Canoes, Critters, Creeps & Crafts!

From New Jersey, we headed to Philadelphia, where we couchsurfed in this gorgeous house decked out in all kinds of crafty, thrifty fun stuff and full of foliage. We walked several miles to get a feel for Philly on our way to visit the Mutter Museum, which is full of medical oddities, taxidermy and models and weird body parts and deformed fetuses. It was a truly fascinating little shop of horrors, and we wish we were allowed to take photos. That night, we joined our hosts and a few of their friends for some nearly full moon canoeing along the Schuylkill River, the serenity of the water juxtaposed starkly with the industrial scenes springing up alongside us — tall buildings full of bustling trains and bright lights, clanging and banging and flames.

The next day, although drizzly and wet, was spent checking out the Elfreth's alley, the oldest occupied street in America, cute shops in Old City, and the historic district where we saw the Liberty Bell. We also visited the Chemical Heritage Museum which has an interesting exhibit about the development of different space suits. That night we attempted to get into some sort of Friday night shenanigans but ended up at a bar full of people far older than us that eyed us with amusement, and so meandered back towards the house in the mist, where we found a table full of free books and food, and scored a few veggies and a science fiction paperback. The next morning we took Finn for a damp walk in Bartram's Garden before heading to Delaware. 

Our Delaware plans fell to pieces a bit, as we realized that a.) Dogfish Head Brewery is not where we thought it was, and is also closed on Sundays, and b.) our couchsurfing host fell ill and was unable to have us. We found a coffee shop in Newark to do a bit of work in, and then ventured a bit further South for no apparent reason, and ended up spending a day meandering through the Bombay Hook Wildlife Preserve, which was mediocre. We were not sad to leave Delaware.



Our next destination was Washington, DC. We knew it'd be madness to try and do it all in our brief time there, so we just hit the Natural History Museum, which we absolutely loved, and got lost in the animal and evolution exhibits for quite some time before heading to check out the Jefferson, Washington, MLK, FDR and Lincoln monuments, as well as the World War II memorial. It was dark when we left, heading South to tiny La Plata, Maryland, where we found a Little Caesar's dumpster full of pizza and even scored some decent dumpster salad ingredients.

We were reveling in our victorious dinner loot and getting ready to head to a Walmart to camp out, when our headlights caught the attention of two young guys that came to our window, thinking we'd flashed our lights at them. We assured them we hadn't, and they chatted with us a bit, asking if we were van dwellers, if we were "down on our luck" and offering us help — first asking if we needed a place to stay, if we needed food, even asking if we needed help cleaning out our litter box! But we told them we were quite self sufficient, and headed out. After a fabulous dinner and some outdoor rumpus time with Cap'n Finn, we were settling down to snooze when someone knocked at the front door. Tressa cautiously peered out and was surprised to recognize the face of one of the guys that had approached us at Little Caesar's. We hadn't told them where we'd planned to camp, so their reappearance was a bit strange. Again, he asked if we were hungry or needed anything and when we told him we were fine, he asked us if we wanted to hang out. "C'mon, I'm a nice guy!" he said. It was awkward, to say the least, and it was nearly midnight. As we uncomfortably insisted on not hanging out through the (locked) door, a cop rolled up, and called the guy over. We peered out of the cracks between our curtains as another cop arrived and the four of them talked at length, before all departing. Whether they took the guys with them or they left of their own accord, whether they were in trouble for something in particular or were just being stopped for being lingerers, and how exactly they spotted us at Walmart remains a mystery. However, we slept with one eye open that night.

