Matt Berry · Orbit · Astra · one Sprinter van
Do the thing you almost talked yourself out of.
I spent a year building a van and almost didn’t use it. Then I left on a Friday before I could overthink it. This is me and two corgis taking the long way up the coast, and learning to actually stop when we get there.
15
days out
3,000+
miles, solo
2
corgis riding along
Off
where the GPS ended up
Out here
Coast, lakes, mountains. And one dog teaching me to stay put.
The coast
Highway 1 and 101, Oregon down to San Diego. The Pacific Northwest is the part we keep going back for.
On the water
Orbit swims and rides the paddleboard. Astra would rather stay on the sand.
Orbit’s rule
Get there. Lie down. Stay.
He’s seven. He’s better at this than I am.
Trails, mountains, lakes
When it isn’t the coast, it’s somewhere higher and quieter.
The van
A Sprinter I spent a year building. Bed, kitchen, and office.
The actual point
Stop driving. Look at where I am. Stay a while.
I get somewhere, see the sights, and leave. I’m not good at the staying part yet.
From the road
Watch it. Or read it. Same story.
Every video gets a written version here, with the parts that didn’t fit and the numbers I’d want if I were planning the same trip.
The crew
Two of us can’t sit still. One of us already figured it out.
Sets the pace
Orbit
Seven years old. A tricolor Pembroke Welsh Corgi who loves the water: swimming, paddleboarding, all of it. He’ll say hi to anybody. He’s also the only one of us who knows how to get somewhere and stay there. I take my cues from him more than I’d like to admit.
Already at the next spot
Astra
Four years old. A red and white Pembroke Welsh Corgi and all energy. She runs the sand, does a lap, and is ready for the next place. Skeptical of strangers and of water, and she avoids both when she can. She and I are the same about the next-place thing, which is the problem.
Recovering overthinker
Matt
Remote IT director by day, creative by night, would-be adventurer. I drive, I film, and I built the van. For years I planned trips, talked myself out of them, and regretted it. I also stopped telling people my story. This is me doing both anyway.
Why I’m doing this
After it rains in the desert you can smell the creosote. I wake up to that, and my first move is still to pack up and get to the next place. That’s the habit I’m out here to break.
The van
A year of building. Barely any nights in it.
Building instead of going is still not going. The upper cabinets went in on a Friday and I left that same Friday. It wasn’t finished. It was done enough.
Held up
- Two fridges
- Starlink for working from the road
- 400W of solar on the roof
- Roof fan running all night
Still on the list
- Diesel heater
- Plumbing and hot water
- Rear bump-out for sleeping
- Second battery, portable solar
Trip log: the shakedown
Phoenix → Tillamook → home
01
Weed, CA
Picked for the cool air. Best rest area of the trip.
02
Brookings, OR
Oregon. The one thing I wasn’t skipping this time.
03
Pacific City
County park by the beach. Corgis on sand.
04 · Turnaround
Tillamook
Skipped Cannon Beach on purpose. Chose the drive over the checkbox.
05
Fort Bragg
Tire pressure scare. Stable. Didn’t panic.
06
Golden Gate
Fog. The best footage I got all trip.
07
Big Sur
Closed for fires. Went inland on 101.
08
San Onofre
Where the coast road gives up and becomes I-5.
Come along.
Videos go up on YouTube first. The written version lands here after. The conversation is in the comments, and I read them.
Subscribe on YouTube
Where everything starts. Come say something in the comments. That’s where the community is.
Later, not yet
An email list, merch, and a way to chip in on gas if you want to. None of it exists today. I’ll say so here when it does.
Email · soon
Shop · soon
Supporters · maybe