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    THEY MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE, SO WE LEFT (Van Life California)



    For the past couple of weeks we’ve been trying to explore the Californian coast by van, but they don’t make it easy. After literally driving around in circles last week and spending the GDP of a small nation on crab sandwiches, we took matters into our own hands and turned inland, in a big way. Abandoning the coast might have been one of the best decisions we made… except for a string of unfortunate incidents that followed us up and over the Sonora mountain pass.

    ↡ SAVE FOR YOUR OWN TRAVELS! ↡
    📍 Bodie Ghost Town (https://maps.app.goo.gl/ckfp4pgpzj5EuHgk9)
    📍 Mono Lake South Tufa (https://maps.app.goo.gl/tFaN9vACcuBudBnF6)
    📍 Hilltop Hot Springs (https://maps.app.goo.gl/MUD51STcQtHNcZC19)
    📍 Mt Whitney Portal Road (https://maps.app.goo.gl/K5PzJSYpojiihNBe7)

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    ↠ WANT TO WATCH MORE?
    Van Life France to Sicily Series
    » https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9T0BcGBqYn1NUYY2VXyhlgsLvnXZQWp0
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    » https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9T0BcGBqYn0ZKqneAbha94jkMnkBBGFr
    Van Life Portugal Series
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    Van Life Spain Series
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    ↠ A BIT ABOUT US
    We’re Chesca and Ben, and with our two pups River & Scout (🐶 🐶 ) we live and travel full-time in our self converted sprinter van, Sophia. We spent the past 2 years road tripping as much of Europe as we could, from the wild coasts of Portugal to the Syrian border in Turkey, tackling lockdowns and a van re-build along the way. But now, we’re feeling like a new challenge. In the summer of 2022, we’ll be shipping our van from the UK to Canada, on a mission to drive her all the way to Argentina!

    38 Comments

    1. Travel with Corletts on

      I completely agree with you, Big Sur is absolutely stunning, but if you have done it before and, more importantly, have seen the much more stunning ( in my opinion) Washington and Oregon coasts, there's no struggle through it in the van.
      We're pretty much following your footsteps, currently we're on a 6 months vantrip UK to Turkey and back to UK. And next year we want to take our van to start exploring North and South America, although not necessarily on the Pan-American since we have done a large portion of it already, especially in Chile.
      Our favourite videos of yours for the last year must be the Alaska and Dalton Highway as well as the Baja Peninsula ones. But we've watched and loved every one of your videos!

    4. Phil Abraham on

      I would find it hard to have a ‘favourite’ location, as I find every experience has it’s own memories… Lone Pine, great town, the museum of western films is brilliant👍🏼 Spent a couple of days there back in 2019…. Good call on not going on up!!! The road is very steep in places and some of the bends severe. Hope South America is kind to you and the brakes got sorted

    5. Jeffery Of Sky's Cozy Camper Chronicles on

      Timeline flux, as evidenced by the double charge, and the other push back issues. You were in Alaska, whole different set of timelines, and there is very little number of my redemption earth timelines south of Seattle all the way to Hollywood, being in Vancouver so long you would have probably got onto mostly my timelines of the redemption Earth, so that screwed you, when you went to the coast, I have never been there, and now you are heading towards the higher redemption earth timelines I left in Arizona, once you get to maybe Prescott Arizona, or even Las Vegas, you can pick up my timelines again. Not so sure your south america trip is a good idea, seems like you guys have some karma to work on. Vancity vanlife lost his Tranny, and then motor, and now he might have to junk his whole truck, probably the Alaska timelines caused it, you guys are crossing quite a bit of different zones moving so fast, remember, you are not from the same world, Australia and England are different worlds, and that affects your energy vortex as well, cause to go up in vibration your vortex has to spin up, and that takes spiritual energy, and you might not have it right now.

    6. Random Stuff on

      Bravecto is good but for a good variety of ticks it only offers 8 weeks protection instead of 12 weeks offered for flees, so I go with Simparica now (NEXGEN just makes my dog puke 8/10)

    8. Alex Ford on

      I'm surprised you didn't whisper to the moth to get the eagles. Scout was like gromit with that cheese. Hopefully brakes check out fine. Can't wait to see Mexico vicariously (again)!

    9. PB on

      Great idea to get into the desert, Big Sur and route 1 is a tourist trap, if you've already done it, definitely the right decision to go in land. I'm flying into LA next month but will be getting straight out of California to explore the beauty of the desert.

    10. Nick Thomas on

      A great vlog watching it for a second time.
      The ghost town sounds like Blackpool!
      What was the laptop you bought refurbished and will it work in Europe?
      Wishing you the best on your drive south!

    11. Randy M on

      Crossing at Tiauana is busy try Tacate and remember to, once thru border control, immediately find immigration and get your visa or you will have trouble getting on the boat to the mainland. Ask border control where immigration is or you will miss it – it's on you. Have fun,we will keep watching.

