and outdoor living is profound, naturally we wanted to get back in the scene. We've dipped our toes, been burned and are now ready to love again. Truly, it's been a bit of a bumpy road, but the soap opera (albeit melodramatic) saga continues!  

So back in March 2020 we, along with with rest of the world, found ourselves unexpectedly grounded. Super bummed that our Spring Break in Mexico was canceled, it was the motivation we needed to start the hunt for our next rolling home. Turns out, that's what everyone else thought they'd do as well, and it was rough out there. We saw some really lived in RVs, vans and motorhomes. The characters you meet in the RV world are the real deal (ranging from Pinterest crafty bloggers all the way to modern-day draft dodgers...and to be honest, we dig all folks on the RV spectrum) The kicker was, no matter what we were looking at, the prices were absurd--toilet paper and RVs were at a premium as the world grappled with the globals crisis. 

Sometimes you gotta kiss a lot a frogs, am I right?

We had some feelers out there and got a lead on a 27 ft Class C Corsair. Admittedly a lot more real-estate than we have piloted in the past, it looked sweet, the previous owner had taken great care of it, and the price was right. So we bought it sight unseen (so to speak) as we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with an actual motor home. As evident when we were about to pull away, and the seller hesitantly asked "You ever driven something this big?" Uhhh, nope!--Our plan was to drive slow and take the corners wide!

Settling right into that RV life!

I know some of you had seen our Corsair excitement hit Instagram...and then never heard tell of it again. Well, here's a brief story of our very brief foyer into the motorhome world. 

So our plan was to update the RV (falling into the Pinterest-ish camp of RVers) and fully move into it after a month when we would continue to teach online and enjoy some of the freedoms of remote teaching. Everyday we'd finish our day of Zoom classes, head on over to the Walmart parking lot (in North America, Walmart parking lots are free and clear for overnight camping...just to add to the overall ambiance), and start renovating. I'm sure when Walmart opened their parking lots up to overnight camping they exactly envisioned people parking for 3+ weeks and gutting their RVs. We basically slapped white paint on everything, tiled the kitchen and replaced the shag. We had a blast doing it, and were pretty happy with the way it was all shaping up. As the pandemic continued to unfold, the snowbirds whom we were housesitting for were unable to get back to Canada, so we had some unexpected bonus time before moving into the RV. We thought we'd use the gift of time to update the bedroom too. First thing Tyler did was unscrew the headboard from the wall...which was apparently integral to the entire structure of the back of the RV, because Whoa! Two words-- water damage. Two more words--- broken hearts. And just like that our RV dream was drown. The more we tore away at the soddened walls, floor and ceiling, the more dampened our spirits got. Recognizing this was a job that was definitely beyond our construction capabilities, let alone possible to be done in the Walmart parking lot with our most basic of tools, we decided to let it go. In the end, we sold it for what we bought it for, occupied our time during covid lockdown and learned a couple things, so really no harm, no foul. The only legacy the Corsair leaves behind is a new family catch phrase "They've got water damage"every time we see a RV cruise on by.

Before, during and after!

My fave part of the whole reno was the tiled kitchen!

Annnddd this is as far as we got with the bedroom 😳

Ok, so fast forward a year and a half later. Our recreational vehicle dream has never and will never die. Although the past year has thrown us some curveballs (pandemic, broken foot, an unplanned pregnancy resulting in the sweetest little toddle-baby) we have always kept our eyes, ears and hearts open for the right little gem to pop up. We knew we did not want to get into a RV again (the rot was just too much for our hearts to handle), and now that we have a babe who requires a carseat, we need something with at least one seat in the back. So we've waited for something right, and we've found her! ---Well actually, we can take none of the credit. Tyler's brother Micah found the van, did all the wheelings and dealings and deserves huge kudos---And a big bottle of whiskey for his troubles-- So we're back in the business of a van build!! So so excited to start planning and converting the new rig, as well as share the van lifestyle with our baby and explore on four wheels once again!

Photo cred goes out to the shop in Edmonton!...That's as specific as I can be.

** Update: Van life has been stalled once more, as the mountain highways that connect Vancouver to the rest of the country have been washed out by devastating floods and mudslides. Why does this affect our van viability? Well, as mentioned Tyler's brother found us the van. Micah and the van live in Edmonton,  which is 13 hours and a couple mountain ranges away from Vancouver. So that's where the van will remain until...well, who knows!