Our first month in the USA
It’s almost been a month since I arrived in the US (almost two months now I’m finally getting around to posting this). In my mind I was going to be doing loads of writing and blogging the process of starting our new life here but, honestly, it’s been so full on that documenting it at the same time felt like a step too far.
We started out at Amy’s grandma’s house in the middle of winter - and getting going with the van build was quite a challenge in an unheated garage - especially given that I think the last time I touched a power tool was in High School design & tech class.
Thankfully, Amy linked up with some friends who put us in touch with another couple of old friends of hers who have a gorgeous place in Binghamton with a tiny home that Becca’s dad built and a woodworking shop. So we have managed to split our time between Amy’s grandma’s place and a heated woodshop to really get going on our van build. I genuinely think our #vanlife dreams would have struggled to get off the ground without Dan and Becca - plus they introduced us to Ted Lasso, a show which I don’t think really made it across the pond but really should have done!
As of today (31st January) we’ve built the floor of our van, insulated, built our sofa/pull out bed situation and mostly built a kitchen cabinet. I’ll do another post or two about the van build but it’s been a real learning curve, especially for me. We’ve kept it pretty simple so frustrations have been fairly short lived so far - wish us luck as we move into what I think could be the trickiest phase of the project, building an arch to divide the front seats from our living space..
In the mix I’ve also managed to pass my driving test which was a bloody miracle and book some exciting adventures for later in the year. If you want to do one of the classic backpacking trips (a multi-day hike carrying your tent on your back) you need to have your fastest typing fingers ready the minute reservations open. Again a subject for another blog post I think but it’s basically like the equivalent of Glastonbury tickets for hiking nerds.
