In 2014, Julie & Christian sold their home and letterpress equipment, put the bulk of their belongings in storage and bought a 1990 Volkswagen Westfalia Vanagon with the idea to travel around North America and Central America for a year. That year quickly turned into three, and now they don't plan on stopping.
Last month, Savannah & Brett began a 4,000-mile cross-country trip in their van named Jolene. Their goal: to make this trip last three months so they can spend time in the areas that they find the most influential and opportunistic.
Savannah is using this trip as a way to practice being present, to create long-lasting memories and to help those in need, especially through massage therapy. In turn, Brett wants to take as many pictures as possible, learn more about himself and others and, most importantly, make a positive impact on those who cross his path.
With their combined passions and dreams, they plan to offer their services and create connections. Every photo tells a story, and after a month, these two have several to fill their collection.
Emily & Corey are experimenting how they can blend their nomadic lifestyle with a traditional career. Together, they are sharing the ways they are redefining work while still following their passions.
They keep following what they feel, through the discomforts, risks, mysteries and the unknowns. Emily, Corey and their dog, Penny Rose, continue to live in a van because they love moving and feeling free.
Gonzalo & Jor are an Argentinian couple who decided to travel around the Americas with no precise route or even a destination. After more than one year on the road, they have already driven about 18,000 miles, which is almost double the distance from Alaska to Ushuaia (the beginning and end of the Panamerican Highway).
When they like a place they visit, they stay another day, week or even month or more. Being in one location helps them create a routine, meet locals and experience the way they live. To fund their trip, they try to get a job or sell scrapbooks, postcards and fridge magnets that they make. Staying in one place decreases their fuel expenses and increases their funds to travel further.
Jessica & Rob have a dream for their family: a year living on the road. They long to see the humdrum of day-to-day life become fresh in the microcosm of their van and discover the world through the eyes of their daughter, Henley. But most of all, they want to slow down and live simply.
Life in a van becomes a rhythm. With three people, every navigation inside becomes a choreographed dance move. It gives purpose and enjoyment to the most mundane tasks. Memories are made, for better and for worse.
Jessica, Rob and Henley are discovering that life in the slow lane is an ongoing adventure and an exercise in savoring each day.
Surf's up and so is Jarett. His home sits on the Pacific Northwest coast. He grabs his camera and heads for the ocean. After a full day of shooting the swell, Jarett heads back home to edit his photos. A lot of days are like this for Jarett, and it doesn't phase him—for he can park wherever he'd like and always be on time.
I've been on Instagram as "Tiny House, Tiny Footprint" for a little over a year now. Since the beginning of that time, there have been a few people I've been interacting with that I have grown quite close to. Monica is one of them—someone I would call my "tiny living soul sister." We've been rooting each other on for the past year, supporting each other from afar. Even though we've never met, we have no trouble feeling bonded by our love for traveling and nature.
Do me a favor and think back to what it was like to be nine years old. Maybe you had a favorite teacher or a favorite memory on the playground during recess.
What if we replaced your schoolteachers with your parents and the playground was actually anywhere you could drive to between North and South America?
That's what it's like to be Bode, who has already visited 22 countries with his two parents, Angela and Jason, in a 1971 VW bus.
For Bode, school and home are both on the road.
There might be correlation between living small and taking pretty pictures. Or perhaps, coincidentally, the people I interview have a knack for finding beautiful things to photograph on their travels and are able to capture their own joy living this lifestyle. Either way, it’s hard not to want to escape to Europe to meet this lovely couple and caravan with them on the coast and throughout the countryside.
Lauren and Calum share through their writing and photography that the simple things in life are much more enjoyable.
Idle: to spend time doing nothing.
Theory: to spend our time idling.
Bus: vehicle, home, and friend.
It's hard to say just a few words about Rachel & James. They are two beautiful souls who are on a quest to find the meaning and purpose of both work and leisure.
I think we can all learn a thing or two by the way Rachel & James live. They actively pursue doing nothing—which is actually a whole lot more meaningful than trying too hard to do something.
What do I mean by that?
To be still while you listen to the forest or bathe quietly in hidden swimming holes requires you to accept the world around you and embrace it. So many times we don't want to be confronted with the unknown or the mysteries that surround us.
Rachel & James are immersed in this lifestyle because they want to feel something and they want to make sure you feel it too.
I have never met Kenz & Hawk, but is it safe to say that I already know I would get along with them?
If you're into campfires, rainbow party lights, hula hoops, dancin' hippies and wild weather, these two have you covered. They are free spirits flowing through life by saying "yes" to new experiences.
They don't have a plan or an agenda, but I'm confident good things are in their future.
