April 5-9, 2023
We had been looking at vans for a long time. From about our third year of dating, Jeff and I discovered van life and dreamed of it ever since. We had originally wanted to purchase a Ford Transit and outfit it ourselves. However, we quickly realized our dreams were a lot larger than our budget. Nevertheless, we kept dreaming. In February of 2023, we found a 1985 van in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jeff reached out, and it seemed like a good contender. We sat on it for another month, trying to find something closer. After looking at another van in Pennsylvania and realizing our options were so limited in PA, we decided to jump on the St. Pete van.
The first few days of April were spent talking with the owner and proving that we were a legit buyer after ghosting him for a month. After an initial phone call on April 4 and then a Facetime on April 5, we decided we wanted the van. It was the Wednesday before Easter around lunchtime when I got the text from Jeff that the van was ours. Jeffrey then scrambled figuring out how we’d get down to Florida in the following 48 hours.
We had a few options. The first was to fly down and drive it back up to PA. The second was to fly down and ride an auto train back home with the van. Another option was to fly down to see it, ship it home, and fly back home. And finally, just drive down and haul it back home. After making sure banks and notaries would be open on Good Friday, Jeff decided that driving down would be our best bet. It all cost the same, and in driving ourselves, we had more control in how things happened. We didn’t have to trust someone else to take care of our newest purchase. So at 2:00, I got another text from Jeff telling me to pack when I got home from work- we’d be leaving for Florida at 5:00pm. Whoo hoo!
Friday morning, we met the owner at his home and met the van that would soon become Charlotte to us. (The owner said he always felt the van had more masculine energy but never named it.) After meeting the owner, I felt at peace with our decision to drive to Florida to buy a van. He was so friendly, honest, and kind. We then ran a view errands to finalize the transfer of the van, and she was ours!
That evening, we had chicken tacos and left at 5:00 like we had planned. We drove to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was in seeing signs for Charlotte that we both agreed that Charlotte would be a great name for the van. And it’s stuck ever since.
The following morning (Thursday), we drove the rest of the way down to St. Petersburg. That evening we went to Clearwater Beach (super busy!) and had a below-average dinner at a seaside restaurant.
I went to bed that night nervous. We had just traveled 18 hours to see a 38-year-old van to meet a guy we had only talked to over the phone. What if we had traveled all this way and it was a scam? What if the van wasn’t what we thought it would be? What if? What if? What if?
At one point, I shared with the owner how invested we were in taking care of this van. He said that he was so glad we were taking the van, and that he had even taken her for a drive that morning as a farewell, explaining that she would be going to a nice young couple who would take care of her. It was obvious that this van meant a lot to him, and he was happy that she would be going to a good home.
After leaving the (now previous) owner, we went back to our hotel and popped the top in the hotel parking lot. It was so fun to sit there, beside this gorgeous hotel inside an almost 40-year-old camper van. The irony of choosing the parking lot over our hotel room just showed how excited we were.
After calling family and enjoying the van, we went to St. Pete’s beach and had dinner. After enjoying the sunset on the beach, we went back to the hotel where we frequently looked at our new purchase in the parking lot from our hotel room. It was convenient that our window faced the parking lot!
The following morning (Saturday), we picked up a Uhaul trailer and loaded the van. We started our drive back home and made it to Charlotte, NC. Sunday morning (Easter) we finished our drive and pulled into our driveway.
We had a few moments to enjoy the van (it was surreal actually having her in our possession) before Jeff’s family came over to take a look at her. Jeff’s dad was so excited– he loves old cars!
From then on, Jeff and his dad worked on Charlotte to make her a bit reliable. We found a wire that was a major fire hazard that was replaced quickly. They fixed some other mechanical things to make her run smoother as well.
We knew we were going to be traveling with her that summer, so we had many test runs to get ice cream and go on evening drives.
We are so grateful for such a smooth and enjoyable process. We had a great time in Florida and in working with the previous owner, and we can’t wait to hit the road!
-Anna
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