#4 Carpentry School, Kitesurfing In Canada, Sardine Jackpot & Living On A Goat Farm

Welcome back to Gone On An Adventure! In this episode Tyarra shares an update from life in Vernon while living in her van on a goat farm and studying at a carpentry school!

She talks about the benefits of forming routines while living in a van, kitesurfing, bike riding, and paddleboarding in beautiful British Columbia, free camping off logging roads, and how to meet new people and make friends when you’re travelling! 

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@tyarratravels
@vanlife.adventurepodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey guys, and welcome back to Gone on an Adventure. I'm your host, Tiara Nelson. And this is a podcast that I'm dedicating to my new chapter of van life, where I'm essentially just gonna be telling stories about the places I'm going, the people I'm meeting, the things I'm learning, and all of the wicked and wildlife experiences that I'm having in between. Thank you so much for joining me for what is now episode four. And boy oh boy, I just have to say, life right now, it freaking rocks. I am just over the moon with happiness because I am literally living full-time and traveling in my van, and I am meeting brand new people every single day, and I'm constantly learning new things, and I've just been having so many wicked and wild life experiences lately, and golly gosh, I need to bring you guys up to speed. I need to tell you about where I am and what's been going on, and I guess maybe I should say in general, but also heck, if you're interested, at this exact moment in time, because it's about 8 a.m. in the morning, and I'm currently recording this podcast sitting in my van next to this beautiful lake deep in the woods of Central British Columbia. Because yesterday afternoon, I was just like, you know what? I feel like taking myself for a long drive, and I want to go somewhere brand new for the night. And that's the beauty of living in a house on wheels and being able to rev up that ignition and just go whenever you feel like it. So yesterday I cranked up some of my favorite music and I hit the road in the gorgeous afternoon sun without any idea of where I was really going. And before I knew it, I was just on this beautiful, scenic, windy logging road, completely out of cell service, and I was deep in the woods, surrounded by these thick, tall pine trees, and there were these lakes all around. And all I was looking for was just a little pullout off the road where I could drive down and I could just perch myself for the night. And I could find a nice little quiet spot next to a lake. I could light a fire, I could set up some camping chairs, turn on some music, make some dinner, and just get completely lost in the trance of watching those flames dance all night and watching the sunset over the lake and the stars coming out, and just being in complete pitch silence and not being able to hear anything other than the crackle of the fire and uh just being so at peace and relishing in complete solitude. It was amazing. It was so, so wonderful. And then being able to crawl into my van late at night, completely smelling like a campfire, cuddling up under all of my layers of blankets because gosh, I swear it was like one or two degrees last night, and just being able to journal and get all of my thoughts out onto paper and then fall asleep. And I'll tell you, I slept like an absolute rock last night. And then waking up this morning and seeing the sunshine peek through my van windows and being able to make some hot instant coffee and walk out to the lake and just see the fog across the lake and the sun coming up over the hills. And oh, it's just been a glorious morning. You know, I was able to make some hot protein oats and take myself for a nice little walk through the woods and along the waterline, and I'm just like, you know what? This morning would be the perfect time to sit down in the van and record a brand new podcast. So that's where I am at this exact moment in time, but in general, where am I? Because if you guys actually tuned into my most recent podcast episode, number three, then you might remember me talking about how a number of weeks ago I was actually in the San Juans, and this is back in April, and I was just thinking about all right, where do I want to venture off to next? And what do I really want to do? Because I know that more than anything, I want to meet brand new people from different walks of life. I want to drive my van to anywhere and everywhere and discover brand new places, but I also really want to learn a copious amount of life skills, and I want to feel as though I can help out and I can actually positively contribute. And I just want to learn how to be a hell of a lot more hands-on and learn how to build things and fix things and paint things and being able to do renovations on my van and tinker around with things, and just to be creative and actually work on projects. Like to me, that sounds like a ridiculous amount of fun. But the missing component is that I don't know how I don't have the skill set, or at least at that point in time, I didn't have the skill set. But now it's a whole different story. But anywho, just a number of weeks ago, last month, back in April, I was on San Juan and I was looking at