We finally made it. For several years, Vrinda and I have been wanting to travel internationally after we completed our graduate studies but before we became occupied with advancing professionally, finding a city/home to live in, and becoming invested in family and community. Vrinda was kind enough to wait up for me even as the months (18 to be exact) dragged on between her graduation and mine; she did not regret that time as Asheville quickly became a second home for her. During that time, we also decided that our travels would be undertaken in a van, small enough to be driven easily on foreign streets but large enough to live in. This would allow us to travel at our own pace and explore locations far off the beaten path, while bringing our four-legged friend along for the adventure. Finding the right van — and then building it - proved a challenge, but we can now travel throughout the Americas, starting, of course, in Mexico.
Our first major stop after crossing the border was Mexico City, just in time for Día de Los Muertos. This was not a coincidence, as once we realized we were leaving in October, we recognized that we would be passing through just in time for one of the largest - and most unique - national holidays Mexico has to offer. The Day of the Dead is a time of the year when everyone honors ancestors, celebrities, and community members who have passed by keeping their memory alive in the form of ofrendas, food, stories, music, parades, and so much more. While the holiday officially fell on the weekend of the 1st of November this year, we saw special events the entire week throughout the country leading up to the actual day (and several more after as well).
While we loved all of the celebrations, Vrinda and I easily had two favorites. There was some confusion as to what day the citywide parade was to happen that weekend; thankfully, we were exiting the National History Museum on Saturday just in time to hear some music up the street, and we arrived exactly on time to see many of the groups lining up along the route. Our quick effort to scurry to the front of the procession proved worth it, as we were treated to two hours of incredibly colorful and vibrant — and occasionally somber - floats, dances, music, and, most of all, costumes. Highlights included a group of young people playing the Aztec Ball Game, several marching bands, many monarch butterfly costumes, and an entire float dedicated entirely to Elvis. That evening, despite our long day, we were able to walk up the street in the park where we were stealth camping to enjoy a more low-key community gathering of ofrendas, food, and a local talent show. With dancers, lasso artists, and a mariachi band, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time, but I was ready to call it a night. Thankfully, Vrinda convinced me to stay for one more act, and we were treated to one of the more intimate concerts that we have ever been a part of. A wonderful band came on stage and treated us to very heartfelt renditions of “La Llorona,” “Recuerdame” (from the movie Coco, one of my favorite Disney movies), and several others. They earned two encores from the small crowd, and I think they might have gone all night if the stage manager hadn’t had to usher them off to end the evening.
With the focus on celebrating loved ones and ones who are loved, we also took time to reflect and give thanks to our families for all of their support and help this summer as we pursued our camper van dream. Many of those who heard from us likely know that this project took a fair bit longer than we originally expected and was made more difficult by extended heat waves, lots of travel, and impatience (eagerness) to get on the road. More than once, Vrinda and I were discouraged by the massive task of totally stripping out this van and rebuilding it to suit our needs. I am not sure we would have finished if not for the support of our families, who gave us both encouragement to continue and also space to rest when needed.
Not only did our families provide emotional support, but we quite literally could not have completed the project without their labor too! After purchasing the van at the tail end of April in Nevada, it was promptly driven to Minnesota (with a quick stop to see Aunt Barb in Wyoming) where it underwent the first stages of removing the existing infrastructure - it had been set up as a weekend camper, but would not have worked for consistent daily living - and planning our build. A little before Memorial Day, we drove to Indiana to join Vrinda’s family at their hotel. I do not think I can overemphasize how much this helped, from ample parking lot space in which to work, a fantastic amount of tools on hand that could be borrowed, and of course help from the entire family, with Dad showing us woodworking and plumbing techniques and helping us come up with solutions when we got stuck on a project, Mom creating wonderful fabric covers to make our van feel like home, and Ba, Karan, and Tulsi all pitching in to help with painting. Not to mention the dependability of a delicious family meal and room to stay in every night (Mom, feel free to put our bill on your daughter’s tab :P). One of the highlights of the summer came in mid-August, when my parents, fresh off helping Ellen move to Michigan, made the detour to Indiana to help us build the van for several days. In addition to making great progress with all of the hands working on the van, the emotional boost of having all of our parents together to enjoy conversation, food, and games really helped us recover from the long summer.
While we had originally planned to start our journey around Labor Day (okay, this was maybe the fourth “start date,” but probably the most realistic one), a sprained ankle and the last van projects caused us to pivot, allowing us one more trip to enjoy a glorious - albeit unseasonably warm - Minnesota September. The screen expert that is Don Hickman helped us solve one of the trickier remaining projects by adding, and then re-sealing, screens to several of our windows (as I write this in southern Mexico, I do not think we could do this trip without these as the need for air flow without bugs is vital on these hot and humid afternoons) while Mom helped complete our doors and several other projects in addition to providing wonderful, garden-fresh meals. We were even able to take the nearly finished van up to Itasca State Park for a test night of camping. Finally ready to begin our journey, we slowly made our way to the Twin Cities, Minnesota to say hi to friends and family, Wisconsin to visit Grandma Hickman and more Hickman family, and Indiana one more time to add some final screws and finish packing. Next, we were fortunate enough to move Karan into his new place near Indianapolis and see both sisters (Ellen in Michigan and Tulsi in West Virginia), before heading to North Carolina, where we got to see friends in Raleigh and Asheville. Finally, a couple of stops in Georgia to see family and Texas to see our friend Sean helped us gather final supplies before we left the United States. Sean deserves extra gratitude because we showed up at his door both coming down with a flu-like bug that had us out for a couple of days. We probably ended up overstaying our welcome, but Sean only showed patience and kindness as we got back on our feet.
Only with all of this support (and much more that didn’t fit in this space) could we realize our dream, and for this we are infinitely grateful. Our first week in Mexico was filled with other difficulties and travails, but thankfully we — and our van - were relatively well-prepared for all of it. Being able to be a part of the wonderful holiday celebrations made it all worth it!