So long 2017, hello 2018!

Hello everyone, another post from yours truly. I have been a little quiet lately but 2018 has given me the motivation and "fresh start" I needed to get my butt typing..and editing! 2017 has come to a close, even though I think it was my best year yet..and my quickest year. Go figure! I guess its true what they say, "time flies when your having fun". I wanted to write a little bit about what 2017 meant to me, the things I did that ill take with me forever, and the things i've learned that I keep close as I move into another year.

First of all, I spent new years in fort Myers beach, Florida in the beginning of 2017, and that night alone showed me what I was in for throughout the year. I spent it with my dad and some good friends and we had makers mark, a few cool bars, and 80 degree weather. Cant beat that! We partied until the new year and I have never felt more free in my entire life then I did that night, I was floating on clouds. Then windfall crew went to scope out yet another free hot tub, because little did anyone know it windfall crew made it into many free hot tubs throughout the trip. The next morning we all were feeling a little sour, but defiantly not regretful of how we rang in the new year. This was going to be my year, I kept thinking. I sailed from Michigan all the way to Florida, thats a pretty good achievement to start the year out right. And I was with my dad. What could be better!

We made it to the keys finally, and spent some time there soaking up the sun before we made our next move. What move was that you ask? Well, ill be glad to tell you.

We had the plan to get a school bus (my dads had one before) and we wanted to make it into a mobile coffee truck, selling at festivals. How fun would that be? Michigan festivals selling coffee as the brew bus. I was pretty stoked. We got rid of windfall, a very sad day for sure, but there will be another bigger and better boat in my future theres no question of that. We picked up a van and started driving, looking for a bus that would suit us.

The van life was actually one of my favorite parts of 2017, I really enjoyed this kind of living. Yes it is a lot of Walmart parking lots but also some really cool areas as well, and we bummed around Saint Augustine for a month with it. I loved hanging out at local bars, coffee shops, and places around town with the van. Making movies and seeing some of the cool sights. We never felt more mobile, because lets face it. You dont really go fast on the sailboat, and 55 miles per hour was flying for us. We took that van thousands of miles, just because we could. I wish I would have kept that van, and used it when we got home for trips. I think that was when I realized my first goal of 2018: get a van.

I wanted a high top sprinter van that I could convert into my little tiny home. I really enjoy taking up minimal space, and being more self sufficient with power, water, and honestly in my opinion, my freedom, like we were doing on the boat. If i could live minamilly, I could save all my money and actually live the way I want. And travel. I want to travel, cheap. I want my videos that I work so hard on, to fund my travels. I want to keep doing what I am passionate about and make enough money to live and keep doing it. I'm not saying I hate my career choice, but it is super stressful working in the medical field and anyone you talk to is going to tell you the same thing. This break in work has showed me that, I was able to take a step back and look at the simple things. Things that I would remember my whole life, adventures I felt like a 20 something person should be having. I felt I was exactly where I was suppose to be.

Anyway, back to the van. Black beauty, I think we called her. We only had her for a short time, but there will be another van for me. We finally found a bus. We drove to Pittsburg, Kentucky and found our bus. You are probably all thinking, well that was easy right? Think again. We almost weren't able to get this bus, because even though we just got our tax return we had no money left. We put the van up for sale to fund the rest of our money for the bus. The end of this trip was also the end of our bank accounts. We put the van up and had three people who were interested that ended up flaking out on us, we were getting a bit down and out about selling this van. Finally when we lowered the price down to almost nothing, we sold it and got the bus, in a matter of a few hours.

We considered ourselves lucky with the loss and headed back to Michigan.

We arrived in 20 degree weather, and after a whole winter in Florida, lets just say we were cold. And living in a tin box with nothing but bus seats inside it was not the best way to go around here this time of year. We had to sleep in hammocks and on the cold floor for many nights. We did however get seats out and a floor in by the time we hit northern michigan. We settled down, and rode out the last of the winter staying warm inside visiting family and finishing up the last of our movies. This was a turning point for my videos for sure. My youtube channel started going from the sailing channel into just my life channel. My next goal for 2018 videos. I started with some bus conversion videos and have lately been making travel tips and advice videos also until I can plan my next adventure. This was when I got a job to catch up on the bills and start my plan. This brings me to 2018 new years. The resolution I made was to embrace my creative side of me, because sailing with my dad I learned that deep down, no matter how much I think its not there, I have a creative side. Its in my genes. I want to play my violin more, because i've played for ten years plus, and haven't picked that up in probably four years, what happened to that? My dad got me a ukulele for christmas also and have been learning that. I want to make more music. I am one of the lucky ones that learned an instrument, I have to keep playing. Another thing that helps me feel more creative is the videos I make. I want to improve, learn some cool tricks while I have the internet around to do so. The video content is going to change until I take off again, but thats just what has to happen. Good chance for me to learn the little things and get good at it. I got a drone for Christmas also, so enough said.

My goal is to take a trip out west in the bus. Were going to get some good mountain hikes and footage and camp out in some amazing spots. I want to get to Portland, Oregon. This is one part of the united states I haven't really seen, the north west.

I started another long term goal and that is to backpack europe, before my 20's are up. I will do a eurotrip at some point, maybe not this summer, but summer of 2019.

Lots of things going on, and It feels good to just be getting them all down on paper. Planning is the first step to making it happen.

I hope you all enjoyed this blot and don't forget to subscribe to hear all about the travels!

Cheers to an amazing year, to each and every one of you!

Thanks for reading

DaniRaeLives