different job options on workaway, and I was Googling Apprenticeships Vancouver. And then I stumbled across this crazy opportunity, completely out of the blue, so unexpected. And it's this 12-week fully funded carpentry course offered by the Canadian government to both citizens and residents. And it only happens a few times per year. They take on a very select number of students. For example, in each cohort, there's only around 15 people. And it's just this amazing introduction to the world of carpentry, where they teach you how to use all of the tools and they teach you how to operate equipment and machinery, and you get to learn how to build different structures, and you get to work on job sites, and it's just absolutely wicked. And it's so freaking generous because not only is it fully funded in the sense that they provide all of the education for free, but also the Canadian government gives each student somewhere in the territory of around 350 Canadian dollars every single week to actually just cover expenses like food and transport to the school. And also, you get everything for free. Like, for example, I have just gotten this enormous toolbox of really high-quality tools that's worth hundreds of dollars. That's all included in the course. And I got these like $300 steel-toe work boots. And you also graduate with like eight different industry-recognized qualifications that teach you how to build scaffolds or work in confined spaces or drive forklifts or harness yourself in and actually being able to work up on job sites where you're at really high heights, like carpentry-specific first aid. The list goes on and on and on. And it's just amazing, you guys. Like it's high-quality, free education where you're only really in a classroom environment for around 25% of the time learning theory. Whereas then for the other 75% of the time, you're actually in workshops or on job sites, and you're building shiz and you're using tools and you're operating machinery and equipment, and it's just so hands-on and it's so effing fun. And again, so generous because not only is it thousands of dollars worth of this free education, but also all of the equipment that you get to keep, and all of the tools and the boots and the uniforms. And again, by the end of the 12-week course, each student having somewhere in the territory of around $4,000 Canadian dollars on top of that. Plus, for those who actually want to go off and keep working in the trades and achieve their red seal as a carpenter, like you're basically guaranteed by the end of the course to actually have an apprenticeship with a job site that can then keep taking you down that avenue. So it's incredible. You know, the Canadian government, wow, I am just forever grateful to be a Canadian citizen. And when I stumbled across this opportunity, I just had this internal calling that I had to take full advantage of it. So again, this was a number of weeks ago, and I was in Washington on San Juan, and I immediately filled out an application. I set up an interview with the course coordinator called Carly, and she accepted me into the school. And before I knew it, I was leaving San Juan Island. I was catching that ferry. I was driving across the US-Canadian border, and I drove from Vancouver all the way over the mountain cascades to a city called Vernon, which is right in the Okanagan Valley, and it neighbors the lake country and Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley as a whole, it is just so magical. And the weather here is superb. It's just one of a kind because geographically, where it's located in central British Columbia, it's in the rain shadow. So all of the clouds, they'll hit the mountains, they'll do their thing, you know, depending on the temperature, they'll rain, they'll snow, precipitation, and all that shiz. But as you come over the other side of the mountains and you drive down these steep, windy highway roads down into the Okanagan Valley, it's like you're entering into a completely different world where all of the clouds, they just part and the sun is shining bright in the sky, and you can just see all of these beautiful contrails going across the valley. And there's just endless orchards and vineyards and these enormous blue lakes with these huge trails around them where people go mountain biking and people go running, and there's all these different peaks to hike on, and all of these crags where people can go rock climbing and people on the water, they're paddleboarding, they're out on jet skis, they're kitesurfing, they're swimming, just everyone here seems to be so freaking outdoorsy. And they just love getting lost in the woods or spending time on the water or going out fishing and just making the absolute most of life. Like here, it is just such a vibe. There is so much energy, so much passion, so much enthusiasm, so much youth, just so much desire to get outside and socialize and go off and make memories and do fun things with new people. And I'm just so effing here for it. And these past few weeks of living in Vernon in my van, it's just been absolute bliss. And every single day has brought new opportunities and new people and new experiences and new memories. And oh, you know, I'm just, I'm absolutely loving it. It's so freaking awesome. And the thing is, because I'm here for 12 weeks, right? So