Posts tagged Inner Thoughts
Everything's Turning Up Roses
Everything's Turning Up Roses

Arriving at Dave and Nancy’s house presented a slightly-terrifying challenge. And by “slightly-terrifying,” I mean I was fairly sure it was going to put a swift end to the trip.

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Trial RunCarson CostaPortland, Oregon, Flowers, Roses, Lots of Pictures, Planning, Overcoming problems, Overplanning, Overachieving, Ocean, City, Books, Powell's City of Books, Awesome Book Stores, Book Stores, Public Parks, Gardens, Jasper National Park, Banff National Park, Return Trip, Route Planning, Bed, Van Build, Reading, Fairbanks, Sumas, Border Crossing, 3-Day Novel Contest, National Parks, Labor Day, Mt. Rainier National Park, Coast, Dave and Nancy, Zach, Scenic Drives, Steep, Terrifying Drives, International Rose Test Garden, Beauty, Blogging, Driving, Thanks to, I'm Not Late for Once, Inner Thoughts, A Peek Inside My Weird Brain, Library, Nice Drive, Travel, Trial Run, United States, Vanlife, Amazing People Comment
The Problem with Jumping in the Deep End
The Problem with Jumping in the Deep End

I’m not writing this post to complain. I realized that this — everything being a total mess — is part of the whole experience.

I’m not failing at it, I’m doing it.

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Trial RunCarson CostaSelf-doubt, Self, Self Improvement, Reflections, Problems, Mess, Mishaps, Advice, Crater Lake National Park, Overcoming problems, Solutions, Corvettes, Driving, Nice Drive, Smoke, Seward, Alaska, Learning, Library, Gordon, New Friends, Friends, Fairbanks, State Fair, United States, Experience, Changes, Ways of Doing Things, Writing, Catching Up, Rogue River Gorge, Casey State Recreation Site, Ocean, Travel, A Peek Inside My Weird Brain, Blogging, Cooking, Dirty, Exhaustion, Excitement, Goals, Giving Up in the Best Way, intervention, I'm late again, Inner Thoughts, Sink, Late, Losing my mind, National Parks, Oregon, Panic, Snow, Stress, Trial Run, Time Crunch, Tiny Living, Vanlife, Adventure, Zach, Amazing People, Blockbuster, Dream Come True, Dreams Comments
The First Day: Lassen Volcanic National Park
The First Day: Lassen Volcanic National Park

Zach looked back and said that everything looked ok, except there seemed to be something shiny — something that looked like water — on the floor.

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Trial RunCarson CostaTravel, Danica, Snow, Zach, RYE, Rotary Youth Exchange, California, Donner Party, Donner Summit, Oil, Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Parks, America, Adventure, A Peek Inside My Weird Brain, Blogging, Driving, long drive, Mess, Mishaps, Losing my mind, Panic, Challenges, Dirty, Exhaustion, Excitement, Heat, Frustration, Inner Thoughts, Late Night Musings, Tiny Living, Vanlife Comments
The Final Days Before The Pacific Northwest
The Final Days Before The Pacific Northwest

Everything that I’ve been thinking about just to keep myself going for the last year and a half. The life I’ve been dreaming about is eight hours away.

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Pre-TripCarson CostaAppliances, Blogging, Breaking Things, Comedy of Errors, Carpentry, Challenges, Charge Controller, Cabinets, Excitement, DIY, Electrical, Exhaustion, Self, Heat, Learning, Family, Frustration, Fan Install, Inner Thoughts, Sink, Business, Customer Service, Catching Up, Adventure, Full Speed Ahead, Fridge, Fuse Box, National Parks, Late Night Musings, Late, Danica, Drawer, Slides, MDF, Guests, Friends, Zach, Battery, Brackets, Kitchen, Thanks to, Planning, Mishaps, Neighbors, United States, Possible Formatting Errors, Range Oven, Fan, eTrailer, Solar, Panic, RYE, Rotary Youth Exchange, Travel, Trial Run, Stress, Time Crunch, Self-doubt, Wiring, Vanlife, Van Build, Wood Working Comment
I've Named the Van, and I'm Nearly Set to Go
I've Named the Van, and I'm Nearly Set to Go

The last week before I left was just as insane, because all of that was still going on, but I also had a lot of goodbyes to get through.

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Pre-TripCarson CostaLosing my mind, Stress, Frustration, Friends, Family, Van Build, Vanlife, Visits, A Peek Inside My Weird Brain, Blogging, Comedy of Errors, Challenges, Curtains, Cabinets, DIY, Exhaustion, Self, I'm late again, Inner Thoughts, Planning, long drive, Mishaps, Neighbors, Wood, Panic, RYE, Rotary Youth Exchange, Travel, Self-doubt, Trial Run, Time Crunch, Worried, Wood WorkingComment
A Few Thoughts on Americanism
A Few Thoughts on Americanism

Forth of July was the one day every year that I always felt unstoppable. It made me feel empowered, one person supported and held up by millions of people, like every dream I’d every dared to entertain was as close as those fireworks, falling down upon me from the stars.

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Pre-TripCarson CostaPolitics, Americanism, United States, America, Reflections, Rotary Youth Exchange, RYE, Germany, Venezuela, Inner Thoughts, Pride, Nationality, A Peek Inside My Weird Brain, Blogging, Self, Why?, Learning, Self-doubt, TravelComment
I Destroyed Part of My Build
I Destroyed Part of My Build

I was dead set on pretending I had no van, and that I’d never been crazy enough to start this insane project, for the rest of the day.

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Pre-TripCarson CostaVan Build, Vanlife, Ceiling, Tongue-and-groove, nemesis, Exhaustion, Self, Self-doubt, Panic, Challenges, Problems, Difficult, DIY, A Peek Inside My Weird Brain, Comedy of Errors, Frustration, Learning, Cursing, Anger, Breaking Things, Things Breaking, Worried, This Happened to Me, Inner Thoughts, Planning, Mishaps, Boards, Wainscotting, Stress Comments
Construction 101: My Journey From Clueless to Clued-In
Construction 101: My Journey From Clueless to Clued-In

I don’t think I’d ever so much as touched a saw of any kind, I had no idea that 2x4 really meant 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches, and the descriptions of some of these screws sounded like gibberish to me (how can a screw be both a Phillip’s and flat? Why is it a #8 but it’s 2 inches long?).

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Pre-TripCarson CostaCarpentry, Wood Working, Drills, Things Breaking, Progress, Problems, Walls, Flowers, Vanlife, Van Build, Furring, Framing, Learning, Sealant, Subfloor, Self-doubt, Inner Thoughts, Planning, Mishaps, Time Crunch, Tools, Layout, Trial Run Comments