What are we Doing?

Good question.  Since we bought the bus we’ve gotten the same questions, understandably so, over and over again.  Where are you guys going? How long are you guys going to do it? Why the hell did you guys decide to build a bus instead of buying an RV or camper?  While perfectly reasonable questions, we don’t really have an answer for all of them.  We didn’t set out with this idea because we wanted to follow a strict schedule and get stuck in the 9-5, in fact, we seek the opposite. Haha, I wrote that months ago and let me tell you, planning a cross country road trip requires serious effort and adhering to a pretty strict schedule.  But I digress.

Where are we going?

Short answer: Explore the western United States and return to Texas to regroup.

Planning a trip across half a country is as much fun as it is work.  We have a map setup with over 350 locations across the USA, consisting mostly of national & state parks, historical sites, and breweries.  Aka the basics of any good road trip.  But deciding which ones are priorities starts to become like picking six of one, and a half dozen of the other.  There is no wrong choice.  Which makes it even harder to narrow down the must-sees over the would be great to sees.  We have an idea of where we are going, and that’s enough for now.

How long are we traveling?

Much like a party invitation with the party ending at ??, we don’t know exactly how long we’re going to be traveling.  For now, we are going to give it a go for a few months and see what happens.  Just like renovating a bus, we’ll figure it out as we go.

Why a Build a Bus?

Sure we could’ve taken a different approach, financed a new RV and hit the road immediately, but that wasn’t what we were looking for.  We wanted to do something a little out there, like build a tiny house.  Basically, we wanted to see if we could do it.  Now don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t all been roses and rainbows.  If you don’t feel like shooting yourself and calling it a day at least a few times in the process, you’re not doing it right.

Case in point, removing two giant steel sheets from 6 feet above the floor, better known as the roofing panels.  We struggled more than once with stubborn and rusted bolts, wondering how in the hell we were going to remove them.  We eventually did get it down, and the sound of that second panel crashing down is still one of the most rewarding experiences of the build.  Fun fact: this is how we learned the ‘beat it until it comes off approach’, which has since become a staple in our renovation toolbox.

Final Thoughts

The bus isn’t just about us traveling the United States, it goes much deeper than that.  We wanted to do something different, something that would push us, test us, and make us think.  As in life it’s important to take the ‘W’s and use them as motivation for the next task ahead.  Find your own metaphorical bus, or real one, and get out there and get started.

Adventure starts when shit hits the fan.