When it Rains, it Pours (through the leaking windshield)

After my hardest two weeks of the trip so far, it was time to head to Michigan for Thanksgiving. I was feeling pretty emotionally beat-up and was ready for the road to go easy on me for a bit.

During this time, I had been interviewing for a position teaching English online to kids in China.  This was part of my original vanlife plan, but I had convinced myself it wouldn’t work because my internet wouldn’t be reliable enough.  But after being essentially unemployed for the past 4 months, I had to figure out something else or vanlife would be coming to an end pretty quickly.  Luckily, I got hired fast and was employed by the time I left Arkansas.

Next stop was Nashville.  I have family there and was really looking forward to being with them during this hard time.  I took off from Hot Springs, which I had ended up staying at for nearly a week after everything had happened with Dakota (read here).  I drove off from Hot Springs and couldn’t stop watching Dakota in the rear view mirror.  I pulled up at a gas station just outside of town and when I shut off the van, Dakota just laid on the bed, on her side, and looked at me.  This might not sound like much, but this wasn’t normal Dakota behavior.  Whenever I stop the van, she gets up as if she were getting out.  No matter what.  She also never lays sprawled on her side while we’re driving.  Ever.  I started panicking.  The vet I had taken her to was closed already for the weekend, so I called the closest emergency vet in Little Rock to see if I should bring her in.  I explained the situation and was told, “if you’re worried, bring her in.”  Well of course I was worried, that’s why I called!  I decided to call another vet and get a second opinion.  They made me feel much better by saying it was pretty typical for a dog to be lethargic after pancreatitis, gave me some things to watch for, but said that she should be ok.  I was thankful for the advice, but I was not feeling much more relaxed.  I stopped at several rest stops along the way and with each stop, Dakota started acting more and more like herself.  I had never been so overwhelmed with the task of keeping her alive. 

I arrived in Nashville late that night and was so thankful to be with my aunt.  I spent two nights in Nashville with my aunt and my cousin and was there just in time to attend my cousin’s engagement party, which again I would have never been able to attend if I wasn’t in the van.  I was so happy to celebrate her and her fiancé, and it was fun to meet her fiancé’s extended family.  Pretty early on into the party, one of his family members came up and said, “Ok Jenny, so what’s your story?”  I laughed because he had no idea what he was getting himself into.  And I think I shocked him when I responded with, “well I live in a van and travel full-time.”  It’s always fun to talk about my life and my adventures with people who are genuinely interested in this crazy story.  There is a fine line though between feeling interesting and feeling like a circus show, and I’m not always sure what side of that line I fall on.  Everyone at that party was genuinely interested in my stories and I had a blast sharing my experiences with them, but it’s still a bizarre feeling to be THAT interesting. 

The next day I started the rest of the journey back to Michigan.  My friends Jen and Mike, (www.moriahsvan.wordpress.com) who I wrote about on my trip to Arches National Park, happened to also be in Nashville and heading back to Michigan for Thanksgiving.  We met up at a dog park and Jen hopped in the van with me and we began our caravan north.  It was so nice having a passenger!  It completely changes the dynamic.  Time flies by and there is someone who can reach things for you WHILE YOU’RE DRIVING!  The number of times I’ve nearly died of thirst because my water bottle was in the back and I didn’t want to stop is unreal.  During our drive we passed a sign for Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky.  Jen was curious about it, so I sent her in the back to grab my National Park book.  It’s one of my goals to see every National Park so we figured it would be worth the stop since we were driving past it anyways.  I had been there when I was much younger, but I didn’t remember much about it.  The only way to access the caves is with a guided tour, so we stopped in the visitor center to grab some tour tickets.  The only tour that wasn’t sold out wasn’t particularly one I was interested in going on, but that was our only choice, so we were going to make it work.  We ended up getting free tickets from some other visitors, so I was thrilled about that!  We had some time to kill before the tour, so we went to the vans and had a little cookout in the parking lot.  I think most of my friendship with Jen and Mike is now based around them feeding me in the parking lots of National Parks (tune in here for our last parking lot adventure). 