On Tuesday, we made our way to Hollywood! Hollywood, Maryland, that is, where we met with Tressa's great aunt and uncle, Linda and Jack. Our stay with Jack and Linda was marvelously relaxing and fun. They took us to meet Linda's sister, Mary, who runs a wildlife rehab out of her home, specializing in raccoons, which we got to hang out with for a bit! We also visited some Amish farms, and took Finn to a little nearby beach, enjoyed an incredible dinner of salad and eggplant Parmesan, tried some Maryland beer, and played board games and heckled each other relentlessly. Wednesday, we visited the colonial plantation down the road, although it was dumping rain, and then holed up inside to work and do crafts with Linda. Although we'd planned on leaving in the late afternoon, we had so much fun learning how to quill and making stickers and drinking Chai that we stayed well past dinner. Not only were we spoiled, but Finn was given an enticing squeaky mouse toy that he went absolutely wild for, and even some kitty treats. As we wound our way towards Virginia, we reflected on the comfort of family, even family we may not have seen in a long while,  and how fortunate we've been to encounter so many generous people that have opened their lives to us completely and made us feel so at home.

Vanlife: Rest Stop Breakfast Video

Recently we noticed that Kelsey's YouTube channel was getting a slow stream of subscribers, and our van-tour video reached nearly 3,000 views with a handful of comments requesting more videos, so we decided to put together a little video showing some of our peculiar breakfast-cooking routine. We actually tried to make breakfast at a park near the Walmart we'd camped at the previous night, but right as we set up, someone showed up with a lawn mower and any hopes of being heard on camera were lost. We actually had to cross the border from Michigan back into Wisconsin to get to the rest stop (which was also a Wisconsin DMV!) where we ended up filming, in spite of the ruckus of the cars and trucks passing along the freeway. More mishaps ensued, some more hilarious than others, and this is what we ended up with:



We've checked out a few other van life video channels and noticed that a lot of people are more polished and spend more energy showing you how you should travel or giving you handy tips, but this video is definitely more just a snapshot of our messy imperfect lives — we didn't really know what we were going to end up with, but what we did get is just us being our strange selves.

An Outside Perspective

The following is an account of our five days in Waukesha, Wisconsin (just outside Milwaukee) with Tressa's mother, who agreed to guest blog for us and share her perspective on the visit. We had such a wonderful time in Wisconsin and feel very fortunate to be able to get and share some insight from a third party!

***

Heading back to the airport, I find myself looking around the van that has carted me back and forth to classes, to our motel miscellaneous stores for the past five days. I take in the mix of chaos and order — clothes hanging, boxes neatly tucked beneath a large comfy platform bed, the maps, the phone chargers, the random pairs of shoes, the cute little touches of hand sewn curtains, a succulent plant hanging on for dear life.

From the outside, you'd steer clear. The "rape van" joke is a pretty accurate assertion as the first impression one might have. I recall the airport pick up on my first day: the big, white, bug encrusted, lumbering American-made mass rumbling into the airport lines, and in front, in their beloved captain seats, both beautiful and quirky, Tressa and Kelsey. They had navigated through shiny taxis and late model cars, parked, and hopped out to greet me. I was promptly cheesed with a Wisconsin cheese hat, followed by an excited group hug.

There they were, happily adjusted to this life, their van life. Nearly two months into their seven month journey, driving barefoot and sweaty, excited for the next chapter, in which they would join me for a respite of hot showers and meals, while I would take my fifth and final insurance class and test for a hard earned designation I had started four years earlier.

I had coordinated this last class all the way to Wisconsin in order to intersect with the girls' travel path through the United States. Regardless of where the timing coordinated us, we planned to get in a day of visiting and sightseeing. And so it was Waukesha, Wisconsin of all places.

I was unable to secure a room at the fancier Marriott where my classes were to be held, so we settled for what seemed to be a family style Ramada Inn nearby. Though the rooms and service were borderline shabby, the atmosphere and lackadaisical attitude were a much better fit for the five day lifestyle we chose. I had no desire to pay extra to house two more adults, though I did request two queen beds. Could I have ever snuck past the snooty Marriott desk with two giggling girls, several bags of food, dishes, a propane stove, and a large sticker-covered ice chest? I am not so sure.

