This content was created by Nate Buchanan. This content was uploaded by Nate Buchanan. This is a YouTube video titled "FIRST 48 HOURS OF FULL-TIME VAN LIFE" documenting Kara and Nate Buchanan's initial experiences living in a converted van in the United States. The video, created on July 5, 2020, captures their challenges with van maintenance, such as fixing a broken fridge, and their travels through Kentucky and Missouri, including culinary experiences and adapting to van life.
Chapters
We're Kara and Nate. We've spent the last four years traveling full time to 100 countries. The original plan was to continue traveling internationally, but, you know, run.
2020. So now we're back in our home country of the United States, where we bought a converted sprinter van that will be our full time home as we explore our own backyard. For the last month, we've been parked in Nate's parents driveway trying to get the van ready to leave. But it's been a more challenging process than.
I did not think that was gonna happen.
Oh. Our ceiling lights broke. Then a rock chipped the windshield. One of our tires went flat. Our shore power quit working. Our solar panels quit charging. Drawer latches broke. Then there were the upgrades we willingly made, like installing the headliner shelf, new fans.
Fixing the table, and installing a swivel se.
If we're being completely honest, it was a lot more effort than I thought it would be to get ready for this moment. But it is finally time to pull out of my parents driveway for good. And we are heading three hours north to Lexington, Kentucky, to the office of the place where our fridge is made. Because.
It'S broken.
So a month ago, before we bought this van, I didn't know what a compressor was. And now I know that it's this little black box right here. I still don't completely understand what it does, but after spending an hour on the phone with the company that makes this fridge the other day, I'm pretty sure it's broken. And that's what we need to get fixed in order for our fridge to work. Love you.
So.
The original plan was to head west, but it's gonna be kind of hard to live in this van full time without a working fridge. So we're heading north out of necessity.
Good morning, Debbie.
Good morning. I have a fridge that needs to be repaired. What time do you close? 5pm okay, we'll see you in a little while.
All right. See you.
That is a castle.
Let's pull over right here.
I think the worst part about our fridge breaking is I had bananas in the freezer and we didn't know that it was broken for like an entire day. And they just cooked in here. And the whole fridge just smells like.
Probably have to unscrew the bracket from the top of the fridge too. I do think I have a screwdriver in the back. Now that we're on the road, I no longer have access to my dad's workshop, and I'm left with my small childhood toolbox. I did not think I have what I need to get that fridge out in here. Yeah. Oh, I do have a wrench.
Okay. Now if we're lucky, it just slides right out. If we're unlucky, there's. Oh, man. Phil's.
Huh. Maybe it's just really heavy.
Yes.
Oh, it's attached. Yeah. That was dumb.
Is there anything in there, Kath?
Nope.
Well.
Honestly, just thought we were gonna show up and they were gonna, like, do everything for us, but this isn't, like, an RV repair place. This is literally the company that. That makes the fridge. So they don't work on vans, just the fridge.
Like, there's not, like, a waiting room or a place where, like, customers go. Like, we just show.
We're just at the warehouse.
No way. Yeah. Just put electronic box on. It went out. Oh, man. Pretty simple. What do I owe you for it? It's still under warranty. Wow. You're the best. Changed a couple of the parts in there that it discolored on you as well, so everything should be good to go. Thank you so much. Sweet. It took, like, five minutes, and it was free. Now we just have to put it back in.
Oh, yeah. That's already feeling so good. Yay.
Didn't want to drive three hours out of the way, but that was so worth it.
All right. It's almost like it never happened.
Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of the rotten banana smell.
We weren't sure if they were going to be able to fix the fridge in one day, so we haven't made any other plans. And it's almost dinner time, so we need to find somewhere to eat and somewhere to sleep for the night.
So we found this app that's supposed to show you places where you're allowed to park for free overnight. And there's this sporting goods store right down the road that's on the list, but because we've never done this before.
Hello, and thank you for calling Cabela.
I was gonna call and see if it was okay, because I didn't want somebody knocking on the window in the middle of the night telling us that we weren't allowed to sleep there. But I guess we'll just go and hope for the best.
My sister actually used to live in Lexington, so I asked her what we should get for dinner, and she said eating a hot brown from Ramsay's Diner is the classic Lex thing to do. So.
What would you like? Can I get one hot brown? Just the traditional one. Also a veggie plate. We'll bring her out. I Think we might have a heart attack after this meal.
Bye.
You too.
Bye. Yay.
So according to the.
Whoa.
I am so glad we did not get two of these. Look at all of that cheese. This is great. So according to the Internet, the hot brown kind of has a fun history. It originated here in Kentucky at this really fancy hotel like a hundred years ago. The chef there just whipped it up with the ingredients that he had, and now it's famous.
Wow.
That is a thick layer of cheese. Mmm.
Wow.