The caves were interesting, and I wish I could have spent more time there and done some more of the tours, but I was glad to have a chance to see what I did, and it was even better to do it with friends!  After the tour we had a fun little misadventure after their sweet dog, Moriah took off into the woods after some deer and we spent the next hour tracking her down.  We spent that night hanging out in Jen and Mike’s van in a Planet Fitness parking lot with both the pups piled together on the bed.  Jen and Mike have heat in their van, so I was happy to spend some time in there with them! 

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I left early the next morning and drove the last stretch to Michigan. 

It was really nice to be “home”.  And I say “home” with quotations because I don’t really know where home is anymore.  Michigan will always feel like home because my family is still there, and it is where I spent most of my life.  But Utah is where my heart is.  And even after all these beautiful places I’ve been, Utah is still my favorite.  It’s a bizarre feeling now though to imagine going back.  My ex’s place used to be my closest thing to a “home” in Utah, and now I won’t have a place to go necessarily.  I have tons of friends who I know will open their homes/driveways to me in a heartbeat, but it’s weird to think of how different it will be go to back now.  So really, right now, Forrest and Dakota are “home” to me.

I got to spend Thanksgiving with my whole family.  My siblings, cousin, and their significant others were all there and it was fun having Dakota tag along and keep me company.  My ex obviously canceled his plane ticket and I thought a lot about what it would have been like for him to be there meeting my family, especially after all we had been through.  We had lots to celebrate at Thanksgiving this year with 2 engagements in the family and the big news that my little sister is pregnant!  One of the best parts of being back for Thanksgiving this year though was not having to rush back to Utah in time to get back to work.  Taking time off for Thanksgiving had always been such an ordeal at my old job, it was nice to not have that stress this year.  It also meant I could stay longer and enjoy some quiet time with my parents after everyone had left. 

While I was back, I also had my 10-year high school reunion.  My best friend still lives in the area, so I made her go with me (she went to high school with me too).  I was a little anxious about going, especially because my ex-husband also attended my high school and there was always a chance he or any of his friends might be there too.

The reunion was a blast.  It was crazy to see all these people you haven’t talked to in 10 years and to see what everyone has been doing for the last decade.  The first person I ran into, I immediately asked, “So where do you live now?”  He obviously asked me the same thing back and I realized how shocking this news would be to most people, and I was once again the circus show (probably not, but you know what I mean). 

It was fun catching up and I felt like everyone looked exactly as I remembered them.  Maybe that’s because of Facebook or maybe we’ll have to wait 10 more years for everyone to really start aging.  It was exciting to see how many people already knew about my adventures and how many people read my blog.  I thought it was hilarious that people would come up and say, “I know this is probably creepy, but I follow along with your adventures on Facebook/Instagram/your blog.”  It’s not creepy at all!  I put it out there hoping that people will read it! 

Our reunion was at a bar in Detroit and once the bar closed, they encouraged everyone to head to a club next door that one of our classmates DJs at.  We all shuffled over there, and it was like prom all over again.  I had a blast and I’m so glad I decided to go to the reunion!  I can’t wait until the next one!

I got to spend quite a bit (but not enough) time with my best friend while I was home, and I’ll always be thankful for that.  We’ve been really close since freshman year of high school and I’m incredibly lucky to have her in my life still.  Even after all this time, and living on opposite ends of the country, we still talk on the phone nearly every week.

Dakota had a really hard time with being stationary.  Although it may not seem like we have much routine, we’ve really gotten into a good groove of life on the road.  To sit still and spend our days in a house she’d never been to before was really hard on her.  She’d get scared suddenly for reasons I could not figure out and hide in the bathroom trembling.  She needed her van, which is ironic if you’ve been following with us since our trip to Sedona.  And to be honest, I totally understood how she felt.  I love being with my family and I’m so lucky to have spent so much time with them, but it was overwhelming to spend all that time with all those people.  Our days are typically pretty quiet and so being home with everyone was a huge change for both of us.   