The Ramada could care less. By day two we were utilizing the camp stove, frying potatoes and eggs, boiling rice, sauteing veggies, and making sandwich wraps from the ice chest filled with a never ending supply of motel ice. Between that and the early morning continental breakfast kitchen, these girls had surely rubbed off on me; I joined in, capitalizing on free food and preparing cheap meals with them. In the most recent weeks prior to our meeting, they had taken to sustaining solely on cooked rice for some days at a time in an effort to save money, so the motel life was like a vacation for them. For me, it was downright fun.

The first day they dropped me off for my class in front of the Marriott, they sent me off with motherly advice such as, "Make good choices!" Their afternoon pic up was even more precarious as they arrived wearing mustaches and captain hats. In true van captor fashion they hollered, "Get in the van!" at me. Oh my...

And so the next few days went — some of which included them posting up at the fancy Marriott for a steady of supply of free wifi, quality coffee with real cream, as well as pastries and cookies from my classes, which I supplied at each hourly break. I received some amused and skeptical glances from fellow classmates as I climbed in and out of the unlikely vehicle each day, making the entire even that much more hilarious.

My studies were intense, but between note cards and reading, I was still able to enjoy and witness their easy banter, their daily lists of projects and crafts, and the plotting of their upcoming destinations. I got to see how they worked with each other in and out of the small space, how they wordlessly took turns with the various tasks of driving or navigating, cooking or cleaning. They clearly had developed a routine and a way with their travels. They were diligent in the home check ins, their writing and photography, and yet seemed to take in the world around them.

There was quiet reflective time, there was dancing and loud music, cooking and food prep, chatting and grocery shopping. They endured my endless out-loud ramblings as I rattled off insurance definitions, concepts and calculations, even in my sleep! And finally the Saturday morning, following my two and a half hour exam, we were able to do some Milwaukee sightseeing! The girls were very excited about taking a Pabst beer tour, which has developed a bit of a cult following.

I think what I found most amusing about this tour was coming directly from a Risk Management class, to a beer drinking group tour through the facility's construction zone where the owner excitedly shared his plans of creating a Beer, Bed & Breakfast suite, complete with beer on tap in each bed's headboard. Was he serious? The tour continued through cords and ladders, debris and dust. And the best? One of the carpenters watching us from atop a story-high scaffolding in the middle of this construction, enjoying a PBR! Oh the risk, the risk, the risk! I just couldn't believe it.

So what better way to dive into this debacle, but to make friends with him AND with the owner after our tour? We discovered them both to extremely kindhearted and full of stories of the various states represented in their facility tours. I did my best to draw out of them some thoughts relating to home and what it means to them, in the interest of the girls' trip theme. The girls appreciated my outgoing nature and were happy to join in. I took several pictures of them in front of the Captain Pabst statue and we drew some glances as I shouted, "Talk to the camera, speak to me!" while they struck various poses.

The day continued, once filled with lofty ideas of getting tattoos and singing at a karaoke bar, to snacks and rented RedBox movies back at the Inn. After many hours of walking around town, watching the lift bridge and the boats passing through, losing my beloved Pabst souvenir T-shirt at either a Spy Cafe or an Irish Pub — both too annoying to write about, we three rather craved to climb into our beds to watch movies instead.

A greasy diner breakfast in the morning, and back to the airport I am taken. I surprised myself in the back of the van with a large lump in my throat. I was just so happy for them, sad to leave, amazed at their adventure, impressed by their courage, terrified of them backing up the large van in parking lots. (It's one big blind spot, that thing!) They had their next stop planned: camping in Michigan, then a new couchsurfing host in Duluth, Minnesota.

Being a mother of a beautiful young daughter, traveling the way she does, I get that people often worry or wonder about her safety. Tressa has been traveling since she was 16. She is such a mix of wit and innocence. She plans and she frets. She laughs and she loves. Kelsey, who I have known and loved since she was a preteen has this easy way of shrugging off the little worries and diving into tasks with a can-do attitude. Between the two of them, they seem to have it all dialed in. They are careful to lock up, to close their blinds; they have each others' back and these girls mean business.