    14. Ldosu Cowboy on

      Thank you for showing me parts of my country I've never seen before. Sorry about the rough time on the coast. It's so beautiful, but years of poor policy has nearly ruined it for ordinary people. 😊

    17. Sally-ann Powell on

      Love all your videos, you made me laugh about the skinny dippers😂. I had a surprise when snorkling in the red sea once, and no it wasnt a sea cucumber ha! The other hot springs bathing looked amazing too in the snowy forest that was magical. I like that you tell us about your testing times too both with the van problems and how you both manage those relationship blips ❤

    18. Sally Biddick on

      Wow!! A whole year!! I cant recall exactly where it was but the magical otherwordly forests that crept down to deserted beaches… or maybe Ive merged 2 memories there!! But the more remote and devoid of human life the better and you have covered so many stunning landscapes like this its hard to pick just one. Thankyou both… cant wait for the next chapter xxx

    19. Boots S. on

      Had started watching your videos when you were leaving Turkey and your arrival in Nova Scotia which has always been on my bucket list even before there was such a thing as bucket lists. lol Watched ever since and also watched your van build and all the Turkey episodes. Only thing I knew about Turkey was from Joanna Lumley's series when it aired in Canada and she went to Mount Ararat. Did have to pause when the earthquake happened 💔but continued to watch those videos eventually. DH always wanted to continue to watch your videos for the amazing drone footage but when you rescued Scout he said we definitely have to keep watching for the "Adventures of River and Scout". 💞 Will watch more of your past adventures when time allows. Chesca I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into each video telling the history and/or information about the areas that you guys visit. That ghost town was just incredible and of course the other areas as well that you visit. The music you guys chose was perfect for your locations and I always love the music chosen in each video. Your production values are off the charts great. I think you made a good choice heading inland but of course the route you take and the reasons are yours alone to make. I hope you get your brakes looked at and it was a very wise decision not to go up that incline. Sending good vibes that you will have a smooth trip as you go further south and your string of bad luck with broken coffee cups (definitely lucky you weren't holding the handle at the time!) and damp laptops (that one made me cringe) are a thing of the past. So safe adventures and enjoy!

    20. Roam For Loam on

      Its getting exciting the further south you travel!!…. The nudist part made me chuckle. For the record i'll tag on the list of 'Dalton Highway' as fav N America part. Epic!… Good Luck on the Van inspection/repairs. Safe Travels Guys.

    23. black bob on

      With that music , i was waiting for Lee Van Cleef to pop up ! PS. There be Tufa at Malham cove, do'nt ya know. PPS Absolutely NOT saying anything about you two, but two people living in a confined space is " beyond my ken".( not to mention two dogs, ta boot ) Must say, though, ya man looks "shot", for whatever reason.

    24. Fake Account on

      I got the same Sprinter van…. when going down a steep grade, are you down shifting the transmission to 3rd or 2nd gear? Use the lower gearing to save the brakes from overheating….

    26. Allison Sullivan on

      Don't feel bad about bailing on that part of the Cali coast. I did that trip on a motorcycle in 2018 and the traffic through LA was RIDICULOUS, I also bailed inland and it was totally worth it. Plenty to see there! To my mind, if you're coming south, then you've seen the best bit of the PCH anyway – I loved the Sonoma Coast and the Washington and Oregon stretch.

      I just found your channel and I'm looking forward to starting at the beginning of your trip. Safe travels!

    27. Philip Gray on

      Good move heading away from the coast – it looked fantastic and so quiet and peaceful. Great drone shots this week gave us a good glimpse of the surroundings. I’m gutted though that Ben doesn’t like Raincoast crackers – they are my favourite! Anyway, enjoy your last few days in the US and visiting Ben’s brother. I’m ready for joining you in Mexico again- safe travels..

    29. Strawberry Girl on

      Aww, wish you could have shown more of the Sonora Pass, that's where I've lived my whole adult life and it's so pretty. I started following you when you were just finishing up Canada and entering the Eastern Seaboard. It's been so much fun being with you!

    30. Aaron P on

      Nice flyswat, Ben! 😉😉 Glad it's already come in handy. Wasps and moths, beware!

      Sorry to hear about your string of bad luck! Hope it means you've saved up some good mojo for a while. 🤞🤞 Maybe Chesca could hide a supply of emergency Ritz in Sophia somewhere? For life's hangry moments. 😉

      Good shout coming inland, though! Not just the ease of park ups and lower costs, but way less crowded. Don't think you would have had anything to yourselves on Big Sur!

      Our favorite part of the past year was making online friends into IRL friends. Sure, it wasn't on camera and we're super biased, but we're sticking to it!! ❤️❤️😎👍xx

    32. Deidre Crawford on

      I've been following since you arrived in N.S.
      There have been so many amazing places you have brought us all along. I agree, the Dalton was consistently spectacular. Then the Oregon coast. But for me, hands down was that amazing wolf. ❤

    34. Jason Pacific on

      You two have the best North American content. We felt so renewed too after your wonderful high desert Hot Springs soak. We've been to that wonderful area too and there's several great wild land Hot Springs. Our pug loves them too.

    35. Barry Watler on

      Hi ya Chesca Ben River and Scout, The Dalton Hwy was the best , doesn’t seem like 12 months I am definitely a desert 🏜️ person we are currently in fire watch, always to be safe rather than sorry. Take care and stay safe cheers 🥂from Australia . 🌟🌺🇦🇺🥰🩷

    36. Cathy and Greg on

      I have been here since day 1 in Nova Scotia. You guys are showing us all some amazing parts of Canada and the United States. Keed up the great videos and eductional content. Be safe. Wahington,Oregon coast, love the ocean views.

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