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It came time for me to hit the road again, so I loaded the van full of groceries and clean clothes and was ready to go.  I took 4 tries to get the van started up.  I have had issues on and off since I was in Jackson, Wyoming with it stalling sometimes after I start it up.  While I was home, I took it in for an oil change and they also changed the fuel filter to fix that issue.  Unfortunately, that new part didn’t fix the problem.  Usually after stalling once it will start up again and be fine, so I was just going to deal with it for a while.  I eventually got it started, my mom took a video of me leaving the driveway, and waved me off.  I pulled out of the neighborhood and couldn’t get the van going.  Cars were flying up behind me and I was barely pushing 30mph.  I pulled into the next neighborhood, turned the van off, and started him back up again.  He stalled again and eventually started, but still wouldn’t get moving with any sort of hustle to him.  I turned around and drove straight back to my parents’ house.  It seemed impossible that one more thing was falling apart after all we had been through lately. A week, 6 mechanics, and a few thousand dollars later, Forrest and I were back on the road.  I was very thankful to be at my parents’ house during that time because I would have had to camp in the dealership parking lot if I had been anywhere else.  It’s also extremely hard to find a reliable mechanic who is willing and able to work on a Sprinter.  I was lucky to find one who diagnosed the problem and fixed it as quick as possible, and in the meantime, I had a warm bed to sleep in.

During that time, I really got going with my new job, too.  It can take a little time to build up a consistent schedule of classes, but I jumped right in and worked my butt off.  I taught straight through the night on the weekends and got extra certifications.  I attended virtual workshops and sharpened my skills.  By the time I hit the road again I was well underway with teaching and I had a fully booked schedule.  It was nice to have had the time to learn the new job while at home too, especially because the overnights were really tough at first.  Taking that job on the road added a whole new set of challenges, so I was glad to be a few weeks into it by the time I was out there again. 

My first night back on the road was spent near a river in a tiny town in Ohio next to a closed campground.  It was down a dirt road and out of the way, so I figured nobody would notice if I spent the night.  I woke up early and had my first morning of teaching classes on the road, and then climbed back in bed for a mid-morning nap.  About 20 minutes later I woke up to the unmistakable “cop knock” on my van door.  In my pjs, I slid the door open (trying to hold Dakota back) and the friendly cop said, “Hey there, taking a nap?”  I replied with, “Yep, just a quick nap before hitting the road again.” No need to tell him I had been there all night.  He told me I needed to get going and I was thankful that he was pretty kind about it, so I packed up and hit the road.  When you live on the road and you take chances on campsites, a cop telling you to move is bound to happen at some point.  I felt like I was finally initiated into true vanlife.

I made my way to visit more family and I got to see my cousin’s newborn.  I felt thankful for the chance to see family that I usually only get to see once a year.  I was still feeling sort of stir-crazy from my three weeks back in Michigan and was anxious to get back into my normal routine again. Plus, Dakota was stuck in the van due to allergies, so it was hard to extend my stay, as much as I wanted to spend more time with my family.  We left the next day and found some beautiful spots to hike on our way to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

This National Park reminded me a bit of Hot Springs and we found a nice trail and a waterfall to explore.  The park is pretty dog friendly, so Dakota was able to adventure with me.

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We have been spending a lot of time camping out at Walmart lately.  My new job requires good cell service VERY early in the morning, so we aren’t able to camp off the grid anymore.  As much as I miss my quiet nights away, this job is going to keep this dream alive, so a bit of sacrifice is worth it.  Plus, it all looks the same once I’m tucked in bed with the window shades up.  The glow of the blue and yellow Walmart lights has been killing my creativity though and had given me a bit of a writer’s block.  We are navigating this new normal and I’m lucky to be done working by 8am so I can spend all day chasing adventures.

West Virginia brought us a beautiful campsite next to a dam, which had cell reception strong enough to teach with.  I stayed two nights and then it started getting too cold to stay much longer.  Rain was coming in and it was time to continue towards warmer weather.

