Introducing the 'Beasom Bungalow'

New Zealand - September 2014

Welcome to our Bungalow! Our tiny home on wheels will serve as our personal hotel, restaurant, edit bay and memory maker for many years to come. (Oh, and Dina Scrabble victories)!

Why get a camper?
We have long been dubbed by our friends and family as the 'adventure couple.' Every weekend in the winter you will find us up in the mountains skiing, and in the spring, summer and fall we spend our time off mountain biking, kayaking, boating, camping and hiking near Northern California's beautiful rivers and lakes. We have always dreamed about having a cabin in Lake Tahoe one day, but our finances and careers would mean that dream would remain as such, for now. We found ourselves spending a ton of money on last-minute hotels and scrambling to find a dog sitter for our fur baby Brewski every time we wanted to plan a weekend getaway. If only we could retire now and work later! Our wheels began turning (no pun intended) -- why don't we bring the hotel to us?
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'No Reservations'
Our motto since we sarted dating six years ago has been: 'No Reservations.' We like to approach our trips in an unassuming and flexible way -- in other words, we hate planning. We like to be on our own time, and we both have that go-with-the-flow attitude. Our first taste of the camper life was during our honeymoon in September 2014. We spent 11 days driving around New Zealand's South Island in an RV. We would park in the darkness of the night in some random town and wake up to a new backdrop every morning. From ocean beaches to sheep farms to glaciers -- our morning cuppa was spent enjoying the picturesque scenery and being on no one else's time but our own. If there were stops we wanted to make along the way we did -- no stressing over checking into a hotel or cancellation fees. It was total freedom. It was magical.

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do. " -Warren Miller
In November 2016, we decided to go for it and get a camper of our own. Since we are big skiers, we wanted to be able to drive in the snow with 4WD no problem. We also wanted something less cumbersome so we can park in the parking lots of the ski resorts which allow overnight parking. So, we chose to go with the cab-over camper option rather than tow a trailer. Robbie's truck is a short-bed F-150, so there weren't many options -- but the Lance 650 was built specifically for his truck. It's a 4-season camper, meaning it's insulated for those cold nights in sub-zero temperatures. There is a propane heater, a solar panel to help replenish our power supply and a shower and toilet -- all on the bed of the truck! There is also a two-burner stove, microwave, refrigerator and queen bed. I mean, what else do you need?

Buckle Up!
The day we signed on the dotted line, we took the Bungalow out for her madiden voyage to an RV campsite next to Lake Berryessa. We learned all about the private versus public campsites (which we will talk about in later posts) and the new little world we were about to embark on. We filled up the tank and started planning our next series of trips. Buckle up! You're coming with us! 

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