This is us

Family of four (five) driven by wanderlust, the desire to unclutter life and to enjoy our time together. We are trying this new life and we don’t really know what to expect of it yet. Even after >5 years in.

The Family

Willi Software Engineer, also known as Chaos and that for good reason. Master of everything up to 85%, then it's done. Progress daily is required, may be interpreted freely (finishing up that Ben&Jerrys counts as progress). Green tea all day every day, reason why we have a pot of wet tea leaves moving around the kitchen all day (I may still drink that second brew). Stupid shit ideas at its best, up to anything that involves backflips, bikes and/or challenge accepted situations. Always has a never-ending list of ideas, wishes and upgrades available. Main driver without any sense of orientation. Night owl, dreamer, introvert at its best. Favorite Sentence: If nothing's for sure, anything can happen.
Julia Main Navigator and photographic memory. Chocolate and Coffee for life. Main writer, just because she's Type A and actually sees a to-do-list as something to-do. Night owl and book-loving introvert. Did I mention coffee? Not adventurous at all and on this trip because she didn't realize what she got into. Owner of the beat-up camera that's responsible for all the pictures. Baking means therapy means those muffins tell you that something isn't right. Mainly responsible for those last 15%. Favorite Sentence: I need sleep and/or coffee.
Emmi Main Noise-maker and wild card, social butterfly at its best. Only one who is really awake at 7am. Producer of 90% of all drawings in this household, proud owner of Junior Ranger Badges and a Mountain Goat. She's a character, a wild child, but she'll tell you she wants to go to princess school. A babbling tornado of all the things. Always looking out for her little brother, until he's on her side of the room.
Favorite Sentence: But, did you know…?
Samson Middle child if you count the dog. Born on the road, the most content kid until he finds out that his entire rock or stick collection has to stay behind at every campsite. Hates hair cuts more than he loves food, and that says something. He will hit his head, just give him a minute. Loves his selection of cars above everything, they can talk and they need to be sorted based on colors. Tried a frontflip on his bike out of the trailer, and then tried it again.
Favorite Sentence: But Mamaaaaa…why?
Cody We thought we were done with traveling, and then we weren't, but we got a dog in the meantime. Officially an adult dog, but he didn’t get the memo. He will sniff your butt and he won't stop. Once you show him love he will jump on you and love you fiercely. He’s convinced that he’s a lap dog, and he wants to prove it to you. Fierce protector from all kinds of dangers, including turkeys and slowly falling pillows. Those are the worst. Secretly thinks he's a human but knows damn well he shouldn't be sleeping on the bed. Destroyer of seatbelts, boots, pants,…

The Rig

Ellie the big grey elephant is our latest addition to our ever growing list of vehicles we lived in. She joined the family just before the grand Pandemic in 2020. She has all the bling blings of a car we don’t deserve, and we made sure to introduce her to our family with a three-month stay on a dry lake bed to start the buildout. There’s dust behind the walls, mosquitoes preserved in the poly on the walls and most cabinets are somewhat level. It’s home, not the biggest but the coziest, the most reliable one and the one that gets us places we didn’t go before.

Past vehicles

Moomin Moomin the explorer. His good looks make up for the status of solid 85% doneness. Work in progress, slow and steady progress, oh so slow but still steady. He’s shiny but don’t let that fool you, he’s being dragged down all the rugged roads and sketchy sandy beaches and up the snowy mountains. Also don’t let us forget Sebastian the subfloor, may he live a long and sturdy life.
Sasquatch The best car we ever owned. Also the second car we ever owned. Tow vehicle, office, remote camping vehicle and deserves so much better than being showered in goldfish crackers and peed on by the dog (if only just the dog).
Wickie the Van European member of the vehicle family. Bought, converted from passenger van to remarkably comfortable living quarters in less than 3 weeks. Home for most of Scandinavia, Reindeer watching station, and definitely more off-road capable than giving credit for. Sported the most ridiculous rims. Living a comfortable life in Germany with a family of three raising a new, tiniest traveler.
Yeti Beauty comes from the inside, or so they say. Intermediate home between the broken down one and the one without subfloor. Intermediate as in home for more than a year. Made home, brought us to wonderful places and immortalized in at least one tattoo.
Bigfoot First car we ever owned, died after its first donut practice about two months after buying it. Had us stranded on a dry lakebed somewhere in Southern California for a month. Not on good speaking terms. 2/10, would not recommend. However, sparked the love for Ford Excursions as best towing vehicle/office/adventure mobile.
Amanda Got the premium treatment traveling in the living room, got the rough treatment on any given trail. Died about every other trip, made for strong arms pushing it back to camp. Pink under the black skin. Now lives a redneck life somewhere in Northern Idaho.
Betty First vehicle ever as a family, biggest Class A you can imagine with two doors (!) in the living quarters. Brought us to beautiful places from Florida to California, all over the hot and muddy and dry and desert. Birthplace of the youngest family member in some yard on the Florida Treasure Coast. Decided to no carry it’s heavy hips further than Yuma, AZ, on the Mexican Border and die a spectacular death by breaking it’s rear axle just after we installed solar. Not stealth.