In less than a week Frank and I will head out for a 3 week long road trip from Olympia down to Los Angeles, then crossing over to Arizona. After a week or so there, we’ll take our time heading home.

This will be the longest we’ve lived in the van since the previous fall, when we worked as wine harvest interns for Alexana Winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Since harvest, we’ve made some serious updates to the van. We’ve also learned some great travel hacks to make planning our vacation streamlined and guaranteed fun!

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Gut, Build, Re-Gut, Re-Build

Last year we cut it really close to make the van livable by the time we needed to move to Oregon. That meant we left a lot of things unfinished or kept some elements temporary until we had more time.

We also got to spend months living in the van, followed by countless weekend trips. Suffice it to say, we’ve learned a lot about what we need out of our campervan.

With a bit more time on our hands (let’s be real, Frank did most of the work) we were able to finish some projects:

• Built out the headboards and above-head storage
• Bought useful (and cute) storage cubes
• Built out our closet with drawers
• Raised the entry point for the water hose to make for an easier time filling up and to prevent leakage
• Cut air vents into the bed floor to increase air flow
• Installed a shelf under the bed just big enough for Frank’s extra large paella pan (for all of our paella needs)
• Re-did the wall by the bench seat to keep it flush against the side of the van

There are still some projects that we are likely going to wait on, including replacing our kitchen counter with butcher block and adding even more above head storage.

Planning Our Itinerary

When we were discussing where we should go for our vacation, Frank’s parents kindly offered us use of their timeshare in Scottsdale, Arizona. We had such a blast doing our road trip through Utah in 2020 that it made sense we should head in that direction once again!

Now, I know everyone doesn’t have a timeshare in Arizona (although let’s be real, don’t we all know someone with a timeshare in Arizona?) but I still recommend finding one or two focus points when planning your trip. Having those destinations set in stone will make the rest of your trip planning far more organized.

Once we had Arizona figured out, we decided on a handful of places we wanted to check out along our trip:

• Redwoods National Park
• Napa/Sonoma
• Highway 101 (at least some of the more scenic parts)
• L.A. (to visit Frank’s family)
• Grand Canyon

Frank and I created a shared “Note” in our phones that we used to jot down people’s advice and suggestions, along with links to places to visit.

It’s only been the last few days that we’ve been establishing a day-by-day itinerary, with of course plenty of wiggle room in case we want to stay in a particular spot for longer.

Boondocking

We mostly use iOverlander for our boondocking and camping (not sponsored). I like this app because it’s widely used and people can leave comments on their experiences.

To be honest, we are still debating on getting Harvest Host. It’s $99 for the year, but we aren’t sure if we would get that much use out of it for this trip. If anyone has positive or negative reviews for Harvest Host - please let me know!

What’s Next?

Frank’s probably still going to be drilling in coat hooks as I drive us the hell out of here. I, on the other hand, get the easy task of buying us more sunscreen (and a new bikini, yay!)

Be sure to check out my Instagram for regular updates on our trip, and as always, thank you for reading!

More

• Pike Place Market, How to Get Lost and Have a Blast
• Wineries in the Willamette to Know About
• Bikepacking the Willamette, Part I