It's worth the hype. This dish contains two pieces of toast, one layer of turkey, one layer of ham. This beautiful creamy white sauce. I don't even know what this is. Some sliced fresh tomatoes. A little bit of nutrition in there. Huge layer of melted cheese, and just to top it off, right, Two thick cut pieces of crispy bacon. I love that this is a thing. To pair with our hefty entree, we have five classic southern sides. Fried okra, fried green tomatoes, fried apple fritters, cornbread, and my favorite, Mac and cheese.
Growing up with my grandmother cooking a lot of these sides for family get togethers, I give Those like a 7 out of 10, but totally worth coming for. Just for the hot ground.
According to the app, there were two spots around back.
Oh, so you can't just park anywhere.
Well, hey, RV service area.
Hey.
Sweet. Hey, Maven.
Seems like, you know, legit.
Yeah.
It's not like the dreamiest spot that we could have ever parked for the first night, but it is free. And there's a semi truck and a camper on the other side of that that are sleeping here as well, so I feel pretty good about it.
Hey, Siri, what's the humidity? What's the highest the humidity can possibly be?
One of the things that I was a little worried about when we bought this van was not having AC in the back when we were trying to go to sleep. And.
10:45 and I'm still sweating a little bit. It's about 80 degrees and the humidity is currently 79%. It's warm, but I think if I lay really still and I don't put any sheets on top of me.
I think I'll be able to fall asleep. I think.
We didn't even get the quilt out of the closet.
Oh, not that bad.
Not that bad.
No, not when you spread out like this for the maximum.
Not quite as romantic as I pictured our first real night. A full time family, just our first.
Full day in general.
Getting our fridge.
Fixed, Sweating all day.
Sleeping in a parking lot.
You know, this Was a rough day, and it. It wasn't that bad. And I'm excited to be doing this. Me too.
It's.
It's ready.
It's cold. Believe it or not, we both got cold last night. Oh. Which is so good. I just thought I was gonna sweat every single night in the van.
All right, time to get moving.
We're gonna leave it as a bed until we need it as an office.
Head northeast toward polo club boulevard.
Since our circumstances have led us to Kentucky, we were hoping that we could make the most of it today by doing, like, a socially distanced a horse track or a socially distanced tour of a distillery, because those are two things that Kentucky is really famous for. However, after a couple hours of research last night, we learned that pretty much all of those things are still closed due to Covid, which is probably a good thing. So instead, we are going to stick to the original plan and start driving west today.
We just made it to Louisville, and since we have a working fridge, it's time to stock up.
What do you think? I don't even feel like we have enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next two days, and somehow our pantries are already full. This won't fit anywhere. Guess they'll just have to sit with me in the front seat.
All right, so the goal for today is to make it to St. Louis, which is about a four hour drive west. We don't really have any plans today, so we're just gonna take our time getting.
Nate has a business call in a few minutes, so while he's doing that, I'm going to make us some avocado toast for lunch. I know none of this seems super exciting, but the fact that we just were able to pull off the interstate into a random gas station parking lot and, like, live our life because we have everything that we own with us right here. It's a pretty cool feeling.
After a long, rainy drive through endless amounts of farmland, we have made it to St. Louis. It's our first time in the city, so, of course, of course, our first stop is the arch.
So when we left during the middle of a pandemic, we knew this was going to be kind of a weird time to travel. And there's pros and cons to it. The pro is that we're one of three people at the St. Louis Arch. And the con is that it's still closed for another week, and we can't go up to the top. And anything that we say, like Covid related and about stuff being closed isn't us complaining. We almost expect it. It's just to kind of, like, share the current situation with you and. And what we're experiencing firsthand.
So I've known about the St. Louis Arch for as long as I can remember, but I just learned today that it's the tallest arch in the world at 630ft.
We are ending the night at one of our friend's barbecue restaurants. It's called Salt and Smoke, and we are so excited that we finally get to try it. We are Starting with a St. Louis original, this toasted ravioli. This place has put their own spin on it, so it's stuffed with brisket and served with their white barbecue sauce.
Oh, my gosh. Which tastes like ranch. That's a little bit barbecue y. They're so toasty. Oh.
This is a brilliant idea. I do not think that the us is going to be good for my waistline.
But it will be good for.
For my soul.
Our waitress told us that the Mac and cheese here has won several awards. I can totally see why. This is amazing. We have pulled pork, brisket, and a popover.
Our friend owns this restaurant, so I might be a little biased, but it's delicious, and you should eat a salt and smoke if you come to St. Louis.
Ooh. In his childhood toolbox, he does not have what he needs.
Oh, that would have been cool. That was exactly what I needed. That is not.
Just getting the kitchen drawer out of the bathroom.
I'd be surprised if this doesn't clog one of my arteries immediately. Not so dramatic. This is crazy.
Our van is so smart.
I was so confused. All of a sudden, the windshield wipers just started going. I guess there's, like, a moisture sensor.
It's so smart.
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