I found that I've been able to create this really good balance between establishing myself and having somewhat of a routine, but also still having a whole bunch of flexibility and I'm open to adventures and I can go off and explore new places. So it's this really lovely dynamic between having a regimen Monday to Friday and going to school. Whereas on the weekends, I can just drive my van wherever I want, and I can go off and get a little bit lost and meet new people and just take myself on fun adventures. And I absolutely love the combination of the two right now. And it goes without saying that because I'm here for a number of months and I have committed to going to school Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every single week for 12 weeks straight. And when I decided to move to Vernon and actually pursue this course, I really wanted to feel somewhat established because I fully recognized that my days were going to be super jam-packed. They were going to be super duper demanding. Because on top of all of the things that I like to do in general on a daily basis, for example, I love waking up early and I love taking myself for a bike ride, and I love being able to go out paddleboarding or kitesurfing, and I love going on hikes, and I love going to the gym, and I love going on long walks, like all of those things that really light me up and actually involve me being outside and moving my body. On top of that, now going to school for eight and a half hours every single day with just a single lunch break and being so cognitively stimulated and learning brand new things, and then being outside in the beating sun, chopping wood, hammering things, lifting things, you name it. I was about to be under the pump. And again, I'm so here for it because I had just have like endless energy for life. But it goes without saying that after an enormous day, it would be kind of nice to just have that reassurance that I could go off and I could park somewhere that was quiet, that was reliable, that was safe, and I could just fall asleep soundly for the night so that when I woke up the next day, I could do it all over again. And I wasn't going to have to be dependent on finding different places around Vernon to stealth camp every single night. Ideally, I wanted to actually establish myself with one place of residency during the week. And gosh, I seriously lucked out on that front because when I applied to this school and I got accepted and it was official that I was going to be moving to Vernon, I went onto this little Facebook group called Vernon Rent Buy and Sell. And I just put up a post saying that I was going to be moving to the area for a few months, and I have a Mercedes camper van, and I was just looking for a place to park my van at night, fall asleep. I would be quiet, I would be discreet, they'd hardly even know I was there, because I was gonna be out away every single day at school anyway, and I was also gonna be off for the weekends. And I got an overwhelming amount of responses, and understandably, I was on a rental site. So of course, people are going to ask me to pay rent, but provided that, you know, we negotiate a little bit and it's actually a fair price because people were saying that I could park in their driveway on the side of like this super busy, noisy street, but they were asking for $1,200 every single month. And it's like, dude, for $1,200, most people would at least get like some little room in a house, and they might actually get access to amenities. Like, here I am, just quiet, discreet for a few hours each night, simply just parked. Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. Whereas on the flip side, this woman named Sam reached out to me and she offered me a place to stay on her hobby farm. And Sam, she didn't ask for a dime, but instead, she just asked for a little bit of help because she's this single mom who's raising three little girls on this farm and she homeschools them. And she just asked me to help out some mornings and evenings. For example, letting the chickens in and out of their coops, or letting the goats and the sheep in and out of their paddocks, or, you know, mowing the lawn. And it was a big heck yes from me because again, I was so grateful to have somewhere that I could drive each and every night that's super local to my school, somewhere that's quiet, somewhere that's peaceful, somewhere that's safe, and I can just park my van, and I have these beautiful views of all of these just like rolling farm hills, and all I can really hear is just sheep going and the occasional chicken might try to jump into my van. Hey, back off, these oats are mine. But it's just such a lovely and scenic place to be. And again, I am just eternally grateful for Sam, and I'm just so grateful that we can help each other out. It's a really symbiotic relationship because I can do a little bit of yard work and a little bit of farming, and she lets me have a place to sleep soundly every single night. And heck, she even lets me do my laundry at her house once a week, which is just a godsend and so convenient compared to actually having to go to a laundromat. So it is just such a sensational setup that I now have here in Vernon. And even despite the fact that I have full intentions to travel all of North America and I live in a camper van