MY FIRST SOLO VAN LIFE ROAD TRIP (emotional)

This video is sponsored by J. Crew.

I've been making my own coffee every day for over a week now, and it still feels so weird. Actually, my dad's been making the coffee, but I still have to get up and pour it and bring it to myself in bed. Oh, man, I'm super spoiled. Nate is currently on a Moroccan adventure.

I'm standing on top of the tallest.

Mountain in North Africa, and I'm about to embark on my very first solo trip in our van. I love chocolate covered all major sea. I'm really nervous, but I'm also excited.

So cool. Wow.

It's better than blow drying, but it's still annoying. There is a reason I don't usually share beauty tips on this channel, and that is because I have no idea what I'm doing. Good enough.

It's finally here. The van has been in the shop all week. And all I have to say is these better be the best tires the road has ever seen. How's it feel?

You don't hear the noise anymore?

If you've seen any of our past van vlogs, you know that our van is loud.

Okay, daddy, I'm ready.

Wow, it's working. Oh, no, it's still leaking. You're probably wondering, why is Nate still in Morocco having fun without Kara? Why is Kara back at home by herself doing nothing? So if you've missed our past few videos, let me quickly catch you up. A few weeks ago, we flew to Greece because we found a bear drop that was $300 round trip. I had to leave a few days early to come back for my cousin's wedding. And Nate casually decided that he was gonna stay Greece to run his first marathon. I'm doing it. No big deal. But there is one massive reason I came home by myself.

I don't know how I'm gonna put all this stuff away, but majority of it came from the van in the first place.

Ow. My hair got stuck in my ring. So my sister is like my favorite girl in the whole entire world. And for the past week, I've been pacing my parents house literally just waiting for her to call to tell me that she's had her first baby. And she finally.

I'm sorry. That was annoying.

This is our little boy. It's a boy. It's a boy. I knew it. This is one of four outfits that I've already bought for him. How cute is this? I've literally been packed for this trip.

For.

If you count today, five days. But the tires that we ordered weren't in in time Then it took forever to get them done. And then the brake sensor. All that matters is that the van is ready to go, I'm ready to go, and Hank is waiting for me in Dallas.

All right, the most dangerous job of all.

This never gets less annoying. Oh, it's been cooking in here.

Here we go.

Sound isn't good.

Bye, daddy. This feels weird.

Well, this didn't take long. I'm five minutes into the trip and my front right tire is at 30 psi. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be at like 55 or 60.

I can't believe this is happening.

It's not flat, but it's looking low.

Hello. Hey, the front right tire says it's at 30 psi.

All right, well, I'll be right there.

I have not had enough coffee for this.

Hey, it really does look low.

Gone up yet? I swear it does look lower. All right, here's what we gotta do. Kira, don't try this. Pump isn't strong enough to bump that up.

I cannot believe this. Plan B. Oh. Oh, gosh.

So close.

Okay, let's go.

The sun has risen, I am caffeinated, and I am driving on I40 west for the next 200 miles.

Hey, good to see you in the.

Van and doing it.

I'm so proud of you. How was this morning?

Feel free to call me back at any time. All right, the next 36 hours.

All right, love you too. Bye.

Love you, flight. Bye.

I got all my snacks in the door ready to go, so hopefully I don't have to stop and eat for a while.

I probably feel well.

Well.

First of probably many potty breaks.

Something about getting up early just makes me hungry.

Dark chocolate almonds with a hint of sea salt. Dangerous. My feet are so cold.

Ouch. Gosh. Just hit my head on the mirror.

Okay, back on the road in 500ft.

Merge onto I40 West.

The trip if I didn't stop would take around 11 hours. But if any of our road trips in the past or any indication, 11 hours for us means like 20 at least. And that's when Nate and I are tag teaming. I think it's gonna take me a while. The plan?

I don't really have a plan. It's really hard to plan a road trip when you have no idea when you're leaving. So when I'm looking at my route, picking out places to stop and eat and walk around and sleep, I didn't know what time I was getting there, so I didn't know if I was gonna drive through Memphis at breakfast. Time. Lunchtime. Dinner time. It was stressful. And on top of all that, Nate is the planner in this relationship. Like 100%. I'm trying to think of a single thing that I during our travels. Nothing. There are no rules. Nate's not here. I can stop and eat whatever I want. I can stop and pee whenever I want. The ultimate goal, Stop somewhere cool to sleep tonight and get to Dallas and have baby snuggles sometime tomorrow. It's just me and the man who knock on wood isn't going to have any more problems. Okay, let's hope now. It's so foggy right now. This is crazy. Alright, it's time to jam. You can't jam with me or YouTube will get mad. So I'm gonna mute whatever I'm actually listening to. But a really cool song from Epidemic Sound. You can just use your imagination, see if you can figure out what I'm singing.

