So happy to have stumbled upon your Instagram account! I grew up in San Diego with a dad who loved and fixed up VW’s, including a ’77 van, and having those retro Volkswagons in my life made me dream of the day I’d have one of my own to venture around the country. My big plan was put on hold, however, because I opted for graduate school in New England…then bought a house…and got married…then had a baby. Trying to talk my hubs into purchasing a van so we can go on family adventures….and I’m hoping that showing him your photographs will help with the inspiration! Looks like you are having an amazing journey! I envy you ;o)
Thanks! We have been meeting all kinds of VW lovers over instagram. I wish my parents had one when I was a kid – don’t let yours grow old with out the experience. 🙂
Rachel–I LOVE this. Great job with a truly inspiring website/journal of your adventures. I can’t wait to see what you guys explore next. Make Colorado next on your list and come visit our wilderness!
Courtney, So glad you stopped by to check the blog out! We dream of the day we’ll make it to Colorado-and when we do we’ll have to do some hiking together. Thanks for riding along with us! Best to you and Drew! -Rachel
you two are such an inspiration, my boyfriend and i have moved to oceanside, california from australia and have a love for backpacking and hiking and photos are truly inspiring – looking at doing the pacific crest trail ourselves 🙂 hopefully seeyou two exploring around somewhere !!
Thanks for your kind words! Hope you are enjoying Oceanside…we lived in Encinitas for awhile. San Diego is a great place. Explore your own back yard and hopefully we’ll run into you sometime (on the PCT, perhaps?)
Glad to have come across your site as well. My wife and I di the same thing many years ago in a 1974 orange bus. We had our two dogs with us. It was an amazing time. We worked she we needed and traveled when we had saved enough cash. When our son graduates high school in 10 years it’s time to do it all over again
Keep on Vdub’n.
What a lovely lovely page! You are living a dream. My man and me are dreaming that, too, and we hope we will make it real soon. Enjoy your travels. I’ll follow you on Instagram.
Hello!
My name is Brooke 🙂 nice to meet you. I just read through this entire website and I just wanted to say that you two are my heroes and are living the dream. thanks for sharing your journey with the interwebs. you’re both pretty darn awesome.
Adventure on!
Hi!
I Just discovered your website.
You guys are living the life!
We are Westy owner/lover in San Francisco, if you are around the area let us know and we’ll welcome you with a warm shower and meal.
Hi guys, we are Armando & Mel, an Italian film director and an American writer, living, working and traveling in Europe with our Westy ’95 called Mork. We really would like to get in touch with you. Bye and safe travel
So great meeting you today at Healthy Hen Farm. Enjoyed hearing about your journey across the country and now enjoyed vicariously riding along with you through your pictures and videos! Hope you guys get that farm in the area in the future, have to keep in touch. -Steve
Aloha, Have totally enjoyed your pics and travel. I was a VW mech for 10 yrs and luv the old stuff. Had a 67 and a70 camper style bus. Hope to see you guys on the west coast. We have had the pleasure of hanging with Emily and Cory here in SD. Much Aloha to you both.
my mom and I were just talking about how awesome your lifestyle is and how we are dying to begin our own journey into the van life. if you don’t mind me asking, how do you guys support yourself throughout all your travels? I know several other account I have stumbled upon do odd jobs or work out of their vans but I never see mention of that on your page. also your siblings are so incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to travel with you! I love reading about your adventures, happy travels!
So Sorry for the late response! Thanks so much for visiting our blog and for reaching out. Sounds like you’re in an exciting phase of life; good for you for taking steps to live your dreams; that is admirable and we say–do what makes you joyful!
To support ourselves, we do farm work as we need it, everything from butchering chickens to harvesting peaches. We’ve done roofing, dug ditches, and hung Christmas lights. James is a videographer, and creates shorts for nonprofits and small companies. I do some freelance writing. Mostly, we work to need less money, and have lived below the poverty line for the last 5 years. That’s probably the biggest thing; to need less, and then you don’t need to earn much. We work for what we need and no more.
Hope that was helpful!
Thanks for the good vibes and for following along on our journey! Hope you end up doing what makes your hearts burst with joy most days; for that is the only way to live.
Hello !!
Watch your journeys with VW van beautiful and soothing, I suspect that you and some people who thank God for all the beauty but the best prayer and living is the Orthodox Church’s why I advise you to visit an Orthodox monastery in the US and assisted in Sunday Divine liturgy recommend this trip.
I found your website and it made my heart SOAR! I am SO curious though- how do you afford it? Is this something you do on the side while working a job, or?? I’d love some insight so I might be able to move in this direction as well. Inspiring!!
