It’s a classic, cliche adventure…the California road trip. Endless sun, cute convertible, good playlist, and the wind in your hair. Swap out the convertible for an ugly van, good playlist for a radio transmitter that constantly switches Spotify to 99.1 Bachatas greatest hits, sprinkle in some dooms day forest fires and friend…you’ve got youself a quintessential 2020 road trip.

Speaking of 2020, travel was to say the least taken from us. Forced to explore every nook and cranny of apartments and all the places that we had neglected to dust when we were ‘busy living our lives”…..yea 2020 was rough. Miserable 2020 metaphors aside, a van road trip is probably one of the best ways to safely travel during pandemic. With a van you take your home with you, which makes exposure to others very low. You can eat, sleep and chill in the van, which allows for a safer and more peaceful pandemic adventure. Beyond practical pandemic travel, vans are SO MUCH FUN. We traveled from Joshua Tree to the Redwoods, saw the best of California’s diverse terrain, and even passed through the worst of the wildfires.

I’ve always wanted to buy a van and this trip truly sealed the deal for me. The freedom you have in not worry about checking in anywhere, pulling over for a cliffside sunset dinner, and deciding to sleep here or there for the night, is a spontaneity like no other. Vans make “living in the moment” a tangible reality and an experience that I could not recommend more! So here are some of my favorite spots and places if you ever decide to van - during or post pandemic.