So, we bought a van and started a blog!

This is not novel or unchartered territory for some folks, but it sure is for us. We have been preparing several years for early retirement. Much of this preparation has been largely planning---planning our savings strategy to maximize our nest egg, planning how to live and travel the world nearly full-time and how to manage this with our kids who will be in college by that time, and planning for the biggest project undertaking to enable this which is our van build!

In recent years, I developed a passion for hiking and backpacking that started after reading the book Wild (and as my husband likes to say, "Thank you Cheryl Strayed"). This ignited a fire in me to learn all that I could about backpacking, where to hike, what to wear, and what gear you really need. My inaugural trip was a 40-mile segment hike on the John Muir Trail back in 2018 with friends. As we have continued to camp and hike, we have eyed many an adventure van in campgrounds and on the road. So we started dreaming about building our own adventure van so we can freely wander and explore at our own pace when the time comes.

This dream has now become a reality, as we just placed an order earlier this month with a Ford dealer out of Kansas City for a 2021 Ford Transit 148 Hi Roof ELWB Cargo AWD Van. And with this came the idea of starting a website and blog to capture our journey from start to finish. While we ever so patiently wait for the van to be built, we will fill you in on aspects of our build design and planning, van accessories, hiking and camping gear reviews, and upcoming travel adventures. Stay tuned! #vanlife #fordtransit #transitvan #vanbuilds