DIY

The Turtle “After”

So now is the point where we get to show the result of a year of hard work on our tiny home! I’m typing this while drinking coffee at the table and listening to the rain on the roof while keeping nice and warm inside the Turtle. Looking back at the “before” photos, it feels a little unbelievable! This crazy old van is now our cozy home.

I was going to post side-by-side “before and after” photos today, but realized that since I took the “after” photos on a grey and rainy afternoon, the impact doesn’t do it justice, as the “before” pictures were taken on a bright sunny day! So that post is on the horizon.

Here we are!

IMG_3057It kind of feels like a boat. I like that.

IMG_3093Kitchen and Dining Room 

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IMG_3056Bunk beds!

IMG_3064Love the Tardis painting by my talented brother-in-law David

IMG_3047Andy cut down and refinished an old desk he’s had for years to make the table

IMG_3096We love the no-spill bowls for the pets

IMG_3125Andy picked this fabric! We promise not to over-do the turtle references, but it was super cute and coordinated nicely with the other prints

IMG_3085Maximizing the limited closet space

IMG_3106Nothing we own can be larger than 10″H x 9″D

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IMG_3120I love the wood Andy installed next to the new upholstery pattern. 

And there we have it! I’ll post more pictures soon!

Why We’re Here

Hello!

So as you and everyone within earshot knows, we are absolutely loving life in the Turtle! It is a great experiment and a serious adventure. So while we’re starting out here, I thought I’d briefly explain that as we are very new to this lifestyle, I began the blog for two purposes. The first is to document our journey so family, friends, and anyone at all who is interested can follow along with us and enjoy our exploits.

IMG_0068Andy adventuring.  

The second–and the one we are most passionate about–is to discuss the process and how much we’re learning in order to help out others who may be interested in a similar venture! Especially for those who are adopting an older vehicle to refurbish, we have learned so much that we’d love to share, and we want to be the resource for others that we felt we were lacking when we started out.

IMG_1580Gracie adventuring.

The bulk of the full-time RV-ing books we found are written for those who are retired, bought a relatively new vehicle, and plan to live primarily in RV parks. We will certainly find ourselves in parks as needed, and as our first few weeks on Sauvie Island have proven, it’s a comfortable and relaxing way to enjoy your RV. But our main goal is to generally be surrounded by nature for most of the time, with the remaining time spent visiting friends who we aren’t able to see nearly as much as we’d like to, due to jobs, and bills, and air fare, and never, ever enough vacation time.

IMG_2642Scout adventuring.

So keep up with us for whatever reason suits you best!

IMG_0616Amy adventuring.

If you’d like to hear specific tips on gutting and refurbishing your RV, we are excited to share! We did nearly everything on our own, from painting the exterior, to upholstering the interior, to welding the front bumper so we could bring our bikes along, to installing solar panels so we can boondock for longer periods of time.

If you’re interested in seeing what National Parks we explore first (we’re aiming to see them all!), tales from of all corners of the US (and eventually South America), and most importantly, lots of photos of Scout and Gracie (obviously), then we’d love to have you join us!

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Oh, and please bear with me as I learn the ins and outs of WordPress. The posts will eventually look brilliant, I promise, but for now at least they’re live! 🙂