Saturday 19/8/17

Today we met our neighbors. Three other vans around us on the Downs. Shortly after meeting them, we decided to move the van. But not because of them, we had talked about it before we met them. Might be nicer to have the door open straight out to the grass so Casper doesn’t have to cross the road first.

We were in front of the green one.

We also went via the house briefly to check our mail, and collected jam.
Jonny wanted to make jam, so we collected free wild blackberries when we saw some.

In the mail was the Homer sticker we had ordered from Germany (or was it Denmark?). But it finally arrived and now it’s on the van. Wanna see?

It’s quite apt: he’s not carrying clothes or anything with him. And we’re trying to be as light as possible. But we’re not embarrassed about this lifestyle. People might not agree or even understand. But we’re all different and like our things in a certain way. Maybe we can still be friends anyway?

Succulent(s)

New plant collection.. Wild flowers from the roadside and what I though might be Aloe Vera for cleaning the air in the van.. It’s not..

Watch “The New Christy Minstrels – Three Wheels On My Wagon” on YouTube

Lazy afternoons and a long drive through Europe..

.. So Green, the Downs Area of Bristol. Recently mown grass, a slightly noisey road and the rustle of the chestnut trees are the smells and sounds of our afternoon. A good time to download I guess, to take stock.. Revisit our European adventure and look forward to the promises ahead on our new journey.

Europe..

I was a bit paranoid about taking the van on such a long trip (by British standards).. Although  only 4 years old the van has covered a little over 200k miles and I was a bit edgy about its ability to takes us safely into Denmark and beyond. I decided to take out a pretty comprehensive breakdown cover with RAC, which of course we didn’t need but it’s great peace of mind. The van (Homer) behaved with immense dignity and can now be officially designated ‘reliable’ in my book. Pretty effortless to drive on long stretches.. The longest being 9hours between brussels and hamburg.. 9hours!..whenndid Europe get so flippin big??.. Especially Germany.. Who knew.. (prob the Germans).

Kisdorf Feld

was our overnight stop after our day visit to the Hergé Museum just outside Brussels.. This is a proper Museum, well thought out and utterly drool inducing for those of us brought up on Tintin. Highly recommended. Casper (aged 2 and a bit) was fascinated from the moment we got there..

It was a pretty emotional visit for me.. Felt a bit teary in a nostalgic kinda way, realising that so much of what I feel about what is right and good about human comes from.. Well, Tintin!.. What a hero and I’m so chuffed that Casper gets it too at such an early age. We bout a model of the Moon rocket from ‘Explorers on the Moon’ and he loved it.. And he’s hooked on the dvd box set we had too.. Sooper!

Hamburg and beyond

Word On The autobahn was that the ring road around Hamburg was a nightmare, so we drove 9 hours through the enormous lump that is Germany, to try and get through the endless roadworks we later encountered, passing Hamburg and it’s vast container port in the late evening around 11pm, ultimately stopping at an  autohof (place to stop and rest/sleep) before setting off for the Danish border the following day.

Coming Soon.. Denmark and beyond!.. And the nicest beach sunset ever.. Possibly.

Choosing our name

Your van has to have a name.

Nobody has told us this, but it’s just a thing that you do.

Lou said “how about calling it home” jokingly, because it is our home. We’ve chosen to leave the ‘Normal 9-5 life style’, for van life. But more about that in another blog post.

So Jonny thought for a bit and said “Let’s call it Homer” [thinking of Homer Simpsons, because he loves it. He and he’s kids from previous marriage, has constant running jokes about the Simpsons].
Next line was, “That works. Also because of the Odyssey. The massive journey we are on as well”. Lou just looked at him blankly. She hasn’t been properly educated about the Greek mythology. What did they teach you in school back then? 

… 

So ‘Homer’ it is.

Sticker is on it’s way. Delivery back in Bristol. When we get home, a picture will be added.

First blog post

Hi World.

We are Jonny, Lou and Casper (2) in our Fiat Ducato (5), called Homer.

We will travel around Europa (England included), to experience life and God in our lives.

This blog is to share our travels and life with people who would like to know. We’ll let the Holy Spirit lead us in where we’re going.

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

The Bible NIV – John 3:8

Though, this is not a travel blog just yet. As we are staying in Bristol, UK to live our lives for one more year, until we have saved up some money, to then go travelling.

That means for now it’s a VAN LIFE BLOG. Welcome on board.