Get To Know Us, Q & A

 Hey Y'all!

Similar to our previous Q & A/Ask Us Anything Blog, we got 2 questions! We'll answer those, and then do some we found elsewhere online.

Both questions came from Marcas & Christina, on Facebook.

1) Where to next? 

We aren't 100% sure. We'll be in NE Tennessee for Christmas, then Amanda has a doctors appointment again at the end of January... so probably SW VA, or somewhere of equal distance until then. Then depends on weather for February, either west or south, or southwest... maybe Alabama again (further south than last trip), or Mississippi.

2) Favorite place so far?

In South Carolina, it's tough- we both really loved staying on the farm at Outside Inn, the farm animals were too cute! It was quiet, but still convenient to so many other places too. 

The farm tour was a blast. Amanda's favorite is Patty the Angus cow with a heck of a personality. Chris loved the little loud mouth goat. And everyone loves Fred, the Highland!

They also had a great walking trail system behind the farm, while on the trails we saw lots of birds, plant life, deer, and an owl!

All that and fantastic owners made this place a favorite we will definitely return to. 

We both also really liked Santee State Park!

Other places we've really liked are mentioned here:

https://outlandadventures.blogspot.com/2024/11/our-favorite-thingsplacesexperiences.html

https://outlandadventures.blogspot.com/2024/09/our-favorite-places-thus-far-updated.html

If we had to choose one...

Amanda says she's cheating by saying Alabama as a whole, but if forced to pick probably Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.

Chris says he can't choose.. SC, KY, IN, AL, OH, TN, VA, WV, NC... they all had something worth the adventure. IF he had to narrow it down- AL and SC have been his top 2 thus far.

Thanks for the questions!!

Next I just googled for more questions and here were the search results:

1) Intro to van life...

This whole blog/vlog/social media combo... Outland Adventures on all platforms:

https://linktr.ee/outlandadventures

2) How do you empty the toilet?

Remove the bag and throw it away. We generally use public facilities though.

3) How do you get internet?

Unlimited Hotspot with our visible plan through Verizon. That has worked everywhere we've been so far. We'll also occasionally connect to free wifi when out and about.

4) What do we cook?

We no longer have a freezer, so we don't do frozen foods anymore, but outside of that we cook just about anything we made before. We don't have an oven, but we've managed with the Blackstone and the dome lid when needed. We have a single burner for items that require a pot, anything else gets cooked on the Blackstone. We do cook exclusively outside 99.9% of the time.

5)  The best van?

One that is in your budget and is mechanically sound. 

You'll get a lot of opinions here, but it's really up to what you want/need. 

For us we knew we wanted mostly no build, to still fit in a standard parking spot, and just like the look of the older conversion vans. We knew with our budget the van would need work. We've remodeled about three times now, and I think this is the best version yet! (Video Soon!!)

I've seen people in $600 vans they built themselves out of scrap, and I've seen $300,000 vans. There's something for everyone, with all the amenities you may want... If you have the budget.

6) Is van dwelling safe?

As long as you use common sense, yes. Don't park in a low lying area in a down pour. Evacuate in bad weather. Lock your doors. If something feels off/wrong leave. The nice thing about a van is if you don't like where you are, just hop up front and move.

We have cameras, so there's an added measure of feeling safe. They're very easy to install and fairly low cost.

7) Is living in a van realistic?

Ask one of the 12.5 million people living the life.

Yes it's realistic, but it has it's challenges, just like any other lifestyle.

8) Where do you stay?

Just about anywhere... unless there's a sign posted it's not allowed.

We've stayed at:

 Planet Fitness (one particular location was not our favorite... so loud)

Lowes

Various Campgrounds

City Streets

Family's Yard/Driveway

County Parks/Forest land

Walmart

and our travel day pit stop go to...

Cracker Barrel

9) Do you shower every day?

No, but if I wanted to I could. We have the Black membership from Planet Fitness (Which allows any location, and bring a friend every time, along with other perks. It's $25mo and Chris carries that membership). We also have an outdoor solar shower. 

10) Hygiene and van life?

Water exists just about everywhere. See above for shower solutions if we aren't on land that has access to one. There's also truck stops, but they are expensive and I'd rater wait a day then spend upwards of $20 to shower.

We've done the body wipes before, and they're okay for a quick fix.

We have a collapsible sink for other hygiene needs, and again- public bathrooms. We also keep sanitization products for surfaces and people. 

There are plenty of ways to be/get clean. 

11) Is van life legal?

There are no laws in the U.S. stating you can't live in your van. There are laws on when/where you can park. (Some of these vary by location.)

Now, a short get to know us questionnaire:

I took the first 20 questions from here-

https://teambuilding.com/blog/get-to-know-you-questions

1. What are your hobbies? A- Crafting, Reading, Beauty, Photography. C- Gaming, Photography, Programming.
2. Do you collect anything? Not currently, no room.
3. What are you passionate about? Our hobbies, and van life.
4. What is your most prized possession? A- Mementos from all the nieces and nephews. C- Probably my laptop.
5. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life? A- Getting my craft business started, and then being featured several times by a vinyl supplier online. Then getting my products in a store. After about a year I really hated making the same thing multiple times in a row to restock or just same design different size for clothing, so when that location closed I pretty much quit the business side of things except for special orders. C- Getting 2 of my games on the google play store. Together- Starting Van Life, we had thought about it for years!
6. What is on your bucket list? A- the lower 48! C- All 50 states.
7. What is your favorite recent memory? A- Armadillo in Santee State Park. C- Getting over 100 views on our last video.
8. What is your best childhood memory? A- The Christmas Goat. (If you want to hear the story let me know in the comments below.) C- Meeting my best friend, we've been best friends for 30 years now!
9. What is your favorite holiday? A- probably Christmas C- Halloween
10. Who knows you best? A- Chris C-Amanda (That seemed obvious, we've lived together for 24 years, 24/7 for the past year.)
11. What family member are you closest to? A- probably my sister. C- Mom.
12. What skill would you most like to learn? A- to crochet an actual pattern, so I guess read a pattern. C- various editing skills.
13. Where is the coolest place you traveled? See above! We love traveling.
14. What does your average weekend look like? They're all different. It depends on where we are, and the weather. This past weekend we did a horse drawn carriage through a small town, looked at the lights, enjoyed some hot cocoa, and waved at Santa on his sleigh. 
15. Tell me about your longest running friendship with someone? A- Chris' best friends wife, lol. We knew each other before we knew them. We met at JVS, even though we went to the same school! C- I just did.
16. What is your earliest memory? A- I have trouble answering this, because is it really a memory, or do I remember the story. I remember my little red tricycle and our driveway in Cleveland, OH I suppose I was 3ish. C- Shopping with Mom.
17. What makes you unique? A- Aren't we all unique just by being us? Like none of the things I like or do are inherently unique, but put them all together and it's me and that is unique. C- Yeah what she said. 
18. Who is your hero? A- lots of people, just by being their strong, individual selves. C- My Dad. (Want to know more about him? Just ask!)
19. Who is the smartest person you ever met? A- I feel like my Dad knew a lot about a lot. So I'd say him. C- My Dad, too.
20. What is one thing that instantly makes your day better? A- A great view. C- Coffee.

Our Dad's:

Doug, Amanda's Dad. (If the grandbabies were over he wasn't far.)
1960-2014

Scott, Chris' Dad. (With Chris, the oldest of these 3, & siblings)
1946-2003

Thanks,

The Outlands