Great stuff and beautiful concept. You’re correct, idle time has been made out to be evil.
I rebuilt a 74 Westy and our kids grew up camping in it. Kids are grown and I reluctantly sold it and really miss her (she got a bit unsafe in her old age). Idle Bus Theory brought a nice smile to my face! 🙂
Your beautiful photographs inspire me to ponder the timelessness of the geology underfoot and out to the horizon. That stabilizes me in two ways. I love the insignificance of my little eighty year visit on 4 billion year-old Earth. And I love the enormity of my every living breath in this miracle of Creation. And after a ponderous (heehee) night of staring at the Milky Way, nothing reorients as effectively as the morrow’s required valve adjustment where you and I must grovel under the rear bumper and supplicate our Volkswagens to please PLEASE have a really nice day.
Your handwriting is so neat! I really enjoy reading and seeing the way you presented this. It’s so cute and creative! Then with the words you wrote, you have me thinking about life
Hi Rachel and James! Love your pictures and miss seeing you guys! Hope you make it back to Florida one of these Xmas visits. You could help decorating trees with us! Hugs! Lynne (trimmers) 🙂
I met y’all au Oconee State Park a few years back .My name is John Postiglione ,I just recently saw you van on the Drew Cary game show site ,It showed the back of the van approaching the red mountain’s in Utah or Arizona ????
Hey you two! I found out about you in the Arkansas Travel guide that just came out. I wish I had known about you and our paths had crossed while you were in my state. I have a ’66 beetle and would like to have a transporter or a camper like you have.
very cool!!!
Thanks Steve!
So happy to have stumbled upon your Instagram account! I grew up in San Diego with a dad who loved and fixed up VW’s, including a ’77 van, and having those retro Volkswagons in my life made me dream of the day I’d have one of my own to venture around the country. My big plan was put on hold, however, because I opted for graduate school in New England…then bought a house…and got married…then had a baby. Trying to talk my hubs into purchasing a van so we can go on family adventures….and I’m hoping that showing him your photographs will help with the inspiration! Looks like you are having an amazing journey! I envy you ;o)
Thanks! We have been meeting all kinds of VW lovers over instagram. I wish my parents had one when I was a kid – don’t let yours grow old with out the experience. 🙂
Rachel–I LOVE this. Great job with a truly inspiring website/journal of your adventures. I can’t wait to see what you guys explore next. Make Colorado next on your list and come visit our wilderness!
Courtney Basik
Courtney, So glad you stopped by to check the blog out! We dream of the day we’ll make it to Colorado-and when we do we’ll have to do some hiking together. Thanks for riding along with us! Best to you and Drew! -Rachel
Thanks Courtney! So glad you looked everything over and enjoyed it!! We’ll for sure have to meet up when we make it to Colorado one day!
you two are such an inspiration, my boyfriend and i have moved to oceanside, california from australia and have a love for backpacking and hiking and photos are truly inspiring – looking at doing the pacific crest trail ourselves 🙂 hopefully seeyou two exploring around somewhere !!
Gabi,
Thanks for your kind words! Hope you are enjoying Oceanside…we lived in Encinitas for awhile. San Diego is a great place. Explore your own back yard and hopefully we’ll run into you sometime (on the PCT, perhaps?)
Thanks for taking the time to write us,
-James, Rachel, and Sunshine
Glad to have come across your site as well. My wife and I di the same thing many years ago in a 1974 orange bus. We had our two dogs with us. It was an amazing time. We worked she we needed and traveled when we had saved enough cash. When our son graduates high school in 10 years it’s time to do it all over again
Keep on Vdub’n.
What a lovely lovely page! You are living a dream. My man and me are dreaming that, too, and we hope we will make it real soon. Enjoy your travels. I’ll follow you on Instagram.
Hello!
My name is Brooke 🙂 nice to meet you. I just read through this entire website and I just wanted to say that you two are my heroes and are living the dream. thanks for sharing your journey with the interwebs. you’re both pretty darn awesome.
Adventure on!
nice blog! I love sunshine! =]
Hey Angel,
Thanks for checking it out! Glad you enjoyed
We went to your site and were super inspired…Keep up the good work and vibes. Your pictures and advice are great…sure many people will connect.
We, too, love sunshine. Couldn’t imagine life without her beautiful face.
Hope to see you out there, anywhere at home–Great name
-james + rachel.
Hi!
I Just discovered your website.
You guys are living the life!
We are Westy owner/lover in San Francisco, if you are around the area let us know and we’ll welcome you with a warm shower and meal.
