Visting CA - Temporary Vanlife

Even after moving out of big suburban houses into cozy Airstreams (or other RV's) to travel the country, seems we're now hearing about a lot of traveling families wanting to downsize even further. We'll get a taste of that this week as we rent a Westfalia camper to spend a weekend with some overlanding friends north of San Francisco. Should be interesting (and probably entertaining)! #westy #westfalia #travelwithkids #campingwithkids #familytravel

Not quite an Airstream in the rearview this time, but it still looks goooooood! Pic by @advodna_ann #westfalia #temporaryvanlife #goldengatebridge #vanagon

Holy crap! I just realized my mom's a hipster! The mushroom print crock pot was the first clue. Plus, she's always digging out vintage cookbooks and recreating her grandmother's recipes and making quilts 'n' stuff. Classic hipster behavior, but the Chemex was the clincher. I was kinda proud until I spent 45 minutes looking for the coffee filters and ended up having to use a paper towel. #hipsterswithhipreplacements #visitinghome #backontheroadthisafternoon

So the kids have been battling a stomach bug ever since we arrived in SF, and I *may* just have tempted fate by telling Ann that if either of the kids "got sick from either end" within 30 minutes of waking up this morning, we'd postpone our meet-up with some overlanding friends by a night. Uh, yeah, so we took the day to let them rest up and to get the Westy packed. Well, turns out it may have been for the best since strong winds and rain started around 10:00 am and continued through the day. Of the three groups we were hoping to meet, one ended up sleeping at a truck stop, one ended up getting a hotel room in Sacramento and one ended up stuck in the mud trying the reach the rendezvous spot. We'll all try again tomorrow! #westy #westfalia #vanlifefail

They have (mostly) assembled. @carpeviam_chloe, @advodna_ann, @lostworldluis and @lostworldlacey, @ruined.adventures and @songoftheroad. A great group and a beautiful spot. #overlanding #overlanders #panamericanhighwayvets

Repost from @ruined.adventures: Welcome to #vanlife.
Thanks, guys. Yeah, we didn't quite have the hose we needed to hookup the catalytic heater we borrowed, so last night did get a bit chilly. Ann and I were warm under a down comforter in the pop top and Wynne was comfy in her sleeping bag "in the trunk" behind the bench seat, but, even in fleece pajamas and her down poof, we were a little worried about Mae in a porta crib on the floor. She joined us upstairs at about 1:30 am.
In the morning, we heated the place up as best we could by making coffee and oatmeal on the stove and scrawled an SOS message on the steamy window in case someone passed by.
#temporaryvanlife #westy #westfalia #travelwithkids #familytravel #downsizing

Thanks Tío @lostworldluis for bringing the most essential piece of campsite play equipment. #sisters #hammocklife

These things are almost as fun to take pictures of as Airstreams. Almost... #westy #westfalia #vanagon #vanagonlife #temporaryvanlife

Mastering the casual fire hang by sitting to the left and studying the practiced moves of @songoftheroad. On the way back to the van (we live in a van, now, well for the rest of the weekend anyway 😉), Wynne tripped and fell flat on her face. I quickly scooped her up and dusted her off before shining my light at her feet and showing her one of the many burrow holes weaving in and out of the tree roots by our site. She immediately started to break down and say she was sorry. I told her not to worry, figuring she was just stunned and embarrassed, but when she got to Ann she said, "I'm so sorry to that animal that I stepped in its burrow!!" #doingsomethingright #campingwithkids

Pink poofs, princess chairs and Paw Patrol. #toddlervanlife #childhoodplugged #butonlywhilethebabyisnapping #westy #westfalia #vanagon

Rigs of a variety of shapes and sizes, all filled with nutty people who don't think there's any such thing as a crazy idea. Thanks for the pork, whiskey and inspiration @ruined.adventures, @lostworldluis and @lostworldlacey, @northsoutheastwesty, @xpcamper, @songoftheroad, @carpeviam_chloe and @tobyconroy and @slcdmc #overland #overlanders #overlanding #panamericanhighwayvets #panamericanhighway

A few people had questions about how it all worked spending a few nights in a rented Westfalia camper with an 18 mo and a 4 yr old last weekend compared to our usual lifestyle in a 25' Airstream. And we did spend a lot of time thinking about what it might be like to live full time in one, mostly just out of curiousity but also with an eye towards a smaller rig to explore Europe in a couple years.
It's funny how your perspective changes. After downsizing from a 2000 sq ft house to a 200 sq ft trailer, our old house seems impractical, impersonal and wasteful. And sitting huddled for warmth with three people on a two person bench behind a swing out table that blocks access to a single narrow closet with our clothes and covers two shallow bins containing all our food, and another person perched on a swiveled captains chair with feet resting on a battery compartment and a cooler in the doorway and the other chair piled high with kid's car seats and last night's campfire smoke-infused clothes, the Airstream's dedicated dinette, full height countertops, bright lighting, comparatively endless storage, headroom, cozy couch, furnace and bathroom including piping hot showers seem like pure luxury.
We ended the weekend with even more respect for the folks we see living the #vanlife with their kids - @bodeswell_vw, @poseidonsbeard, @jbeverly416, @adventuresingoldie, @aclimbingpartyoffour, @wandrly to name a few - and hope that despite our swanky silver mansion, we still have enough common ideals between us to hang with you sometime out on the road! #westfalia #westy #rvwithkids #vanlifewithkids