Category: Vanlife

Driving Across the Country in a Single Weekend | 2,300 Miles and 32 Hours behind the Wheel

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Having driven across the country in a single weekend, not once, but twice in year, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Having said that, I don’t think there is a better way to get from one side of this country to the other. Contradictory, I know, but it’s one of those necessary evils that accompany the decisions any van dwelling person has to make. That decision is a simple one, how would you like to spend your time? Most of us would answer with the obvious response, “Doing the things you love to do in places that you want to …

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Unforgettable Week in Bend, Oregon: Mountain Biking, River Adventures, and Dog-Friendly Breweries

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Every year, we visit Bend, Oregon, captivated by its outdoor activities and dog-friendly culture. Despite the town’s growth and rising house prices, our love remains unchanged as we follow the same routine: camping, mountain biking, floating the river, and exploring breweries. Bend’s charm and our memorable experiences ensure we’ll return.

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First Experience in the Extraordinary Grand Canyon National Park

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

I’ve been to a lot of National Parks since moving out west to Utah, from the desert red rocks in Arches up to turquoise glacial lakes of Banff. Every single National Park is beautiful in its own way, of course, some more stunning than others. Beyond the national parks, there are so many incredible mountains and canyons through the American West that aren’t protected by the National Park System, and that has sort of taken the excitement and “wow-factor” away from visiting new national parks. Well, our stop at the Grand Canyon was happenstance on our way home from 2 …

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Week Trip to Savannah, Georgia to Ring in the New Year | VanLife

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Returning to a place you’ve already visited might seem like a waste of time if your superficial goal is to see as many places as possible. Admittedly, as I get older, I’m enjoying returning to places I’ve only briefly visited before on a weekend trip, and trading that in for a longer stay to really experience a place. So when Courtney’s family picked Savannah to celebrate her father’s 70th birthday, I couldn’t have been more excited to get back to that charming, little southern city. Over that week, we did a lot of walking, a lot of working, a bunch of celebrating, …

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10 Lessons Learned From Van Life… So Far

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

1. Visiting the random towns is one of the best parts Crystal River, Florida comes to mind when I think of how powerful extended traveling can be. The stop in this town was only because it was on the way to our next destination as we were heading westward. This town is home to a manatee migration and has some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d visit this town. Add to that, the countless stops on the Gulf of Mexico or even the wine region of Cottonwood, Arizona. If it …

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The Gulf Coast Beaches Are Shockingly Beautiful

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Growing up on the east coast, I’ve spent my fair share of time at beach that I’d call beautiful. New Jersey has some of the widest beaches of pristine fine sand. New England’s beaches have a rocky mystic to them with the surrounding pine forest. Not to mention having been up the west coast, through the world renowned cliffside beaches of California, Oregon, and Washington. I’ll be honest, never in my life did I think I would spend much time on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. And even more, I never thought that I would say that the …

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Manatees Everywhere at Three Sisters Springs | Florida

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

On our way up north from Fort Myers, Florida, we decided to stop in a town that wound up being one of the most memorable days of our road trip through Florida, to the town of Crystal River. The town itself was no different than the surrounding towns we’d driven through for hours. But for some reason, this town is the winter destination for countless Manatees during the winter months to escape the cold waters of the Gulf. And when we arrived at Three Sisters Springs, it felt like we stepped into a tropical jungle in another world with how …

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Full Van Tour & Build Video | Adventure Campervan Ford Transit 350 AWD

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

After dreaming about building an adventure-ready campervan for over 10 years, my wife and I finally build our dream rig in 2023. We chose the big Ford Transit 350 Extended AWD as the base for our build-out to live, cook, and work out of. So far, we’ve been on the road for over 2 months and loving every minute of living on the road and living out of our van! This build took us the better part of 5 months straight and was completely exhausting. No sponsors, no outside help, just my wife and I spending every night after our …

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1 Month and 4,000 Miles On the Road | VanLife Update

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

After 6 months of exhausting work, burning the candle at both ends, we somehow met our absurd goal of finishing our van build and hitting the road on December 15th, 2023. Our plan was to drive east, across the country, to celebrate Christmas with our families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Best part of this plan, is for the first time in 6 years, we were able to bring our dog Gregor home with us! After the holidays, we would start heading south, stopping in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia for New Years, and then eventually to …

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VAN Series: First Shakedown & Road Trip in the Van

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

When tradition and a testing opportunity meet, you get a fantastic first van trip that took us to Las Vegas and the California Coast. After spending the previous 6 months hard at work to build out our Ford Transit, named Hoagie, to be able to chase sun over the upcoming winter, we wanted to test it out first on the road. And this timed up perfectly with our annual tradition of heading to the California beaches over the thanksgiving weekend. To add to some perfect timing, the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix F1 race was the weekend before Thanksgiving. So …

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