72 HOURS OF VAN LIFE IN NEW ENGLAND (this is what it's really like)

This feels so good.

We're both feeling a little broken this morning. It's crazy how much walking can wreck your body. If you missed our last video yesterday, we walked all the way across the state of Rhode island, which is 32 miles. Oh, work it. I don't know if I'm gonna make it. I don't know if I will recover.

This video was sponsored by L.L. bean.

Hello World.

Our neighbors are gone. We out slept them all.

I've got to take a shower.

First, I have to convert the bed into a table because the hot water switch is under the ditch. I'm questioning whether or not I even want to shower anymore.

Right quick.

No. Turn the van on.

That beeping noise is telling us that our batteries are low. And that's because pretty much anything that involves heat pulls a ton of power. And we've already boiled water this morning and last night and. Yeah. So now in order to take a shower, we have to turn on the van, which will start the alternator charger. That will in turn recharge the batteries that are in the back of van.

We use our shower as a closet. So now I have to get out.

All my stuff.

I feel like a new person. It always goes better than expected.

Last night, we crashed in a parking lot, and this morning we've woken up with no plan. But we have to be in Vermont in three days, and we're in New England at the most beautiful time of the year. So the goal is to make the most of the next 72 hours. Hopefully there's going to be beautiful scenery, delicious food, and fun things to do.

But we're going to be figuring but we're going to be figuring it all out as we go. And nothing is more fitting for us than waking up in a random parking lot.

I just don't think I saw on a plate. Now we have some food in our bellies. We are going to do some research and figure out a plan.

Ready? Break.

We should have a handshake.

Definitely not.

Okay. We have spent most of today in a parking lot, so so far, not so good. And making the most of our 72 hours here. But I do think we finally have at least a structure of a plan.

It.

No.

That's a lot of popcorn.

I've won.

Drum.

All right.

Loser puts the bed up. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. I put it out this morning.

That was harder than expected.

Good night.

Morning. We're gonna try not to let today slip away like we did yesterday.

Good morning. Had about three sips of coffee.

Wow.

A little bit of a contrast from where we woke up yesterday. Wow, this is beautiful.

That's the beauty of van life.

Sunrise over Cape Cod.

I think the last 24 hours has really been a perfect summary of van life. You put up with a lot of little annoyances like semi cold showers, flat tires, occasionally not being able to find somewhere to sleep for moments like this. Mornings where you can just wake up, make a cup of coffee, and then drive your home and everything that you need to watch a beautiful sunrise over Cape Cod.

I think we found a hidden tree.

It's incredible.

Look at it coming over the fog.

This might be the corniest thing I've ever said to the camera. But no matter what else happens today, I'm grateful for today. What a way to start the day.

So ever since our walk, I've been, oh gosh, my drawer. And I just came up. Like I was saying, ever since our walk, I've been telling Nate that an ice bath would feel so good on my sore legs. But I was really just being hypothetical. And Nate just reminded me that we are on the coast where the water is freezing cold. So.

Kind of like sunrises, those polar plunges are something we always have to force ourselves to do, but we never regret doing them.

We just drove about an hour up the coast to the town of Plymouth. And legend has it when the pilgrims took the Mayflower over here, they stepped off the boat and onto this rock. I actually would have guessed it'd be a lot bigger.

Okay. I'm actually blown away by how small small the Mayflower was. This is supposed to be a life size replica. And to me it looks like a kids playground. 66 people came over on that boat. That is terrifying to me.

According to all the plaques, we have definitely found the best seafood restaurant in town.

Thank you.

Okay, we just ran into a local who told us we had to come eat at the Lobster Hut. And you had to get lobster with extra butter. It's like a little baby lobster sandwich. And also some fish and chips.

Did I scare you? Is this how they beheaded people?

So Salem. This place is famous for the Salem witch trials, which happened back in the 1600s. If you're unfamiliar with that part of history, it is so worth a read or a documentary watch because it was crazy. 19 people were publicly hanged here because somebody said they were witches. So anyway, this town has really embraced their history. And it being October and Halloween, it's on another level. So it's probably the best time to come here. But at the same time, all the tours that we wanted to go on were fully booked. So we just made a little lap around town, Enjoyed all the decorations, went to the cemetery, which, fun fact, someone buried in that cemetery came over here on the Mayflower. Now, I'm just gonna finish my coffee and we're gonna get out of here before it gets dark. Unless you want to do a ghost tour with me.

Actually, the nighttime ghost tours aren't all booked. Nate just won't go on one with me. He won't do it. He's brave in a lot of other ways, but not when it comes to ghosts.

Morning.

Good morning.

Last night we got a couple more hours of driving in and we made it to our 35th state of new Hampshire, where we slept in our favorite roadside hotel, the walmart parking lot. Wasn't Massachusetts 35, our 36th state of New Hampshire.

This is awesome.

When we left the Boston area, things were still really green. We drove two hours in the dark last night and did not know what we were going to wake up to this morning.

It is literally the most beautiful fall trees I've ever seen in my life. It's just every fall color on these rolling hills. I really thought we were going to drive down a green road.

