As many of you know, during the pandemic, we bought the biggest, baddest Ford cargo van we could find, and Pat spent nearly a year transforming it into a mini travel home on wheels. Since 2022, when we started traveling with our dog Maya, we have traveled over 50,000 miles, including not one, but TWO […]
Category: The Paddy Wagon Tales
More cold weather camping… and putting compost to the test
Winter vanlife! Lots of snow, but no bugs, bears, snakes or poison ivy. We tested our new heater and unintentionally tested the limits of compost.
The Paddy Wagon goes on a book tour!
My first road trip/book tour for The Memory of Cotton!
Wild camping in PA and the Paddy Wagon goes international
Update If you’re wondering why I haven’t been blogging lately, it’s because I have been super busy since my debut novel, The Memory of Cotton, was published at the end of May. I’m thrilled to announce that in addition to 5-star recommendations from Indies Today and Readers’ Favorite, it also was a finalist in the […]
All’s well that ends well?
Despite the mud, nausea, tears, barf, and broken glass it was a pretty good vancamping trip.
BOOK UPDATE and Winter Camping in the Spring?
First: a book update! The Memory of Cotton will be released on May 26, 2022. Please spread the word, preorder, and if you are willing to write a review for Amazon and/or Goodreads when you read the book, I would be eternally grateful. I am also thrilled to announce that talented teen musician, Morgan Hammer, […]
Broken inverter, ice storm, cracked windshield, and I nearly cracked my skull!
Well, we did it! We attempted our first winter camping expedition… and survived. We had barely been on the road for an hour when I noticed the Paddy Wagon’s windshield was cracked. Déjà vu. Another time, we had been travelling in a different vehicle when we found a crack in our windshield. Foolishly, we waited […]
Am I ready to try winter vancamping?
Am I ready to try vancamping in the winter?
Boondocking, moochcamping, and the best sleep ever
Having recently returned from our first long-haul trip of 3,000 miles to spend Thanksgiving with family in Florida, it is official: Pat and I sleep better in the Paddy Wagon than we do our own bed. I know it sounds crazy, especially for someone like me, who, according to the results of my DNA spit […]
The Paddy Wagon is ALMOST DONE!
A few days ago, Pat expressed disappointment that it was taking him so long to finish the campervan. I was aghast. “Are you kidding?” “Why? How long did you think it was going to take?” “YEARS,” I admitted. My incredulity was not a reflection on his efficiency, but rather the fact that I can’t believe […]