Hi guys, we are Armando & Mel, an Italian film director and an American writer, living, working and traveling in Europe with our Westy ’95 called Mork. We really would like to get in touch with you. Bye and safe travel
Hi Armando and Mel! We checked out your site and are stoked on it! Safe travels to you and be watching for an email from us in your inbox!
James and Rachel,
So great meeting you today at Healthy Hen Farm. Enjoyed hearing about your journey across the country and now enjoyed vicariously riding along with you through your pictures and videos! Hope you guys get that farm in the area in the future, have to keep in touch. -Steve
Aloha, Have totally enjoyed your pics and travel. I was a VW mech for 10 yrs and luv the old stuff. Had a 67 and a70 camper style bus. Hope to see you guys on the west coast. We have had the pleasure of hanging with Emily and Cory here in SD. Much Aloha to you both.
my mom and I were just talking about how awesome your lifestyle is and how we are dying to begin our own journey into the van life. if you don’t mind me asking, how do you guys support yourself throughout all your travels? I know several other account I have stumbled upon do odd jobs or work out of their vans but I never see mention of that on your page. also your siblings are so incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to travel with you! I love reading about your adventures, happy travels!
Hi Abigail,
So Sorry for the late response! Thanks so much for visiting our blog and for reaching out. Sounds like you’re in an exciting phase of life; good for you for taking steps to live your dreams; that is admirable and we say–do what makes you joyful!
To support ourselves, we do farm work as we need it, everything from butchering chickens to harvesting peaches. We’ve done roofing, dug ditches, and hung Christmas lights. James is a videographer, and creates shorts for nonprofits and small companies. I do some freelance writing. Mostly, we work to need less money, and have lived below the poverty line for the last 5 years. That’s probably the biggest thing; to need less, and then you don’t need to earn much. We work for what we need and no more.
Hope that was helpful!
Thanks for the good vibes and for following along on our journey! Hope you end up doing what makes your hearts burst with joy most days; for that is the only way to live.
Much Love,
rachel + james
Does the inspiration for the cartoon illustrations come from veggie tales?
I like checking in to your page. What do you guys think of idle theory sailboat? Average speed: 4 knots…
Hope you’re well.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Ha! We hadn’t heard that one before; but now that you say it, my cartoon characters do look a little like Veggie Tales characters.
James has talked about doing the sailboat life—though, that would mean giving up sunshine, which I’m not sure he would ever do.
We wish you happy sailing and good vibes!
Much Love,
-r+j
Keep it up! Well done!
Thanks for the good vibes, Robert! Appreciate you being part of our journey.
Love,
-rachel
You guys are living the dream that I’ve always wanted. Thanks for sharing!
Hello !!
Watch your journeys with VW van beautiful and soothing, I suspect that you and some people who thank God for all the beauty but the best prayer and living is the Orthodox Church’s why I advise you to visit an Orthodox monastery in the US and assisted in Sunday Divine liturgy recommend this trip.
I found your website and it made my heart SOAR! I am SO curious though- how do you afford it? Is this something you do on the side while working a job, or?? I’d love some insight so I might be able to move in this direction as well. Inspiring!!
Great stuff and beautiful concept. You’re correct, idle time has been made out to be evil.
I rebuilt a 74 Westy and our kids grew up camping in it. Kids are grown and I reluctantly sold it and really miss her (she got a bit unsafe in her old age). Idle Bus Theory brought a nice smile to my face! 🙂
Your beautiful photographs inspire me to ponder the timelessness of the geology underfoot and out to the horizon. That stabilizes me in two ways. I love the insignificance of my little eighty year visit on 4 billion year-old Earth. And I love the enormity of my every living breath in this miracle of Creation. And after a ponderous (heehee) night of staring at the Milky Way, nothing reorients as effectively as the morrow’s required valve adjustment where you and I must grovel under the rear bumper and supplicate our Volkswagens to please PLEASE have a really nice day.
Your handwriting is so neat! I really enjoy reading and seeing the way you presented this. It’s so cute and creative! Then with the words you wrote, you have me thinking about life
It’s like I’ve always said, “Is an adventure a month too much to ask?”
Hi Rachel and James! Love your pictures and miss seeing you guys! Hope you make it back to Florida one of these Xmas visits. You could help decorating trees with us! Hugs! Lynne (trimmers) 🙂
I met y’all au Oconee State Park a few years back .My name is John Postiglione ,I just recently saw you van on the Drew Cary game show site ,It showed the back of the van approaching the red mountain’s in Utah or Arizona ????
Hey you two! I found out about you in the Arkansas Travel guide that just came out. I wish I had known about you and our paths had crossed while you were in my state. I have a ’66 beetle and would like to have a transporter or a camper like you have.
Hi y’all