The highway is absolutely packed today. Every pull off is overflowing with cars. But we just pulled down this little dirt road that led to this oasis in the middle of the woods and we have it all to ourselves. Love it when that happens. One of my favorite parts about living in a van is I always have my kitchen for when I get hungry. And I've been toting around a lot of ingredients to make my first fall inspired meal. This isn't an ingredient. It's just a decoration.

I'm pretty sure this is the debut of our brand new addition to our van. Eamon and Beck, out of the goodness of their hearts, gave us a fridge and spent a whole day installing it. A worked late into the night just to get it perfect. The day before we left Canada. They're just the best. And it's made my life so much better.

I never thought I'd be so excited about a fridge. Does this mean I'm getting old?

That might not look very big, but this is where our old fridge used to go. And this is about half the size and maybe three quarters of the depth of this new fridge.

You may remember that our junk drawer used to be right here, which had a lot of junk in it. So we had to figure out where to put all those things, including our pots and pans, which now live above the safe, which actually isn't too bad. They're not filled with junk anymore. Just kidding us.

All the junk just now lives.

Don't show that. We just keep this closed.

It boils faster this way.

The recipe calls for two cloves of garlic. I put at least six. I have not never bought this squash before. Lower expectations for this meal. This is very dangerous.

I can already see the comments rolling in on how wrongly I'm doing this.

First time I've used our peeler. It's been in my drawer for a year and a half.

It might look like I'm just avoiding trying to help in the kitchen, but Kara would greatly prefer me to be outside of the van and out of her way than in there trying to be useful.

First time cooking butternut squash. We'll see how it goes. Since I didn't screenshot the recipe before I lost service, I'm completely guessing on all of these measurements, which makes me feel like a real chef. I feel like I'm making a magic potion.

I made way too many veggies. And the mystery broth. I love the fall colors. We're eating the color of the trees right now. Wow, that was unplanned. So ramen noodles has kind of become a theme on this channel. I usually add peanut butter and a few other fun things, but I thought I would change it up. I'm proud of the way it looks. We'll see how it tastes.

Oh, thanks.

Happy fall.

Happy fall. Don't worry about us just filming ourselves eating lunch.

No pressure.

This puts me in an awkward situation because I feel like if I give any criticism to this dish, then the people watching this video are going to think that I'm mean and ungrateful. But Karen and I agreed early on in our marriage that I was always going to be completely honest about food, which I'm very grateful for, because I didn't want to live the next 50 years together acting like I enjoyed a dish that I really didn't. So from the start, I've just been really honest about everything she's cooked.

For the record, I appreciate his honesty because then I can make it better the next time. And most of the time, if he doesn't like something, I don't either.

Looks wise, I give it a 10. Hair wise, I give it a 10 as well. Ew.

The way it is now, I give it a 7 out of 10. With a little extra spice or a couple other ingredients, it could easily be a 10 out of 10 and 9 out of 10. On matching the trees, I'LL take it.

Oh, I got it here too. I am not offended at all by your review, just for the record.

Thank you.

We have just arrived at the base of Mount Washington, which is the highest mountain in all of New Hampshire. And normally we would both be very excited to get some exercise and climb.

Up to the top, especially after that ramen.

However, next weekend, this weekend, this weekend, in like 48 hours from now, we will be undergoing the hardest physical challenge of our lives. Don't look at me. So I'm just not feeling like it's a good idea to hike 9 miles and 3,000ft of vertical elevation gain right before we go into that. But there's another fun way to get to the top. Maybe even more fun, probably more unique.

We are about to board the world's first ever cog railway. The first trip on these train tracks ran in 1869.

May I have your attention please? Mount Washington Cog Railway is now boarding all four o' clock departures. The seats are slamming.

All kinds of sleep, laughter, ridicule.

So we are currently climbing three miles up to the peak of Mount Washington. The top speed of this train on the way up is 2.8 miles per hour. So it'll take us about an hour to get to the top.

Look at the angle she's at, everybody.

You look so crazy.

Well, that train wasn't fast, but it was a lot faster than walking.

Whoa.

So I didn't realize it until we boarded the train. But not only is Mount Washington the highest peak in New Hampshire, it's also the highest peak in the entire Northeast. And it was super easy to get here. I would feel a little more accomplished had we walked up here. But it's the same great views either way, and I'm sure my legs will thank me for it.

Now we are officially at the tallest point in the Northeast.

This is crazy. Check this out. The highest wind ever observed by man, I guess, as opposed to aliens or something else, was recorded here. 231 miles per hour.

Whoa. That's faster than I went in a race car with Mario Andretti. Actually, no, I think we went that fast. And it was making my face go like this. You imagine standing in wind that strong.

It is at least 20 degrees colder up here. But we've been told that it's abnormally pleasant and it's one of the most beautiful days of the year. Mount Washington is known for having the west worst weather in the world. And that's because all of the major weather systems converge here. So it's usually like crazy windy, super cold. It's gotten to negative 100 degrees before.

If you're going to ride the train to the top, the last one is without a doubt the best choice, because not only we get to witness a beautiful sunset, but it also feels like we have the entire top of the mountain all to ourselves. I have to imagine that during the day it's completely packed up here, but we're the last group to go down, and the top's big enough that there are just so many places to be alone up here. That sunset was a magical moment.

Thanks again to L.L. bean for sponsoring this video.