Tressa texted me later that last day, reflecting that I have managed to join her in every one of her big trips. I hope she continues and that I am able to pop in again at all the various stages of her life. I hope they both push against the pressures of what society says it means to grow up and follow their dreams this way, meeting different people in different places all around the world. The perspective, the empathy, the openness of it all. These girls are truly inspiring. I say, carry on ladies. Thank you for letting me join the fun.


-Cheryl Fessenden
(Tressa's mother and one of our most supportive donors and followers!)

Eastward through the Wild West.

Spokane is the first place thus far where we find a host via Couchsurfing — a young married couple that invites us into their home and shares a tasty BBQ dinner with us. We play bocce ball with them and chat over strawberry rhubarb cobbler. It’s interesting to talk to Joe and Sarah about home because the two of them are actually from the same town in Wyoming and have some differing experiences with their hometown and with making Spokane a home, plus they’re about to sell their house and embark on an adventure together teaching English in France for a year. The next day after a delicious breakfast and coffee routine with our wonderful hosts, we each explore Spokane in our own ways and find it to be quite a friendly place.

Next, we head to the Idaho Panhandle, to go see Kelsey’s stepmom’s aunt Donna (whew, what a title!) Donna lives down a rural gravel driveway with one of her daughters, who has her grandchildren, two adorable little girls about 5 and 10 years of age, visiting. By dinnertime, there’s a full house, 9 of us sitting down to eat together. It’s definitely a different lifestyle, but everyone is incredibly kind and hospitable. After dinner, we watch a sheep get sheared and show the girls our van. They speculate on various ways to stowaway and travel with us.

The next day we head to Coeur D’Alene and spend some time sitting in a grassy park, working on a little crafts projects together before visiting a farmers market and getting some tasty snap peas for the road.

It’s getting dark as we cross the Montana border and cruise through more and more rural stretches of highway, glimpsing snatches of water and mountainous shapes in the darkness. The next day is gloomy and rainy. We drive to Whitefish, a cute little town near Glacier National Park. We have a bit of the rainy day blues, so we spend some time sitting in a cute café, sipping mochas and working on plans, before driving to the park.

Due to what we’ll call an “accidental scenic detour,” we arrive at Glacier a bit later than intended, so we get a camping site and spend some time cleaning and organizing the van before having a cozy dinner and conking out. In the morning, the gloom is beginning to burn off a bit, so we take a hike along McDonald Creek, which is awfully big and fast moving for a creek. The scenery is beautiful, the water is this icy blue green, rushing past and dark craggy mountains loom up ahead, shrouded in theatrical mist. We get drizzled on a bit, but don’t mind much in our raincoats. We even come across this gorgeous and nonchalant buck, zigzagging his way lazily across the trail and nibbling at the lush moss. He paws at it with one hoof and looks at us warily for a moment before bending to his knees to resume his vigorous snacking.

After this hike we still feel like we’ve got a little energy left, so we decide to hit one more little mile loop nearby, but after walking a half a mile or so, it begins POURING, and I mean POURING. Our legs are soaked through and we’re worried about the contents of our backpacks, so we decide to turn back and promptly get lost-ish and end up wandering around in the rain for longer than we’d like.

Our next stop is Missoula, a town that’s come highly recommended to us and where Weyaka, a family friend and basically Tressa's fairy Godmother, lives. The weather is still weird and gloomy, so we’re glad to have a cozy place where we feel incredibly at home to hang out and pet three quirky kitties.  In Missoula we visit a farmers market, spend some time shopping with Weyaka, her man, and his daughter at an adorable boutique, do our usual wandering, coffee shop and jogging routine, check out the space where Weyaka is setting up her own fabulous bohemian boutique and chat with her about what’s it’s like to be a Californian creative living in Montana for love. We feel like our batteries have been recharged when we leave Missoula on Monday, headed for Billings.

