Van Life. 35mm film, Borrego Springs, CA. February 2017
1. Stay in the slow lane and encourage others to go around you. If anyone flips you off, it’s on them.
2. If you manage to find a radio station in the middle of nowhere, don’t change the channel because you’ll never get it back.
3. If your gas gage is broken, fill up every hundred miles to avoid being stranded in the desert.
4. Say goodbye to binge-watching Netflix and hello to binge-listening to murder mystery podcasts in the dark in the middle of nowhere and then trying to sleep.
5. Don’t bother washing your van because you’ll surely find yourself on a dirt road around the next corner.
6. You’ll rarely have service so there’s no point getting a cellphone plan.
7. Make sure that you and your partner are compatibly obsessive compulsive because your bedroom is your kitchen is your living room is your vehicle is your freedom. Tidiness is sanity.
8. It is useless to ask your partner “what are you going to wear today?” because it’s usually straight out of the sleeping back and into the front seat. Or follow our lead and don’t take the sleeping bag off at all.
9. Your daily shower is now a bi-weekly-if-it’s-warm-enough birdbath.
10. American highway systems leave much to be desired. Be prepared for potholes, unexpected sharp turns, and the total know-it-all that is the Google Maps lady.
11. Say goodbye to dishes in the sink. If you want to cook, clean them. Sometimes your hands will freeze.
12. Find a mechanic (or two) that gets your model. Be nice to them--you owe them more than parts and labour!
13. Always tell your friends and family where you are.
14. The States has some of the best coffee and beer around. Prioritize your spots or watch your wallet evaporate.
15. The friends that you make on the road are everything. Appreciate them and always pay it forward.