top 5 places I've been in the van

great american west nostalgia

Recently I’ve been a bit homesick for San Diego. It’s my favorite time of the year there! We also have a really fun sample walking food tour that gets everyone in the mood for cheer. We also have a local parade in Ocean Beach and my friend has a llama themed art party every year for the holidays.

I can’t think about San Diego without thinking about the van. I’d forgotten how much a miss the great outdoors. I am hoping to plan a trip somewhere in Europe and rent a van so we can get a taste of van life back! It’s pretty easy to rent a van when you’re traveling, lots of companies have full set-ups, including cookware and utensils and such. I’m eyeing the account “vanlife Ireland”….

Bend, Oregon

This was my first long van trip and I loved it. We dropped our bikes off at the bottom of Deschutes river, and then drove to the top with our tubes during a heat wave in the summer of 2021. We spent all day floating down the river, with a hipster can of pinor noir trailing alongside our tubes. When we got to the bottom, we deflated our tubes and biked back to the van. The beauty of it was that there was no where to be except slowly drifting down the river. No emails to answer, no instagram to check.

Grand Canyon National Park

During Thanksgiving in 2021 we toured Arizona. We did a bike ride around the rim of the Grand Canyon and I was in awe about how long the mountains seemed to stretch into eternity. After layering up, we walked to watch the sunset with our portable tea mugs. I think the “grand” in grand canyon is severely under hyped. The colorful shades of sandy red and metallic purple are more vivid and breathtaking of anything I’ve ever seen.

Central Coast, CA

Central coast is my favorite part of California. I loved sleeping in Los Osos and waking up to the football field wide beach. Usually my husband makes me coffee when we’re staying in the van and there is absolutely nothing like waking up and being handed a mug of coffee and taking a long walk on the beach. I also loved all the awesome wine tasting at the natural wineries of the Santa Maria Valley. My favorite wine tasting ever was at Presqu’ile winery because the food was so amazing. They also complimented our van :) Just because you sleep in a van doesn’t mean you can’t do fancy things like wine taste.

Yosemite National Park

Staying in the park in the van felt like we were little kids again at sleep away camp. My favorite part was after spending the whole day outside hiking, dusk fell over the campsite and everyone returned home. The families and kids would be running around the campsite, and we would bike to the showers to get cleaned up. Cozy and clean, we would lock up our bikes for the evening and then relax by the campfire and make dinner. Hanging out at the campsite felt so wholesome and relaxing - the sounds of kids laughing, the crackling of the fire, the exhaustion in your bones.

Ocean Beach, CA

Every Valentine’s Day we drive the beach down to the cliffs to watch the sunset and drink wine and eat cheese. After we got married we put “Just Married” written on the back of the van and drove it down to our little reception at the cliffs. Our neighbors and people walking by honked and waved and congratulated us. As corny as it is, I wanted a picture in the van in our wedding gear! Today is also our one year wedding anniversary. I definitely recommend getting married at 8 AM on a Wednesday - you have the whole day to celebrate!

Have you ever tried traveling in a van? Would you? Do you have any tips for van life in Europe?

PS. My other van life posts are here and here.