The last several weeks I have been giving my (now) ex-girlfriend several rides over to the mayo clinic in Rochester MN.  During procedures she was having done on her wrist, I was left with lots of time to marvel at the large opulent space in and around the hospitol campus.  I contemplated how these massive public spaces were largly wasted and unappreciated by the public.  meanwile, our private spaces are highly prized.  why? 

   Installing a large private library in a home is a costly addition.  meanwile a free library of the highest quality awaits us down town.  A fabulous gym and swimming pool can be accessed for mere pennys a day yet we feel these things are mundane unless they are in our own yards.  What has made us feel this way?  Is the notion of the white fenced american dream an outdated principal?  

   Consider the laundry mat.  Once a staple of every neighborhood, now it is considered a place were deplorables meet in shame to be reminded of their lowly station.  why is that?  Certainly convenience is a factor in owning your own equipment, but it was once a luxury that we have been talked into thinking of as a necessity.  

   A similer observation can be made for back yards vs. public parks.  Privacy used to be a luxury and now is considered a given if you are a successful american.  How did we get to this point?  Not only is it financially challenging to maintain these spaces but it consumes precious free time.

    In my van life i will be utilizing public spaces to the maximum extent possible.  I pay taxes on that park why not use it rather than sacrifice my time and resources to have my own personal one?  

    And who knows, maybe this lifestyle will be more liberating and enlightening in the long run.  Instead of dreaming of that next house or yard project, I can read that book I have been meaning to get to, or actually get better at playing the ukelele.  There is only one way to find out.

   So i saw this sweetheart almost 4 years ago now.  it was for sale on the side of the road near were i was working at the time.  a 1987 astro conversion van.  flexsteel captains chairs and a massive gas tank.  

    Over the years i have been removing seats from it as the need arises.  the last year and a half i have been down to only the two front seats remaining.  i have done some work to it over the years and there is some more to be done on it but for the most part shes in pretty good shape with decent rubber.  its up to about 180k miles on the clock.

    As i have looked over the postings in other van dweller blogs and social media accounts, I have found them profoundly unrelatable.  I am no writer.  I am in no position to travel the globe in spite of my desire to do so.  I have a normal job.  I get up and go to work in the mornings.

     Were are the real world van dwellers?  Not waking up to an iconic mountain sunrise but to an urban factory parking lot.  It may not be romantic but for a lot of people this is reality.  were are the real stories?  The nuts and bolts of daily life in a constantly mobile tiny house were what i was curious of.  The emotional atmosphere, the toll it takes on one's social life, and the way it effects one financially.  

    Well, its 2017.  My girlfriend of 3 years and myself just split up and in 2 weeks I will be out in the snow.  It would appear that my van living lessons will be soon taught to me by trial and error!  I have, however, prepared myself for this life event by converting my classic astrovan into a place of comfortable living.  Although i don't know what the future will bring I feel better knowing I have some place to call home no matter what.  Wish me luck.