We are Jeremy and Christina.
We live in our big, green van.
His name is Mark.
We write things. Well, Christina writes things.
Round One of Vanlife, from COVID to Campground Hosts
I Didn’t Break the Internet, But It Almost Broke My Nose
What Not to Do When Starting a Campervan Self-Conversion
How we ended up living in a van
(written in third person for funsies)
The Big Question
Christina and Jeremy start dating, again (long story). She asks him if he would be willing to live in her station wagon with her. He says yes. She knows he’s the one.
Enter Mark
A big, green Sprinter van catches Jeremy and Christina’s eye. They buy it because it’s so much bigger than a station wagon and name it Mark.
Construction Begins
Converting Mark from a cargo van to a campervan begins. Jeremy and Christina try not to kill each other during the conversion.
Vanlife Shut Down
Mark is ready to be a home-on-wheels! Jeremy and Christina head from Virginia (old residence) to Georgia to visit her sister before heading west. COVID shuts down the country, and their plans.
Campground Hosts
Georgia was so hot and humid that the cabinet doors in the van swelled so much they couldn’t be shut. COVID had calmed down enough to travel, so Jeremy and Christina got jobs as campground hosts in Northern California, not far from where she grew up.
Real Job & Structure Life
During the height of COVID, Christina was scared they would never work again. She interviewed for a job as a reactor operator at Idaho National Laboratory right after accepting the campground host position. She got the job. They traded vanlife for structure life. Sigh.
Career Change
Christina becomes tired of her stable, well-paying job, starts working on her Master in GIS, and lands a remote internship with the National Park Service (technically an AmeriCorps position).
Van Renovations
Mark needed some upgrades to accommodate remote work (bigger battery, cellular antenna and router), and some stuff that should have been part of the original build was added (LED puck lights, solar, DC outlets).
Back to Vanlife
Jeremy and Christina rent out their house and move back into the van. Kind of. It’s a long story (that they swear will be written about at some point).