getting on board

my man and I have been dreaming up our next move, our escape from the rather expensive rental market in this university town, and it looks like it might be a vintage travel trailer.  older than the chateau, one we have in mind is a '71 Holiday Rambler, 26ft and in "excellent" condition.  we're going to check it out tomorrow or saturday and i will regale you with tales of it's glory.  finding the trailer will be the easy part, in the surrounding region there are literally thousands to choose from between craigslist and dealers.  finding an awesome place to park it and full time live in it during the school year is proving to be the greater challenge.  the rv park i called today that seemed very promising charges 495 a month (all utilities included, but still that's the cost of a small apartment)!! so far the only affordable options are the mobile home parks, and those which allow dogs are solidly in the dumpy category.  i am pretty ok with it, seeing as i've lived in my van on the street and all... but S is less enthralled.  he's fully on board with the financial side of it though.  we would take out a loan from a family member to buy the trailer, fix it up, and pay off our credit card debt, and that loan would be paid off in 3 years.  the loan payment plus the "lot rent" we pay for the trailer will cost almost half of our current housing + credit card payments, and being debt free (except student loans of course) in three years or less seems like a magical fairy tale land we very much want to inhabit.

anyone who still reads this blog full-timing in a vintage rig in a college town? :)  i know nothing about the whole plumbing thing since the chateau had only a sink that drained onto the ground.  it seems scary to have a shower, toilet, and sink that actually works like a sink with hot water and everything.  how will i avoid all the possible pitfalls?  i guess i probably won't, it's just not my nature.

i've been staying up way too late thinking about all this stuff. tonight is no exception.

a whole new life is happening

hi guys!
it's been soooooooo long.  my blogger self has been hibernating, but now on the darkest day of the year, i stir. maybe it's cabin fever setting in!  blanketed in snow, the world is very sluggish, but my inner troublemaker is hotter than a pepper sprout.
i wanted to let you know what has happened to me.  my household has grown to a total of five (!!) beings--myself, my love S, Freyja (she's still kickin), the little boy (a fuzzy black kitty), and Trip (a freaking pomeranian!) i'm living in a stick house (rental) but don't think i'm not on craigslist every day looking for a cheap travel trailer to move into--this place is so expensive and once you've tasted the free life, well....its hard to go back.  also, my brain is just in overdrive due to the extreme activity it's been involved in for the past few months.  i'm a week into my first winter break of VET SCHOOL!!  Yeah baby!  they're going to let this crazy homeless lady be a doctor in a few years :)  provided I don't screw it up.
when we left off i was settling into my life in hawaii, living with my true love in a sweet house on stilts by the beach.  that was an amazing 3 years and it changed the course of my life dramatically.  basically, i got bored just living in paradise without much work and i decided to go back to school.  lots of long stories later, i applied to vet school and they let me in.  which meant i had to move back to the mainland, which brings me to today, the darkest day, full of snow. winter. ugh.... this is why i got the freedomvan in the first place!  well, circle back around and here you are but different this time.  life's weird.
 i miss my freedom and i'm plotting ways to get it back.  like a yo-yo dieter, i've gotten out of debt and then gotten back in deeper than before and i'm just sick of it. come along and help me envision the next version of freedomvan--maybe freedom trailer?  freedom earthship?  freedom studio apartment, hehe?  they don't have the same ring.  it's s different ballgame though, i've got all these RESPONSIBILITIES now.
i want to catch up with you all and start figuring it out.
*hugs n stuff *

is there anybody out there?

hello blogosphere, i miss you. while i can't commit to coming back full blast just yet, i've been thinking about it, and feeling the need to share my life again. but i'm also in school full time, very busy and not too sure when i can really devote a spare minute to this endeavor. anyway, i'm here. and i want to move back into a van really bad, but i'm caught up in regular life pretty deep right now. will share soon. in the meantime check out the only new link i've posted in a long time-- this guys site: jason from vanabode, he's pretty awesome and his book is full of information which i will review on this blog from my own experience when i have a chance. www.vanabode.com

sold

the van has been sold! to a very cool chick from chicago who plans to live in it and will undoubtedly take it on many more adventures.