If you can't figure that one out, then I'm sorry, you're missing.

Next up on my snack list. Beef jerky. But it's made out of mushrooms. Holy shiitake. Obviously it's not beef jerky, but it is so dangerously close it's not even funny.

No.

I jinxed it. PSI on that tire is at 44. If it goes down anymore, I'm gonna worry. Dang it. Oh, so unexp.

Annoying.

But I really got a pee. I seriously think my bladder has gotten worse at holding my urine in the last year and a half because I always have a toilet.

Keep left to Continue on exit 24ab.

No, I'm not listening to you.

Continue for half a mile.

Oh my gosh. I'm about to pee my pants.

Your destination is on the left.

Okay, wish me luck.

Hello.

Hi, how can we help? I got brand new tires yesterday and my front right tire went from 47 to 30 psi. So I think something's wrong.

Yeah, it sounds like you got a problem. Yeah, we can get you in a look at it.

Sweet. Oh, I'm so happy. How long you think it'll be?

I'm going to make you the next one in, but It'll probably be 20, 25 minutes.

It's a beautiful day, so I'm just going to settle time.

This is kind of weird, but I think we get some work done. Coming home.

Hey, I think I have good news. He said we have an unusual problem. What is it?

Your wheel is actually cracked. The metal wheel is leaking.

That's crazy.

Here's baby Hank. Say hello everyone.

I think it's done.

Good as new.

Oh, I'm a mess.

Hey, Daddy.

Hey. Did you call me back?

Yeah, Daddy, they wouldn't let me pay. No. Yeah.

That makes you want to cry.

Yeah. He was just so sweet.

That's incredible.

I tried so hard. I tried to give him the cash. I tried to give him my card and he just wouldn't take it.

Did you start crying right there?

Yeah. He thinks I'm crazy. Okay.

Baby doll, I love you.

I love you, too.

I think I'm just overwhelmed with.

The kindness of this place and just the fact that I ended up here. Just got off a random exit to pee. I had no idea it had a tire shop. Full of the most caring people. I think I'm also a little tired. If you were ever in arlington, Tennessee, about 3/4 of the way from Nashville to Memphis and you have any car trouble, you must come see Rusty at Arlington Automotive. Or just go ride them a good review because they deserve it. Okay.

I think I need some food and some coffee.

Because Arlington is probably my new favorite place in the whole world. I just stopped at a cute little local coffee shop down the road. Veggie melt. Wow, what a day.

I need to figure out where I'm sleeping tonight. I think I just found a gym. Just what I need. I requested to stay, but they have to approve it. So we'll see. All right. Heading towards a farm that's about five and a half hours away, even though that's more than I want to do today. But in a perfect world, there's one that's three hours away that just hasn't gotten back to me yet. So let the adventure continue.

Turn right onto Airline Road, then turn left onto US 70 West.

Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Arkansas.

Finally.

That really made me miss me.

For example, the more stressed out you are, the worse food you crave. So the harder your day is, the further you skew towards McDonald's, the easier the day.

The salads, the veggies, deeper access to ourselves. And it's. It's very hard to. Okay. Eat something fell. Which is not a big deal. I mean, unless it is a big deal. The car is definitely on fire and everybody's landed on their brakes. That was very scary. I hope it wasn't my computer that fell. Oh, shoot. It was my computer. Darn it. These new brakes are just too good. I forgot how good they were. Okay, so rest stop. Can I get a rest stop?

Oh, gosh. Now everything's fine.

I did this last night and somehow it's already dirty in here. I Always blame Nate for not taking his shoes off, but it still happened without it. Sorry, Nate. This was actually great timing because I saw a message come in from one of the ladies I messaged about spending the night and she's out of town and can't have me. So I need to figure something else out.

Hello?

Hey, is this Peggy? Yes, it is. I was curious if you had any extra space for me to spend the night tonight.

Absolutely.

All right.

Are you alone?

I am, yes.

You? Really? Well feel comfortable there because you're behind a locked gate and there's no one there to bother you.

