Inaugural Van Trip

Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. – Ed Abbey

We’re living a dream-come-true at this very moment in time. A dream that few would have, and many would shake their heads at. But if one accepts this dream, and toys with the idea of this dream, she promises not to disappoint – to bring countless highs, and potentially as many lows; to deliver plenty of memories…of the mixed variety of course.

This “dream” is to own a Westfalia Vanagon, and ours is from 1989.

We’re not entirely sure when this dream began to taunt us. We moved from Ontario to British Columbia back in 2008, and a lot changed for us. We moved to Whistler to chase another dream of ours…to be powder hounds. Time of our lives!! Not only were our interests broadened by the inspiring great outdoors, but our perspectives on health and happiness were shifted. Our love for wilderness sent us on some wild adventures – check out dantarapct@wordpress.com for our 2,660 mile hike – but it also taught us about the frailty of life, the environment, and the All-American-Dream.

What matters in life? What are our priorities? How can we minimize our consumption and live simply? These are just a handful of questions, with so many complex and varying answers – not something I want to get into today. Stay tuned!

So we bit the bullet and bought a van.

Where does one take such a fine vehicle of Bohemian, hippy, nomadic essence? On Vancouver Island…Tofino of course!

And here I sit, lined up on Long Beach, facing the ocean, on my laptop, sharing this adventure with you. Sun’s warm, surf’s up, and the pop-top is open for extra awesome points.

We’re in heaven. At least in “our heaven”…