her blog www.tashaviaf.blogspot.com will chronicle the milestones, i'm sure. i wish her all the luck, joy, independence and satisfaction in the world.

what a long strange trip it's been.

thanks for tuning in, wrapping up, and moving onward!

chateau for sale!!

hello everyone, i don't know how many of you still check in here since i've been off for so long, but i thought it would be worth a try! i'm selling my trusty van, my former home, my beloved companion --the freedomvan. it is parked at my dad's office in central pennsylvania and i intend to have it in running condition before the sale (last i knew it was running great, but it's been a year so...) if you or anyone you know has an interest in this home on wheels, please email me.

it looks like i'm settling down for a while in hawaii, i've lived in a house for almost a year and we will likely stay here for another. simon is having much success as a tattoo artist, and i have gotten my massage practice going and am still working at a restaurant part time. there seems to be plenty for us to dig our hands into with many new projects and plans on the horizon. that's why i've decided to let go of the chateau, pass it on to someone who will enjoy it's affordable comforts and freedoms before they deteriorate. it makes me smile to think of some kindred soul getting behind the wheel and journeying on across america.

for pics of the van look here.

i'm asking $1900, make an offer!

freedomvan@gmail.com

all pau

this blog has been fading out for a while, and i guess it's time to admit it's all 'pau' (hawaiian for 'over', 'done', 'complete'). wrapping my mind around all that has happened this year, i am so grateful for the journey, the daily unfolding of surprises, and the place i landed.

i just had another birthday--31 now. i remember last year's birthday, my parents came to visit me in colorado, i showed them my van set-up, we cavorted around the mountains reconnecting our family ties, and i began to relax into my singleness. i'd made it to 30 without any serious commitments, why not use my lightness as a birds advantage and take off into the wind? the seed of my next adventure was planted, i would make one of my big dreams come true--living in a tropical paradise.

fast forward to today. i woke up cradled in the gentle embrace of a man i'd given up hoping for, in a place of unending blooming beauty, myriad birds singing me out of bed and into another day of perfection. i can't remember if i've ever been this happy. i don't expect it will last forever, but i'm going to ride this wave to the shore, and then i'm setting up my home there.

from here on out, it's our adventure. i may end up heartbroken, but i'm ok with that, this is worth it. maybe we'll move back to the mainland, pick up the chateau faded rainbow and rattle off onto the blue highways together, and if so, i may resume this blog. but for now, we are cozily nestled in our island incubator, thoughts of leaving far from our minds, and i feel more like keeping my heart a secret than blasting it into the storm of the internet.

until we meet again, mahalo nui loa to you wayfaring strangers, long time friends, family, and vandwellers....

settling in

on the first rainy day in may, it's time to envision the next stage of life here in hawaii. i have the urge to dig deep, to commit, to rededicate myself to massage and bodywork. it is my gift, one of them at least, and the one that is most accessible. i have three more days at abundant life, and i've decided after that to work on building a practice, getting an office, and taking a workshop or two, there are so many on this island. massage has been the closest thing to my life's work, and though i don't feel complete in it, i know continuing on is an important part of getting to that fulfilled place. part of my problem in everything i do is that i love to start things, but have a hard time finishing them or even getting to 'level 2'. i am a perpetual beginner. but the wheel of life keeps turning and i am more and more attracted to maturity, longevity, and depth.

on a parallel track, simon is mid-way through his apprenticeship to become a tattoo artist. he's always been an artist, and he recently the opportunity to join up with a local tattoist to learn the trade. he'll be able to start tattooing this summer sometime, but it will take a few years, preferably in the same location, to become truly proficient and build a clientele. i figure, if we're going to be together, i might as well do the same. i think it's kinda awesome that we are both 'bodyworkers' from different angles with similar aims--to help people heal, transform, and enjoy their bodies as the vessels for their souls.

my days of ceaseless wandering may be over. for now.