Oh, you're so great. Thank you.

See you later. Bye. Yay. Oh my gosh. She was so great. I can't believe I know where I'm sleeping tonight. I just feel so, so relieved. Here we go.

I don't have anybody to drop me a beat this time, so.

I love chocolate covered. Oh, Mr. C. Oh yeah. The problem is Nate's not here to stop me. I might eat the whole bag, you see? Oh, did I already say that? He's the one who tells me to stop every time because I can't help myself. I'll eat the whole bag. Time. I just use time twice. Darn it. It's true though. I got no self control. If he wasn't here, I'd be the size of a big bowl. This is not going well. I don't think I'm delirious enough yet. Let's play one more game. I've guessed what song Kara's singing. I feel like you're gonna get this one.

This is me playing the electric guitar. By the way, if you can't get that chorus, I'm sorry. I did my best keep of the.

Port to continue on I30 West.

Okay.

If you prefer to stay on the current route, tap. No thanks.

You already told me that there's a.

Ten minute slowdown in five miles.

Well then why are you taking me this way?

All right, my ETA is now 8:04.

I'm hungry.

I've eaten this whole bag of jerky. Woohoo. Taxicarner, here I come. I'm pleased to meet you. I wish I could see you but I can't because it's dark. But I don't care. I'm gonna park in a stranger's yard tonight. On the phone. She sounds real nice. That was a good one. It wasn't a rap, but I liked it. Texacarna. Ah. Do you think of like Texas and Arkansas? Texarkana.

Oh my gosh.

Okay, I don't Even want to say this out loud. I have 34 minutes to my destination and my tire pressure warning just came on. It's at 42. Oh my gosh.

Oh, never mind. I thought it went up, but I just looked at the wrong one. Arkansas. Arkansas. Arkansas. Arkansas. Texas.

I'm in Texas. Oh my gosh. Just knowing I'm in the same state as my final destination makes me so happy. Just right around the corner from Texarkarna. I mean, Cana. Texarkana. I have not said it right first try again.

Hey. Lost you.

Sorry about that.

Okay, I'll just have him meet you at the gate in 18 minutes.

Okay, sounds good. My ETA is 7:57, so you're probably.

In New Boston or close to it.

Well, you would know better than I would.

I know it's a lonely road. That's why I want to check on you being by yourself.

You are so sweet. Thank you for checking.

I don't like being out there by myself or know of other people out there by themselves. It's just my husband being a police officer, I'm very much aware of what goes on.

Oh, that's amazing. Yeah, it's a dark road.

Okay, well, I'll tell him you'll be there in about 16 minutes now.

Okay, perfect. Okay, thank you, Peggy.

Bye Bye.

Oh my gosh. Peggy just called to check on me. Somehow Peggy knew that I needed to be cared for. Oh, there's so many good people in the world. It's beautiful. Oh my gosh. This is it. I see it. Oh, I already love it here. I already love it here. Oh my gosh. Wow. I am in.

Very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for guiding me up here.

Walk wherever you want to.

Okay. I'm so excited.

Drive out there and do your thing. Make yourself known.

Thank you. Okay, this feels pretty flat.

I've been dreaming of doing these two things for the last two hours. That was as good as I thought it was gonna be.

I promise. Tonight I was gonna make the yummiest quesadillas of all time. But I just can't be bothered. I decided about an hour ago that I didn't have the energy to make dinner. I Woke up at 4:30 this morning. I'm emotionally exhausted and I think I'm gonna wake up pretty early again tomorrow because I want to see the sunrise over this park. And if you know me at all, you know I'm not a sunrise girl usually. Hey, I reached my goal of sleeping somewhere cool. That's not a random parking lot. Come in.

I'M so full I ate the whole hummus. Not all the feta, though. Showed a little self control.

So once again, there's a reason this isn't a beauty tips channel. But I have just discovered, like, oil cleansers, and I kind of love it. Basically just dissolves your makeup. I think.

Do I look crazy? The answer is yes.

I don't know. I really never had, like a makeup routine. I was obsessed with. Did I just say makeup routine?

I gotta get the coffee ready for tomorrow like Nate always does.

You know? You know.

Ew.

This water filter is so slow.

And now for the part I've been procrastinating for.

That's the rabbit before.

Which side do I want my head to be?

I'm kind of feeling this side.