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We found some great spots to hike, enjoyed coffee from a cliff, and stomped through the woods in the rain.  And then it never stopped raining.  I felt like it rained for the next week straight.  I found a town in West Virginia where I could stay at a Sam’s Club parking lot and was getting ready to settle in for the night.  We had driven through rain all day and I heard drips that sounded like they were coming from inside the van.  This is literally my worst nightmare as far as van stuff goes, so I was frantically trying to figure out where it was coming from.  Then I saw it leaking from near the windshield.  I immediately started taking things apart.  This is where I’m so thankful that I built this van myself.  I know how to take everything apart and put it back together.  I know every intimate detail of every space in the van.  I found the leak and saw it was coming in through the top of the windshield and dripping out of the pillar next to the dashboard.  I grabbed a towel but within minutes the towel was completely soaked.  I grabbed bowls, but they filled up faster than I could empty them.  I didn’t know how I was going to sleep that night if I had to empty bowls every 5 minutes.  I went to the nearest auto parts store and picked up things to fix the leak (someday, if it ever stops raining) and then did my best to create a temporary fix out of a garbage bag and duct tape.  This is where being alone is REALLY hard.  I’m in the Sam’s Club parking lot, standing on the driver’s seat to reach the top of the windshield, trying to hold an umbrella with my elbow, while I attempt to dry off the top of the van long enough to duct tape a plastic bag to my windshield.  I didn’t have enough hands for that task but somehow, I figured it out.  By the time I finished, I was soaked.  Everything was soaked.  The inside of the van was wet, every towel in the van was wet, and I thought I’d never be dry again.  And to top it all off, my sink had been leaking for a few days as well.  I slept horribly that night and woke up every hour or two to check on the leak, but luckily my plastic bag was doing the job.  It continued to rain just as hard the next day, so it was time to get out of there.  I had my sights set on a Walmart about an hour away and would be working an all-nighter that night, so I had to get moving in order to be settled in time to start work.  I drove through the mountains and as I pulled into the Walmart parking lot, I saw I didn’t have cell reception.  I started to panic.  I was scheduled to work in an hour and would have to find another spot, but I didn’t have service to track down the next destination.  I saw there was another town that didn’t seem too far away, so I headed towards it.  I drove through the mountains to get there and the rain soon turned to snow.  It was dark and I was so worried that I’d get there and still not have service.  I had 10 minutes until my classes started as I pulled into a McDonalds and still didn’t have service.  I parked as close to McDonalds as I could and logged into their Wifi.  I opened up my classroom portal with 2 minutes to spare, and it wouldn’t load.  I was scheduled to teach 8 classes that night and if you miss too many, your contract will be terminated.  I did the only thing I could do at that point, I headed back to the Sam’s Club from the night before, which was an hour and a half away.  I drove through the snowy, mountain roads until I came to a small town where I had reception.  I pulled the van into a Dollar General parking lot, flipped on my computer, and greeted the smiling face on the other side of the world.  I didn’t think I’d be able to stay the night there, so I used my hour break between classes to drive the rest of the way to Sam’s club, and taught the next 8 hours running on pure adrenaline from my earlier adventures.  And somehow, I only missed 2 classes during all that chaos. 

West Virginia was hard on me.  Between the rain and the leaks and very limited cell service, I got stuck at that Sam’s Club longer than I would have liked.  I enjoyed one more waterfall hike and it was time to say goodbye to West Virginia.  Before setting out on this trip, I wanted to accomplish at least 2 hikes and a mountain bike ride in every state.  I was realizing I might have to let go of those standards.  West Virginia was so wet and rainy, there was no way I would be getting my bike out in those conditions.  I didn’t mind hiking through the mud and water, but my mountain bike skills aren’t quite ready for slick conditions.  So, I moved on from West Virginia without a bike ride, and I’m learning to embrace this journey for whatever it will be.

“Run, Forrest, Run.” -Jenny, Forrest Gump

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