Meeting friends while living in a van can be a little bit like online dating. A lot of us end up meeting through Instagram, which is where we post all of our adventures and our van builds. We usually only get to know people through their online presence, so it’s really cool when we can get close enough with someone to meet them in person.
I don’t know when we first started following Grayson and Harrison on Instagram, but we had our first phone call while Zak and I were back in Huntsville, AL in the spring, and now I am sitting here writing my blog post at their kitchen table in Montana! Zak and Harrison are currently outside shooting photos of the Milky Way and the Northern Lights, and Grayson is showering off after a long day of travel while I write this. Here is their instagram page if you’re interested in checking them out!
Honestly, it’s been so cool to be able to chat with people our own age about life on the road. It’s cool to pick their brains about the build, and chat about funny experiences that we’ve both had. For example, we’ve joked about all of the times that very persistent people have looked into our van unannounced and the many nights we’ve slept in Walmart parking lots. I don’t know many people our age that know what it’s like to sleep in Walmart Parking lots most nights of the week, that’s for sure!
This weekend, we’re really excited to relax, cook and bake, play games, watch movies, hike, get to know our new friends better, and help each other with our respective vans. Grayson and Harrison are building out their second van right now, and we are going to help them carry their ceiling in and I am going to try to help Grayson with the cushions for the build. Harrison is going to help us with some soldering for our refrigerator. Hopefully we can get that baby finished soon! We’d love to have a working fridge!
For right now, though, I am going to sign off so that I can spend some more time with everyone. Make sure to check the Vanlife Journal for another update tomorrow!
Much love,
Zak and Fal
As you can see, we’re both pretty excited about being able to meet our internet friends in real life!