So The Adventure Begins

 Last week my friend came through Tucson on her way to her next adventure, and we celebrated her birthday with a sound bath and cacao ceremony. I told her that as much as I’ve loved having my little van, “Beastie,” these past six years, I was also tired of the stress that came with her. When she sat too long, I worried about pack rats chewing things up again or mechanical issues from lack of use. I had started thinking seriously about putting her in storage close to home so I could keep a better eye on things, start the engine and generator regularly, and this will give me enough time to decide what I really wanted to do.

So, on Friday, May 1st, I called a storage facility to ask about parking the van there.

And honestly, the only way I can describe what happened next is divine intervention.

Early Monday morning, I received a phone call from an RV dealership asking if I had ever considered selling my van.

My first thought? Scam.

But I recognized the dealership’s name, so I called them back directly. Turns out they really do have employees whose whole job is reaching out to people about buying RVs. It’s called “procurement.” Somehow, I ended up speaking to the exact same man again. He gave me a low ball estimate and offered to come look at the van in person if I was interested.

That conversation kicked my brain into overdrive.

After we hung up, I started Googling my dream SUV. The perfect little vehicle to sleep in. The very first search result was an older SUV hybrid with under 20,000 miles at a dealership where a relative of mine works.

That felt like another breadcrumb on the trail.

I called the dealership, and the vehicle had literally just been traded in. It hadn’t even gone through inspection yet. I sent my relative all the information on Beastie, and then I drove her to what turned out to be our final destination together.

Now here’s the thing about my little SUV: it’s not flashy. No dramatic bells and whistles. It’s practical, dependable, and a little boring honestly. But it’ll probably run 200,000 miles if you take care of it. I won’t live that long.

That suddenly felt very exciting to me.

I even climbed into the back of the car, in a discrete location, so not to embarrass anyone to make sure I could sleep in it comfortably.

Her name is “Mini Beastie.” A gentler, kinder, smaller version of her predecessor.

I’ve already sorted through my camping gear and started organizing everything into four bins for the car. Once I finish school, I’m hoping to take my first trip. And when I finally pull out of the driveway, Kate Campbell’s “See Rock City” will absolutely be playing through the speakers.

Love you mom, thank you for introducing this amazing way of living.

Hopefully in 6 weeks I will be heading out.

Life is good.