My cracking point happened as Summer 2015 began to wind down. Subsisting out of my 2002 Ford E-250 was definitely not all that it was actually never cracked up to be. Dog loved it, make no mistake about that. The price was certainly right, that was for sure. Outside of that, not so splendid.
No point diving too deep into why I lost my appetite to prevail as a normal human being, and you know the one I’m referring to. The one who prefers a real roof over their head, a toilet, maybe a shower, some electricity, that sort of thing. If I was forced to give my best reason why it was that I made a choice to go this route, I’d have to say that it just felt like an existence that I was capable of pulling off, and, something I should feel thankful for being able to pull off. Hardly a reason, I’m aware.
It was rough, I’m not going to lie. I’m not sure when exactly this caving in process began to take over, it just did. It likely had something to do with winter looming. It likely had more to do with me feeling shitty about myself for being in my late 40’s living in a van with a dog. Yeah, I was over it.
That being said, those were uncommonly defined times for dog and me. We logged like 100 nights & days together in the work van before I finally threw in the towel. We worked out of this van. We gave all our bids from this van. We slept in this van. We ate our food and drank our water out of this van. Wherever I went, she went. Whatever I did, she did. It was all for one and one for all.
I bumped into a dear old friend at Staff of Life. Yes, another one of the many natural food stores in Santa Cruz. It was Labor Day Sunday around lunch time. She had her dog Zeus tied up outside the market. I spotted 12 y/o Zeus as I was walking in. I had known him since he was just a puppy. He is, and has always been one of my favorites. He’s a dog’s dog. A cat’s dog too.
Lore and I go way, way back. We met at Chico State where we both attended college. Of all the friends I had during the college days, Lore was the only one that had a dog. That would have been Ashley, a well-mannered Chesapeake Bay Retriever. In addition to our friendship in college, Lore also became my ex-wife’s maid of honor at our wedding some 25 years prior. The years were flying by.
It had been some time since we had last seen one another. A quick chat inside a health food store wasn’t going to cut it as we had some real catching up to do. Since her house was only two blocks away, next thing I knew and as things would have them, I was relaxing in her lovely backyard. Yup, sipping a cold Sierra Nevada, reminiscing about the good ol’ days. It all felt nice. And like I figured, Lore was easily keen on Quinn.
While in the backyard, I noticed there was an older model, rundown looking RV that appeared to be doing nothing more than taking up space. I don’t recall the model and series. I do know it was a Ford. E-350 rings a bell. Probably late 80’s model. There are probably several listed on Craigslist, hehe. It was the small kind of RV that has a slightly larger than normal sized front cab area with overhead sleeping space.
For reasons only obvious to me at the time, this little RV seemed to trigger my interest. You know where I am going with this. One comment led to another question, and before too long I was inside the thing.
It felt fabulously spacious compared to the E-250. I remember feeling and thinking that this could be a real nice place to call home for the time being. Winter time in Santa Cruz was just around the corner and it had been a long time since I have had to endure the nagging Central California cold. Fully aware that the work van setup wasn’t going to cut the winter cake, I spoke up.
“Have you ever thought about maybe renting this thing out?” I asked.
“No, not really. Why are you interested?” she asked.
“Quite possibly yes, I answered. Maybe we can work out an arrangement. Why don’t you think of a fair rent number, and I will do the same. Tomorrow we can compare numbers.”
The next morning, I texted her and asked if I could come over for a cup of coffee and another discussion. It was a beautiful morning in Santa Cruz. I stopped by Shopper’s Corner on my way over and picked up a couple of marrow bones to occupy both Quinn and Zeus. Lore and I spent a couple hours together talking about the arrangement. We easily agreed on a price and I immediately started making the space mine. Rather ours.
It was a definitely a step up for both Quinn and myself. To her it must have felt like the most luxurious dog house ever. I was quick to recognize the opulence as well. In this town alone, the line of people would extend a mile long for the opportunity to call this RV home. For this reason alone, I was grateful.