On the road in a Volkswagon Vanagon Westfalia
After my last wedding of 2017 in October I rented out my place in Portland (just for the winter, I'll be back!) closed on a house in Brooksville, ME, moved some things in, photographed a bunch of awesome couples I'm excited to be working with in 2018 and hopped in my vanagon for it's first true test on the road outside of Maine.
We started in Jackson, NH, visited Mass Moca in MA, took a work break in Hudson Valley, NY, discovered that we probably shouldn't have stopped in Harrisburg, PA then finally took a few days to stop in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. I had no expectations for Shenandoah and it was the true highlight of the trip for me. Skyline drive was beautiful, deer were everywhere, there were no crowds and plenty of small hikes. From Virginia we headed to Asheville - messed up some planning and ended up at a KOA. Then we did a night of dispersed camping in the Pisgah Forest. This was also a sweet surprise and I loved how close the mountains are in Asheville. We hiked Looking Glass Rock (I only brought a film camera, oops!) and then headed into Asheville for a few days. Asheville reminded me of Portland a lot, or maybe kind of more like Portland 5 years ago but somehow with more breweries and way, way more antique furniture. We scored big thrifting and antiquing in NC. I would make the Grey Eagle at the top of anyone's list of places to go see a band in Asheville, and get a drink at the Double Crown afterward.
From Asheville we beelined to NH, and then onto Maine. Some thoughts on living in the van for about two weeks - A lot of life's worries go right out the door when you're confined to the van and the road. - It's important to find places to pee! - I hit my head so many times. - State parks in New England close really early in the fall and that makes it more difficult to find places to stay than I anticipated. - Cozying up in the back of the van with the back hatch open and the screen in is the most comfy place in the world.
More van trips to come.