SAN JOSE — That’s what I get for quoting John Steinbeck about the vagaries of travel plans. I found out he was right — about how we don’t take a trip, the trip takes us.
I flew to Sandpoint, Idaho, last week, expecting to pick up my van and take it on a test drive back to the Bay Area. Only my van wasn’t done — and still isn’t!
The current plan is for the Volkmans to deliver it to me in the Bay Area in a couple of weeks.
But the good news is I love it. We succeeded in turning a very cramped space into a welcoming, functional home.
For a taste, check out the video.
VIDEO: Take a tour of the van conversion. Click here if you are having trouble viewing the video on your mobile device.
It may not look like much so far, but It’s a dream come true, nicer than I even imagined.
There’s really a sense of five different “rooms” that the video doesn’t quite convey:
— A bedroom that is separated from the rest of the van by partial walls.
— The kitchen, with its 8-foot-long butcher block counter, three-burner stove, oven & fridge, and a truly huge sink with a custom cutting board that doubles as a sink cover.
— A gleaming white bathroom/shower with a slatted teak mat, so your feet never have to touch the bottom of the shower pan, meaning you are not ankle-deep in standing water.
— A “living room” with a dinette and cushy driver’s and passenger bucket seats that swivel
around to face the table.
— And last but not least, an outdoor, shaded “living room” created by a canopy (8’ by 13’).