We’re quirky. You’ll like us (probably).
Nick (The Navigator)
Nick is a hiker, mountain biker, camping, outdoor enthusiast. He strives for minimalism, appreciates a good podcast, and completely loses his mind during the Patriots NFL season (he's from Boston). He loved building Big Blue so much that now he builds out vans and buses for a living, and is an avid reader, eater, and rock climber (he met Alex Honnold once and it was a big deal). All of his hair is on his face and chest instead of his head, and that's the way Renee likes it.
Renee (The Entertainment)
Renee was raised in Asheville, NC and has loved the mountains and the outdoors all her life. She is a web designer with a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (because why not), an avid van of the Harry Potter book series, and loves a good pair of linen overalls. Her hobbies include drinking coffee, getting tattoos, quoting Ron Swanson, and accidentally giving Nick the wrong directions while stubbornly insisting that she is right.
Wade (The Wild Child)
Wade is the dog-child of the family, and the reason why the van is never (ever) clean. True to his border collie heritage, he is a bundle of energy and is always up for a good jog or two (or five). His current hobbies include fetch, food, and literally nothing else. He allows his parents to snuggle with him in the early morning and late at night, but not during the day because he’s very busy playing and doesn’t have the time for cuddles, thank you very much.
A lil’ backstory
The why
We kissed on a couch in Asheville back in March 2016 while Dave Matthews "Dreamgirl" played over the speakers, and we've been working really hard to never be that cheesy again.
Despite our romantic kickstarter in Asheville, Nick lived in San Diego finishing up in the Navy, and Renee lived in Boone, NC finishing up graduate school. Skype dates happened regularly and love happened fast, and as soon as she graduated, Renee moved to San Diego, and the adventuring commenced immediately.
After a month-long road trip across the U.S. back to Asheville in Spring 2017 (with stops in Yosemite, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and more), we were hooked on the nomadic lifestyle, but thought it might be nice to experience it in a built out van instead of Nick’s cramped Jetta.
We got married in October 2019 and finished the van up in July 2020, so now instead of kissing on couches, we make out in a Sprinter. With Dave Matthews on in background, of course.
the how
This big blue beauty — aptly named Big Blue (yes, v creative on our part) — is a 2007 Freightliner Sprinter and we own her and that will always be exciting. We bought her on Halloween in 2017 and took three years to build her out because slow and steady wins the race. And also because we procrastinated.
Luckily for us, Nick is a super skilled carpenter/handyman/jack-of-all-trades and Renee is an expert designer and build supervisor, so Big Blue came together beautifully and every stage of it was fun and frustrating and exciting and scary and inspiring and tiring and lovely, and we dig it.
We’re weekend (occasionally week-long) warriors pondering that full-time magic, but for the time being we’re roosted in Asheville, NC. Nothing we write here is going to change the world, but maybe it’ll inspire you to do something a little adventurous ✧
