From Asheville, North Carolina, I made my way into South Carolina. The weather had been rainy so activity options were limited. My first night I slept a little way outside of Congaree National Park so that I could visit the next morning.
The government was still shut down at this time and I had been seeing horrible pictures of the devastation happening across the National Parks as visitors have been left to visit without anyone cleaning up their messes. I was really debating whether I should still visit or if I should skip the parks until the government was back up and running. Many members of the outdoor community had been urging guests to visit other places to reduce the impact on the parks. I stressed over this decision for a while, knowing I had the flexibility to change my plans but also knowing that I might not find myself in the middle of South Carolina again. Being extra conscious of my impact on the park, I decided I’d stop by.
Congaree is one of the more dog-friendly parks and I was visiting on a quiet, overcast day so the park was very empty. I imagine it would have been a lot harder to explore with a dog if there had been more people because the entire trail we were on was a boardwalk. It was difficult to get dogs to pass each other without some interaction even when it was empty. It was nice to stretch our legs and take in the sights of the big trees and interesting birds.
Boardwalk Loop Trail 
Not our typical landscape 
Guess we aren’t going that way
After our little walk we went back to the van to relax and eat a snack. The parking lot was quiet, so I sat with the door open and enjoyed the cool air. Soon after this, a truck pulled up nearby and a guy got out and was getting his gear together while his dog barked impatiently at him. It didn’t take long for us to start chatting and he connected with me on social media (hey, John!).
After our quick visit to Congaree we headed straight for Charleston. I had the most incredible spot to stay right along the water and I enjoyed the smell of saltwater through the open windows. I got in late, so we didn’t get to fully appreciate the views until the next morning.
I was relieved to wake up and realize I hadn’t been told to move in the middle of the night. Spots that are outside of my usual Walmart or Cracker Barrel always pose the chance of being kicked out. I hadn’t parked this close to a busy sidewalk before and it was startling to hear voices come up right next to the door, but besides that this spot was unbelievable. The view of the water out the window was amazing and on the other side of the van was a nice park. We spent most of the day exploring the area, walking along the oceanfront and past beautiful homes. There were parks scattered all around the city, all with generous off-leash policies, but soon we stumbled upon a dog park and I couldn’t drag Dakota past it without checking it out.
My new friend from Congaree reached out to me with a bunch of great recommendations of things to see and do in Charleston, one of which was a spot to see dolphins. We still needed more adventure first though, so we found a nice little bike trail not too far away and it filled my heart to let Dakota run the trails off-leash again. I haven’t bought her a muzzle yet (post-pancreatitis protocol for keeping her from eating things she shouldn’t) but we took the chance anyways and I was diligent with keeping her close by. That night, after an hour or so of walking around Charleston, playing at the dog park, and a mountain bike ride, my pup was exhausted.
I was trying to make it to the dolphin spot before dark, but I greatly underestimated how long it would take to get there, so by the time I arrived (or so I thought- I’d later find out this wasn’t the right spot anyway) it was dark. We turned the van around and tucked back into our ocean spot for the night.
The next morning, I woke up with a crazy idea. It was that time again… time to stop being sad and stuck. Time to put myself back out there and hope for the best. Time to start dating.
Go ahead, roll your eyes.
I figured it would be good to see that maybe the end of this last relationship wasn’t “it” for me. Putting myself out there again would help me realize that there ARE good guys out there who like the same things I do. I wasn’t sure what it would look like to date while living in a van. As much as I’d love to meet the love of my life while on the road, I know that jumping into a long-distance relationship isn’t really ideal for anyone. But it would at least be nice to have someone to hang out with for an evening and a free dinner or drink would be a nice perk too. And if I did meet the perfect person, then it would just work out, right? And please save all the warnings about meeting guys online while living in a van… I know.
So, I did what I do best, I got back on Tinder. That’s an online dating app, for those of you who’ve been out of the dating game long enough to not know.
Now I’ve been thinking about how to write about this next phase of vanlife since I downloaded Tinder (literally mulling over this for almost 2 months). Up until this point, my blog has been personal, and I’ve done my best to keep it about me and not about anyone else involved. I’ve kept out personal details about other people and talked about my past relationship in a way that (hopefully) wasn’t hurtful or attacking. So how do I proceed with new people in the mix in a way that remains true to the style of the blog? I could tell all my stories and pretend that I’m venturing these places alone or I could dish the dirty details with fake names and identities. Or like a friend suggested back when I first bought the van and knew I’d be venturing out alone, I could create an entirely new, secret blog that just has details of my dating adventures and I could name it, “One Night Stand in a Van” (only joking).
So, I think I’ve settled on vague details with most of my stories in this regard being saved for nights around the campfire with a bottle of wine.