Billings is the biggest “city” in Montana, but it’s hazy, small and kind of meth-y We see a band called Geographer play at a cool little venue that has some alternative looking people in it and really enjoy the music. It’s fun to go out and try and pretend we’re real youths and not just old ladies in disguise. In the morning, we have breakfast at McCormick’s Café, “where locals eat” and walk around a bit. It’s kind of a weird place, and we wonder if there’s a better part of town we should be in. We make the mistake of trying to get Mexican food in Montana, the first place where someone responds to Tressa's request for a vegetarian burrito by saying, “What?” They concede to give her a burrito with everything but the meat and somehow she ends up eating "an $8 bean and cheese burrito that tastes like bitter, bitter disappointment."

Anyway, instead of heading to North Dakota, we’ve decided to dip down into Wyoming first before heading further East. Wish us luck seeing some dope wildlife.

Tressa & Kelsey

Check out our space!

Yesterday we took a second before take off to film a little video tour of our renovated van space. Things got a little weird but that's to be expected, right? Check it out here:



Our Trevolta campaign has officially ended, and we wanted to thank Camlow Cellars, Aaron & Cheri Fessenden, Farra Ferrere, and Sandi Bowen for our last donations! A few people have mentioned still wanting to donate although the Trevolta funding expired, so maybe we'll look into setting up a Paypal donation button and just keep track of the rewards ourselves, but that's a project for another day.

Writing to you all from Ashland, Oregon and considering checking out Crater Lake today and possibly staying there or heading up to Eugene before hitting Portland.

Smooches!

Tressa & Kelsey

Pieces of home.

It's interesting being on the very cusp of this grand adventure, holding in our minds the questions of home through all our preparations, and being in some ways aware of the things that seem important to have in our mobile dwelling during the the duration of the journey. Do these things signal to us what the ingredients for a new home are for us? Not the obvious things — clothing, food, toiletries — but the little things we could have left but didn't. A small succulent plant, bright new handmade curtains, a few novels, a dream book, a ball of yarn and a pair of circular needles, face paint, a polar bear hat, scented candles...

In spite of our desire to be minimal and functional, to pare down to the bare necessities, we held onto these things, found places for them in our tiny living space. In some ways these comforts seem necessary. They are markers of identity, particulars that make us feel human and individual, and they will make our rusty '91 Chevy feel like home.

Lessons in Las Vegas

On Memorial Weekend, Evan and I took our beastly baby on a mini road trip to Las Vegas for Punk Rock Bowling. Before we took off, Evan scoped the van out for last minute tinkering and ended up replacing our serpentine belt, which was apparently rather cracked. I had no idea what that even was, but the name sounds dope and it's apparently on the upper end of necessary. Perks of having mechanically inclined people around — one less thing to deal with before we take off on the real deal.

In addition to raging for several days in a row, hanging out with some great humans, and experiencing a water slide that goes through a shark aquarium, the trip was a good chance to get a hands on idea of what van life was going to be like and how we could make it more enjoyable. While our friends were sleeping in gloriously air conditioned hotel rooms, chain smoking indoors and making use of a complimentary mini fridge that was brought up to store someone's imaginary insulin, Evan and I camped out in the van in a parking lot that only cost us $5/night. I was a little worried that someone would realize we were actually staying in the van and would kick us out, but no one ever said anything.

Some things we learned:

1. We definitely need to fix our gas gauge. Unexpectedly running out of gas in some hot, ugly town in Southern California is no fun. After some research, it looks like we may need a whole new fuel pump, which is gonna set us back $150 or so.

2. Never be in traffic ever. The van does great (a little over 20mpg, it seems) when we can cruise at a nice speed on the freeway, but any traffic at all will literally swallow all our gas in under an hour. Perks of being a roving turtle unit - if traffic gets bad we can basically stop wherever we want and find something to do until it clears up.

3. We need a sunlight cover and hopefully some sort of fan.  Even when we rolled down all our windows and put a floor mat over the sky light we'd wake up by 9am drenched in sweat. Granted, Las Vegas is hot as hell, and hopefully our trajectory will avoid that kind of heat (except at Burning Man), but damn.

