A lot has happened since our last post, and we are glad to say that the trip is still progressing. Adam has been building and designing like crazy, and I got a new job and moved across the country. Now that I'm back in Minneapolis, I've been able to step up my vanmanness and start helping the VAN on its journey of becoming a respectable young man. We still have a ton to do but are hoping to leave this Sunday or Monday (ah!). Major things that we have left to do are: finish the bed, add a roof-top deck (for prime bear watching), and plan our route. People keep asking what way we are going...and we don't know! We bought two Alaska books and that makes me feel like we have all the information we need, even though I've only read about 3 pages. I think the route is something we will figure out as we go. We have plotted a few points and attractions (like Adam's grandma and my awesome friend Brandi) along the way but aren't exactly sure about the hows and whens of seeing everything. If we leave on Sunday we will have a solid 7 weeks of traveling. The only thing we know is that we want AT LEAST 4 of those weeks to actually be in Alaska. We are okay with taking around 10 days to get out there and 10 to get back (give or take). We have a lot of things to see along the way, so we aren't planning to race up there.
I have been back in Minneapolis for about a week now and great things have been happening. I learned to use a jigsaw (see proof), how to make curtains, how to sand, and how to clean a water tank. And all possible due to Adam's patience and detailed demonstrations and explanations. It really brought me back to 7th grade FACS class when he pulled out his sewing rig and had to teach me several times how to use it,
and then come inside to answer questions as problems arose. Notice how there are no curtain pictures... but hey... they're up and working!
We have been spending a lot of time in the VAN trying to be very intentional about our space. Adam's friends Micci and Blue and their cute baby stopped over yesterday and pointed out that, "This looks very Scandinavian, like an IKEA house." Which I think is pretty spot on. We are trying to make a place for everything. Here is a picture of Adam drawing up some designs while sitting in the VAN. He is a pretty happy guy, all the proof is in the last photo.