Should I sleep on Nate's side? Yeah, totally sleeping on Nate's side. And there's nothing he can do about it. The mornings and evenings are definitely when I miss Nate the most. It's kind of fun to miss each other because, like, we've been within arm's reach of each other for six years straight, and I, like, kind of forgot what it was like to miss him and to be alone, really. And I think it's good to miss each other. And I think I'm going to sleep.

Oh, this is great.

Morning. It's so cold.

I'm not even sure how to make a gimmicks for one.

Oh, I didn't realize how long this takes. I sleep through this every morning when night makes it.

That's really good.

Sunrise. I did.

Doesn't look flat, but it doesn't look all the way full either.

Oh, my gosh. Are these chickens? These are the biggest chickens I've ever seen. Like twice as big, maybe three times as big. Or maybe I just haven't seen very many chickens. And there's a little pond. Oh, my gosh. These are the cutest little donkeys I've ever seen. They're so tiny. Hi, little one. So many animal noises right now. No way. This place just keeps getting better.

Oh, my God, it's so cute.

It's all homemade, farm fresh goodies. They just trust people to pay. Am so happy right now.

Just gonna make myself look presentable real quick and then I'm getting out of here.

Oh, my gosh.

I can't believe I'm finally about to see Cassie the baby. Good enough.

It's happening. It's happening. It is happening. I'm going to Dallas to see a baby boy. Still no tire warning. Oh, I'm so excited. It Hurts. Thank you, beautiful farm and Peggy and Jay for having me. I don't. I don't think it gets any better than that. All it was really missing was the wine. Excellent. Stop. I'm so happy I made it here last night, because now I only have 2 hours and 10 minutes until that baby is in Aunt Cara's arms. I should tell Nate that I'm alive. FaceTime Nate making a FaceTime audio call to Nate. No video FaceTime video. Nate making a FaceTime audio call To. No.

Guess where I'm going.

Continue on US259 Southeast.

Yeah, take your time. Don't fly home too soon. I'm finally at the place I wanted to be for the last week.

Oh, don't fly home too soon, though.

She says, yeah.

All right, well, now when people ask if they should be worried about our relationship, I'm going to say yes. Okay, I've got to go get some food.

Okay. I love you.

Love you, Gabe.

So with all this talk about my new nephew and Kara's perfect little animal, I can already foresee the comment section being full of, cara, when are you gonna have a baby, Cara? Nate, when are y' all gonna start a family? I don't mind people asking. Some people get really offended. Some people get offended for me. And I totally understand how it can be a sensitive topic. We don't talk about it much because we are still trying to decide buggies. Omg. Okay, pause the story. I'm gonna go stock up on food for the family.

I'm gonna stock their kitchen with all buggy snacks.

Baby.

Tater tots. Mmm. So crunchy. I'm so excited.

Back to the kids thing. When Nate and I got married, we decided, like, okay, in five years. And that five year mark was about three years ago. And we both looked at each other and we're like, are you ready for kids? Thankfully, we're on the same page. You know, we're like. We're in this unique time. We'll revisit this discussion next year, and then the next year, and then the next year. If I accidentally got pregnant tomorrow. Well, mates of Greece. So that would be weird. You know what I mean? We would be fine with it. Like, I don't not want to have kids for sure. Like, it feels weird even saying it out loud that we're doubting, because I just always thought it was gonna. And really, this year is the first time ever we realized that, like, not having children is an option for us. It feels so weird saying it out loud, you know? Like, I'm not against it, but I'm right now, I'm not for it. So thanks for listening.

I kid you not. The SD card in this camera filled up when I was one minute away. One minute. I'm not even surprised anymore. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. I can't believe I'm finally here.

I think it turns too soon. Oh, no. Oh, gosh. I definitely just knocked something off of that drink. Is this it?

I'm actually here.

Oh.

My go.

Oh, he's smiling. Are you smiling? Oh, my gosh. She's a perfect angel. I love him. It's been a long time coming, buddy. We've been through so much to get to you. I should have just flown on an airplane. This is my nephew, Hank. Oh, this sun is so bright. First vlog. It was all worth it. I hope y' all have gotten all your snuggles in, because he's all mine.

I tried.

I'm gonna try to get up without knocking this over. Yep, that doesn't tonight very long time. Oh, gosh. This is so hard. I'm gonna take a minute to peel my grapefruit.

I'm really sorry.

This is the most obnoxious thing I've ever done. Thanks again to J. Crew for sponsoring this video.