4. Having a pee funnel (yup, we splurged) doesn't actually reduce the awkwardness of public urination that much — if anything it feels extra weird to be a woman in a dress peeing standing up, and a little like you might pee all over yourself. We have some elaborate pee-disposal ideas in the works.

5. We should probably get a folding table of some sort. Trying to set up your camp stove to make dinner on the ground in some random parking lot is amusing once, but also rather impractical.

Anyway, we have just a tiny bit over a week until our fundraiser ends and we (hopefully!) depart. Of course, we're more than willing to take your money any ol' time, but if you've been meaning to contribute (and get some sweet snail mail as we travel!) the time is now!

Huge, huge thank yous to John Archibald, Emily Clayton, Allen Conner, João Igor of Coolfarm, Louis & Karen McKenzie of Twin Palms Ranch, Ceiba, the Hoegermans, the Murphy family AND the Murphey family, Jim & Jan MacInnis, Joe Dryden! So many amazing humans!

Aaaaaand, last but not least, CONGRATS to my baby girl and co-adventurer, the luminous, the fabulous, my favorite, Kelsey Murphey, for graduating from Sac State with her photography degree!

Hasta pronto!

Tressa

To-Do Lists & Tinkering

As time goes on, our to-do list keeps on growing, but so does our excitement! Today, Tressa and her pops spent some time poking around in the van to make a more comprehensive list of what needs to get done to make our vehicle a cozy and safe home. We're planning on resurfacing the counter top and bed, changing the bracing on the bed to make storing things underneath it more accessible, building some new shelves, looking for a new front door panel, getting a tool box set up, making a new curtain... We'll have to get a mattress, camp stove, propane, a sturdy cooler, water tank, storage containers, solar chargers... The list goes on!

These iPhone photos are definitely not Kelsey-approved but give you an idea of the interior.

Most of the preparations will get started in earnest in late May when Kelsey comes back to Sonoma County from school, but we have also been spending some time thinking about the questions we're exploring on our journey, doing a little pre-writing and thinking about what how to approach documenting what we discuss with people along the way.

We're thinking it'd be fun to test the waters at home before we head out, so let us know if you'd be open to showing us what home means to you and being our guinea pig in late May or early June!

Finally, thanks SO MUCH to everyone who has contributed to our travel fund! Huge thank yous to Ted Judah, Ralitza Benzzo, Dan Boyle, Jaw Blake, Gary Lek and Robyn Hunter! Please continue to help support us by sharing our project or donating to our Trevolta trip — we'll be sending our backers some fun incentives and you're always welcome to get creative and think up your own.


Hugs!

Tressa & Kelsey

A running start!

Wow, we've only just begun and we're already overwhelmed with how amazing our friends and family are! Huge shout outs to our very first sponsors: Galen Forrest, Quinn Ung, and Cheryl & Jo Fessenden of Barber Insurance (aka Tressa's family/employers!)

In other news, our video is finished, here it is:




Thanks again to everyone that has contributed and to everyone that has shared our fundraiser or blog; if you haven't yet, you can check out the fundraiser here, and please continue to urge your networks to support us!

Lots of love,

Kelsey & Tressa

Taking the plunge.

Not too long ago, we decided to fast track our trip and moved our estimated departure date from August to June, and since then, the hunt for an inhabitable vehicle has become a lot more real. For two girls with no mechanical knowledge to speak of, buying a van you're planning on living in and putting thousands of miles on over the course of six months is a daunting task. We were equipped with fathers and boyfriends to assist in the hunt, but ultimately, the decision was ours.

When Tressa stumbled up on a cute '91 Chevy van already equipped with a bed platform and a few other modifications that would make living easier, we decided she was the one.

Introducing, our beautiful beasty:

We're super excited to have launched our Trevolta crowd funding campaign, so be sure to check that out, throw us a few bucks and help to spread the word. We have video in the works that will go along with the campaign, so stay tuned for us being awkward on camera!

Until next time,

Tressa & Kelsey