It’s my first weekend solo in the van.
My husband is driving north for a friend’s wedding and I’m staying behind with the van and the dog. We haven’t spent more than a few hours apart since we moved into the van in April, and this will be the first time I’ve spent the night in the van alone.
Mostly, I’m excited. I lived alone for a few years and I adore my alone time. It’s much harder to come by in the van, and while I’ll miss him (and the festivities), it feels good to be solo for a few days.
I’m also, truth be told, a little nervous. After all, it’s my first time sleeping alone in the van and all of the warnings ever given to me as a girl in this world are swirling through my head. I’ve never felt unsafe in the van overnight, in the woods, or in town, and I don’t expect to this weekend. Still, the anxiety is there. So to mitigate my nerves, I’m downloading a few movies, picking up a very special dinner, and heading to a place in the woods I’m familiar with. And if worst comes to worst, I have a snuggly guard dog who won’t hesitate to give anyone who gets too close a what for.
I watch a fair amount of van content online, and I heard someone say “there aren’t many ‘you’ decisions when you live in a van – everything is a ‘we’ decision” and it’s true. So this weekend I get to make as many ‘I’ decisions as I want, watch movies in the genre my husband doesn’t like, and probably binge on my bag of Dove chocolates.
What’s not to love about that?
Last weekend I explored the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. It was a gorgeous sunny and cool weekend. The leaves were just starting to change, but the views were worth the hike nonetheless. I was too late for peak foliage in West Virginia and too early in Virginia, so here’s hoping I get it right next week in Teneesee.
