how this whole thing got started

how exactly did this whole thing get started? i'm so glad you asked. for as long as i can remember,i have had a love for living in unconventional spaces. when i went to school in california, i had the pleasure of living in an old shoeshop. i brushed my teeth in a sink in the adjoining garage. to me, this was wonderful. it was a little slice of adventure in the midst of a very busy time.

i also spent a summer living in a converted schoolbus with some friends in oregon. we parked in an old grove of apple trees in a wooded area. the tree's blossoms attracted bears which we heard singing at night on more than one occasion. i loved the rythem of rising with the sun, cooking outdoors and fine-tuning the art of improvisation. (such as "grinding" coffee beans with a hammer!) after all, the closest coffee shop was 40 miles away! the once a week trips into town for a bath, mail and supplies made me feel a bit like a pioneer. well, a pioneer who must have good coffee.

i was part of a circle of friends who enjoyed simple living and traveling on a shoestring. out of which the affectionately used term "urban-camping" was born. (traveling and sleeping in your vehicle.) i enjoyed short stints of urban-camping in my single days. at times, i met well meaning strangers on the road who assumed something terrible must have happened to me to be (gasp!) living in a car. after all, why would anyone in their right mind choose that? most cases proved futile to convince them otherwise!

now let me tell you a little about keith, my husband. years before we met, he was living, quite literally, on the beaches of key west. he often traveled without even a backpack. he ate when he found food or helped out at a local soup kitchen. he made his bed on a remote part of the beach, or a discovered cot on the roof-top of a floral shop in town. after a few years of island living, he made his way west to the redwood forest. the canopies of those beautiful giants would provide his shelter. soon after, he joined up with "jesus love you" a band of christian gypsies who caravaned on schoolbuses.

our honeymoon "suite" was a schoolbus parked at "The land" in northern caifornia. (more about that wonderful place later) we started our life together on the road, then settled for a few months at a friend's farm in tennessee. there, we stayed in ...you guessed it, a schoolbus. starting to see a pattern here? although pennyless, we dreamed of having our own home on wheels one day.

keith was a few credits shy of a degree in alternative building when he walked away from a terrible car accident. while he was fortunate to be alive, his back was quite injured. hence, until healed, carpentry was no longer a feasible vocation. how then would we fuel our travels? after some prayer,seeking and divine intervention, electrical proved to be that very thing. we buckled down for four years while keith went to school.

home on the bus

we saved up and eventually bought the bus of our dreams! keith graduated and passed his journeymans test. this enables him to work for himself anywhere. a month ago, he got layed off and we celebrated! while we are thankful he has had steady work, we were very excited to start that long awaited next chapter. it was time to put our energy into the bus.

while we are very busy with all the preparations, i write. for me this is an essential part of readying my spirit and mind for what is to come. maybe you have no desire to be an urban camper. that's ok. whoever you are, you have a dream. i hope in some small way this will inspire you to go after it!

written by

firebynite on July 28, 2010 from Nampa, United States

from the travel blog: super vegi-matic bus travels

tagged Dream, Schoolbus and UrbanCamping

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I can so identify with this. I too, spent time traveling and living in a bus. First a VW bus and later a school bus, and then a VW bus again, when my husband and I first got married. We've been married 40 years now, and even tho' I am 62, once it gets in your blood it never leaves. I had never thought about the 'urban camping' concept. But whenever I'm in another city, I'm searching for the local street musicians with an instrument in hand to join in, even now. And I'm quite sure they are urban campers! I love the free spirit and to touch their lives. It's been a few years since I have been able to do this. I will look forward to your visit in Tennessee!

written by Victoria Lovett on July 28, 2010

I would love to do some "urban camping" again! Sometimes I sit and dream when I remember the joys and simplicity of that kind of lifestyle. No wonder it's so overwhelming for me to manage this large space (called a House - not to mention two of them) and keep everything "together" at the same time. :) I'm so happy for you guys to be living your dream and it's such a blessing to get to read about it! ;) Thank you.

written by Elisha Pettit on February 25, 2011

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