The Tinder gods smiled down on me that day and within an hour or so I had a date lined up for that night. It felt so good to be this excited about something, in a way that is different from my typical adventure excitement. I had butterflies and found myself nervous with still several hours until our date. In an attempt to keep myself busy, I filled my day with van chores and then attempted to find those dolphins once more. This time I left plenty of time and found the actual spot but didn’t get lucky enough to see any dolphins. Instead I caught a magical sunset on the water with my sweet pup by my side.
Before I knew it, I needed to get going to meet my date. I found the nicest clothes I had and then tried to put on makeup in the only mirror I have; the rearview mirror. The only problem was that the sun had set, and I don’t have any working overhead lights in the cab part of the van, so I struggled to put on mascara with a phone flashlight in the rearview mirror and called it good.
The date was great 🙂 sorry, that’s all you get.
We had so much fun that evening that we decided to spend the next day adventuring around Charleston together. We went to the Angel Oak, which is the most magical tree I’ve ever seen. It’s somewhere between 400-500 years old and is absolutely massive. If you’re ever near Charleston, the stop to see this tree is worth it. Then we took the dogs (he has a precious pup too) on an adventure to the dog park where they both wore each other out and got extremely muddy. Dakota is pretty picky about who she plays with and is either uninterested in other dogs or she is too vocal and scares the other dogs away. She met her perfect match in this other pup though and the two dogs enjoyed having the entire dog park to themselves.
Angel Oak 
Dakota and Chloe
The next day it was time for me to leave. This is where this brilliant idea of dating backfires. Sure, it seems nice to grab a drink or dinner with someone but then the leaving part is tricky. Does it just end there? Do you keep trying to date? I guess I still don’t have that figured out.
Anyways, it was time to keep moving since I had planned to meet my parents down in Florida in just a few more days, so I pointed the van south and made my way towards Hilton Head. I made a pitstop at a boat ramp that I was hoping to spend the night at, but a mix of spotty cell signal and a creepy car made it nothing more than a good spot to stretch my legs. I got to Hilton Head just in time to take a romantic sunset walk on the beach with my dog and then find a place for the night. Unfortunately, Hilton Head is not very van-friendly and I’m not usually inclined to risk being told to leave, so we ended up pushing on nearly all the way to Savannah.
Boat ramp pit stop 
Hilton Head sunset didn’t disappoint
It was time for a good adventure again so the next day I found some nearby trails where I could ride my bike. These trails were pretty flat, but it would be great to sweat a bit and get my legs moving. I was a little unsure about bringing Dakota after reading a few comments online about gator sightings but she needed the exercise as bad as I did, so I brought her along. The trails were awesome and unlike anywhere I had ever ridden before. There were palm trees everywhere and occasional glimpses of the water. No gators sightings to report. After getting a little turned around, the ride ended up being a little over 7 miles, which is longer than Dakota has run with the bike before, but she managed it like a champ even with the warm weather! When we finished up, I got her into the cool van with some water while I put the bike away and watched a stray chicken trying to include himself in a maternity photo shoot.
Obligatory bike picture 
Bold little chicken
I desperately needed a shower so I found a Planet Fitness nearby and then had to hurry off to the boat ramp I would be spending the night at (not the one with the creepy car) because I was working that night. Just before sitting down to teach, I spotted something on the bed. It was a bug. But not just a normal bug, it was a tick.
I had my first tick experience in Tennessee last spring and before that I had no idea what they were or that you had to check for them. I had found one tick on Dakota in Virginia, but we had just spent several days in the mountains. I didn’t realize I had to be worried about them while adventuring between the palm trees! I quickly looked Dakota over and found about 5 more on her belly. Then it was time to teach and I knew she probably still had more on her and there was nothing I could do about it for the next 2 hours. Talk about torture. Not only was my poor puppy being bitten (it had been a few hours since our adventure at this point), but the ticks were on my bed where I’d be sleeping soon.
As soon as I finished my last class, I grabbed the tweezers. Total tick count was 10. It was too late to go to the laundromat because I had to be up to teach again in just a few hours, so I stripped the bed and shook out all the sheets outside in the pouring rain. And then I convinced myself that I had gotten them all out and did my best to sleep in my tick bed. One minute you’re watching the sunset on the beach, the next minute you’re sleeping in a bed that may or may not contain ticks. That’s vanlife for you.
The next two days I pushed on towards Sarasota to visit my parents. My mom was flying in from Michigan and I wanted to be there in time to see her. So I made a quick stop at Forsyth Park in Savannah where I got my first taste of truly warm weather, spent a quick night at a Jacksonville Cracker Barrel, and made it to Sarasota where I would begin a longer-than-expected stay in Florida.
“Though the road’s been rocky, it sure feels good to me.”
Bob Marley
“One minute you’re watching the sunset on the beach, the next minute you’re sleeping in a bed that may or may not contain ticks. That’s vanlife for you. ” I love your blogs! But I definitely couldn’t do vanlife.
If you had met Chris Farley before he passed, you two would probably have hit it off. He too lived in a “van down by the river. Be safe my friend!