Five years. On the road. In a van. It was supposed to be twelve months. It's been half a decade. How the hell did that happen? Five years of skinny dipping in secret lakes all to myself (a few days ago). Five years of sleeping in noisy Walmart parking lots next to casinos (last night). Five years of seeing old friends and making new ones. Five years of painful good-byes. Five years of cooking on a two-burner, propane stove. Five years of mostly cold showers. Five years of hitting my head on everything. Five years of good dates. Five years of extremely bad dates. Five years of adventures. Five years of injuries. Five years of drives long enough to give me saddle sores. Five years of my van enduring things it wasn't built for. Five years of loneliness. Five years of elation. Five years of big wins. Five years of near-misses. Five years with Ashley the Beast as my home.

I didn't think I'd be writing a five-year #vanniversary post. The truth is that I was ready to be done. I was burned out on #vanlife and ready to move on. I'd put down a deposit on an apartment and was supposed to move in mid-March. But 2020 had other plans for us all, didn't it? I'll be sharing more about my decision to get back on the road in the days and weeks to come, and how this journey is changing. For now I'll just say I'm grateful. For everything. Including you. Hearts forward, friends.

-Brent
#ConnectedStates #DisconnectedStates