Hey ya’ll. 💛 I hope you are well, warm, and at peace.
This post will be for me, just as much as it is for you, the reader. I say this, because I still quite haven’t processed the last 6-12 months of my life! So, for those of you who don’t know, I lived in my car for a solid 6-months—in a 1995’ Toyota Camry traveling up and down the West Coast. I cannot exactly tell you, at this point, how many times I have traveled south on the 101.
Honestly, there are so many things that I would do differently—but I have all of that experience under my belt. And, I would do it again—next time, my vehicle will be bigger(a van at the least).
To lightly retrace my 2023
January-June: Eugene, Oregon
July 2nd-14th: Alderdale, Washington
July 15th: Astoria, Oregon
July 18th: Boise, Idaho
July 28th Seattle, Washington
August 1st: Eugene, Oregon
August 3rd: Yachats, Oregon.
August 7th: Bend Oregon
August 19th-27th: Boise, Idaho
September: ???
October 18th-November 8th: Boise, Idaho
November 9th: San Francisco, California
November 27th: San Francisco, California
December 12th: Pacifica, California
December 21st: Half-Moon Bay, California
December 25th: Crescent City California
December 31st: Yachats, Oregon
January 9th: Eureka, California
January 11th: Weed, California (ROSIE; RIP)
Mid-Feb to Present March: Eugene/Springfield Oregon
Honestly, it took so much effort to track all of this down! lol And I literally, still don’t know where I was in September—so if anyone could let me know, that would be really great. I have checked my photos—and text messages, and I literally went into a black hole in September! Ha
All of my adventures were brought to a grinding halt, one bright morning, passing through Weed California. I was on my way to Arizona—to avoid a winter storm. Driving South on I-5, blinded by snow and ice on the road and the morning Sun, I slowed to stop on the shoulder. Being unable to see, I decreased my speed, and slowly merged right, to the shoulder. Well, unbeknownst to me, someone else had pulled over because they couldn’t see, either. Well, I crashed into them going about 40mph—I am so thankful that my airbags deployed, and my seatbelt functioned! Car crashes are no joke. Thankfully the other person, a woman, had an extended U-Haul Hitch on her Toyota Sienna. Very uncommon. Thankfully there was only one casualty—Rosie, my Toyota. Rest in Peace old girl.
Of course living in my car was challenging—there wasn’t a single day that went by that I didn’t question myself. And, like everything else, it came with its pros and cons. I really would do it again…knowing now,
what I didn’t know then will be very helpful.
The Top 5 Things I Would Do Differently:
1) Outfit my vehicle prior to departure. (I was working on my build/organization while living in it—hard to do both.)
2) Meal Plan—Eating out can severely drain your budget!
3) Travel in a Van vs a Car—the extra room is a deserved luxury.
4) Be more fearless in my exploration—hearing stories of other folks being harassed by police, or homeless made me very nervous.
5) TAKE MORE PHOTOS! Again, being in an unfamiliar big city was scary—I need to focus more on being in the Present moment—and capturing it!
I am going to fill in the captions of each of these photos—they aren’t in chronological order. WordPress isn’t responding very well right now—so I am going to jump off. Until next time! Daniel out! 💛
Okay, so that was quite the photo dump!
About the Author:
Daniel is a 29-year-old, and self-proclaimed traveler, energy-worker, caregiver, activist, and long-time foodie. He enjoys spending time in nature, going for long road-trips, meditating, and spending time with his friends and family.
He finds purpose through his day-job as a caregiver—and is in the process of completing an Associate Degree in Human Services. While concurrently enrolled in classes, and caregiving, Daniel is working towards opening a Non-Profit Charity: Love Gives—whose mission statement is: “Love In Action”, aimed at providing Direct-Cash Payments to those In-Crisis (ie. unhoused, hungry, veterans, recovering-individuals, abuse-survivors). If you are interested in working with, or making a donation, please email: love.gives@outlook.com and find them on
Facebook:
Daniel Eats 
Thanks for the follow. That’s quite a story.. Glad you’re alive to talk about it. Stay in touch and see you on the path. ❣️
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I am very thankful to have made it through that ordeal! The Universe was in full-control that day!
⭐️
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