During our time in Key West, Florida, we met so many amazing people, locals as well as travelers. This was the first place were we've regularly come across vans that have been converted into campers. As such, we were able to meet many with campervans who are either traveling across the country in their converted vans like us with ShaVanda.
This journal celebrates and honors these friendships and connections we've made with other "vanners" and "vanlifers" in thr order we met them while in Key West. We have included each of their Instagram names so that you can travel along with them in their journeys like you are doing with us.
Thank you, Key West, for these and so many other friendships that we made while calling you our home!
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@catandbrenton Cat and Brenton were the first two vanlifers that we officially met in Key West - a good 3+ weeks into our stay on Key West. They have a 2005 Dodge Sprinter. We decided to break out of our comfort zone and "stalk" this van, because they too had license plates from Washingston state. We parked right next to them and dared to introduce ourselves. We learned they bought the van in WA but were living in New England at the time of purchase and vanbuild. And now they are traveling with their two furbabies on their way to the Pacific Northwest to attend school. During our meeting they introduced us to this app called iOverlander, where people share insights on where they've stayed in a places all over the world. We discovered that there were only two places in Key West mentioned on the app, and we hadn't stayed on either of them. So, after meeting them we added our own spots to the app.
@spock.the.van We met Kirk within an hour of leaving Cat and Brent. He has a converted Ford Tranist van. After meeting Cat and Brent, we decided to continue our luck being bold and introducing oursleves to this other van conversion. Kirk is from Colorado and is traveling the world. He is really an inspiration, being quadriplegic and still has the drive to explore and adventure. He plans on traveling south of the border soon. We joined him the next day to experience "the breakfast place" of Key West - this is the restaurant Blue Heaven. He was the first vanlifer that we hung out with outside of touring vans.
@nep_yorker (Unfortunately we forgot to get a photo together. Picture is explained below.)
We met Babu and his wife a few days later at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. They have a 170-wheel base 2017 Sprinter. Babu is a carpenter by trade and built out their van to look like a beautiful studio apartment. They live in New York City, and are originally from Nepal. As we departed they gave us a beautiful Nepalese prayer and good luck hanging. They told us they were moved by our graciousness and wanted to bestow luck upon us in our journey. They also invited us to come visit them anytime we find ourselves in NYC.
@kwfullmoon @scottcgerke We officially met Scott also at Fort Zachary Taylor the same day we met Babu and his wife. We had passed each other a few times on the street, and to the point that Scott chased us down one day to exchange contact info, and this day was the first day we could finally properly meet. He was the first Sprinter van we saw in person with Flares by Flarespace like the ones we have on ShaVanda. He is in the process of converting it into a camper that can double as a work van to haul his DJ equipment he uses for events he hosts. We became instant friends and thoroughly enjoyed the events of his that we attended. Being a DJ, he bestowed upon us a disco ball earring that we now have hung up in one of our hanging plants. He was also the one the shared with us what eventually became our regular daily hangout spot. Thank you for sharing your home and your stories with us!
@on_a_mountain @girl_on_a_mountain We met this couple Derrick and Kim at the RV campground at the Naval Air Station of Key West. In fact, they chose to park next to us because we too had a converted van. They converted a Ram Promaster into a camper that they take on getaway excursions from Asheville, North Carolina. We shared great stories and were invited to visit them anytime we make our way to Asheville. How awesome! Their friendship definitely made our second stay at the campground worthwhile.
@thevantasticlife We were making our regular Starbucks run when we found this converted, low-roof 4x4 Sprinter van that was the same color as ours in the Starbucks parking lot. And, to make things more exciting it had a Washington state license plate. Needless to say, we totally hunted the people in Starbucks, to say hi and share stories. The couple of the van were Emily and Joe, both from Washington state and now traveling the US, visiting each US National Park. They were in Key West to make a trip out to the Dry Tortugas National Park, a ferry ride away from the island, and then flying down to the US Virgin Islands to visit the national park on the island of St. Johns. With Emily and Joe we met another couple that is also traveling across the country, but in their RV. This second couple also started their trip in the Seattle area. They are Maraea and another Joe. Maraea was also born and raised in Washington, but the second Joe was from Montana, not Washington. (I guess that's okay.) From Starbucks we toured the Sprinter vans and then together went out to eat at a local Cuban restaurant.
@neuvan.adventure This couple, Alex and Jenny, became instant friends of ours. One day while at "our spot" we saw this converted Ram Promaster van drive near us and park. Having not before seen another van conversion at this local park, we naturally got out and introduced ourselves. They are two of the coolest people! They, with their fur-baby Daisy had just recently started their trip, having packed up their life in Atlanta, Georgia. Like us, they were taking their time to figure out where next for them. For the next several days they were our daily neighbors. And we grew excited to continue hanging out with them. We learned that they are making a business out of converting vans into stunning, luxurious studio apartments. This van was their first attempt, and it is beautiful! When they decided it was time for them to make their way out of Key West, we grew a bit sad - our neighbors have left. Alex and Jenny, we know that we will see you again somewhere along our journey.
@livingupp (Unfortunately we forgot to get a picture together.) We met Stacy as we were on our way to the West Marine boat shop on Stock Island, the next island up the highway from Key West. We saw this high-roof Sprinter van that was the same color as ours and had to say hi. She had stopped at the local croissant bakery on her way back up to the mainland. She too was from Washington state and is taking her time building out her van as she travels across the country.
@vitruvianvan The last vanlifer we met while in Key West actually reached out to us over Instagram. Chris with his furbaby Tulsey and his self converted van, Vitruvian Van, began their journey in Connecticut. He discovered us from the spots we listed on iOverlander. Chris had only recently began his journey and found our insights on spots really helpful. (Yay! We're really glad we can give back to this community we are loving!) His built his van so that the conversion would meet the environmentally conscious LEAD-Certification requirements. Also very cool! We were able to share stories and hangout up a couple of times before either of us left Key West.
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There you have it. I hope you enjoyed our little tidbits of some cool people we've met who have converted vans. We know this is the first of many really cool informal and maybe formal "vanlife meetups" yet to come.
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