now, but it goes without saying that I know myself pretty darn well. And I know that at my core, I am an absolute sucker for routine, and I do thrive off regimen, and I just love feeling somewhat of a sense of being established. And I am just so grateful that I really have been able to architect and develop a little bit of a routine now that I'm here living on a little hobby farm and I'm going to school every single day. And ah, it's just the perfect combination of feeling just like regimented, but also feeling so free. And just I can do all of the things that light me up each and every day. Because I'm usually waking up around 4:30 or 4.45 every single morning. You know, I set my alarm for 4.45, but truth be told, I'm just like so eager to wake up because I love my life so much that I'm just like, all right, let's get kickstarted. Let's go off and do it. So I'm usually waking up around 4.30 in the morning because that's just when my brain starts to tick. And I throw off all of my blankets because I'll tell you what, even though it gets nice and hot and warm and sunny here in the Okanagan Valley during the day, the mornings before the sun comes up over the horizon, it's still pretty freaking chilly. You know, there's been a number of days in both April and May that it's like minus two degrees in the morning. Like the temperature swings here are just wild, going from minus two in the morning to in the evening. Like we're talking like 6 p.m. It's usually around like 27 degrees or so. So this huge temperature swing. But once again, I'm so here for it because I just sleep so soundly at night, and it's so nice to just enjoy those crisp mornings, and then also just really nice warm long days. Like, oh, peak summertime here. We're leading into it in Canada, and man, it's just uh it's absolutely glorious beyond words. But anywho, waking up early in the morning, ripping off those blankets, I swing open my big van door, I can hear little birds chirping, the sky is starting to light up, and I go pee, I brush my teeth, I boil some water, I make myself a big mug of hot, instant coffee that I just sit in my van and I just look outside and I just uh welcome in a brand new day. And I get a little bit caffeinated, and then I quickly strip off my pajamas, put on some super warm clothes, and I immediately hop on my bike. And before I know it, I am pedaling down the road, passing by all of these beautiful farm fields. You know, there's not a car going by. I feel like I'm awake before everyone else, other than maybe the cows and the sheep and the horses, you know, trotting around too. But I am just out there every single morning cycling down these beautiful roads on my mountain bike. And the area that I'm staying in in Coldstream and the property that I'm living on, it's just so local to everything. And it's literally only a three kilometer bike ride down to. This lake called Calamalca Lake and this gorgeous beach called Cal Beach, where there's these docks out there that just look out over the water, and there's all of these beautiful mountain views. And oh my gosh, you guys, the reflections on the water in the morning. It is just so beautiful. There's actually been a number of mornings that I will cycle down to that beach and I'll actually put my yoga mat on my back and I will just go down there to the dock and I will actually do some yoga and some stretching at sunrise right there on the lake. And oh wow, it is such a magical way to start the day. And I'm telling you, these bike rides, you know, apart from seeing a whole bunch of farm animals, I'm also seeing so many deer. There's just so many deer around. I'm still yet to have my first bear sighting, but you know, it's only a matter of time. But for now, seeing so many deer cross the road and cycling past them as they're just like chewing on brush and enjoying some breakfast, like they're just so cute and deer, they are so cheeky, but in the morning, I'm telling you that when you're a solo cyclist, they're definitely nice company too. And gosh, these bike rides I'm taking in the morning along this glorious lake, they are just so beautiful beyond words. You know, just like endless views of pine tree forests and these rolling hills and mountains and just the water on one side and these huge rocky cliffs on the other side. It is just views upon views. And because I leave so early in the morning, I'm usually venturing off on my bike just after 5 a.m. And the sun isn't rising until around 5.45 in the morning. Like there's been a number of mornings where I get to actually watch the sunrise and then the moon set over the lake simultaneously. And because Vernon is just so sunny and just clear blue skies all of the time, because I'm up so early, like I get to actually see the very first contrails develop in the sky as the planes take off from the airport and there's just these beautiful white streaks, and oh guys, I'm just an absolute heaven. I just I love my morning bike rides so ridiculously much because it starts me off in such a clear frame of mind, and I can just sort through my thoughts and it puts me in the best headspace for the day. They are just, oh, I cherish them like nothing else. And yeah, I'm just so grateful that I get to start every single morning with a beautiful, beautiful bike ride just like I used to in Australia. But yeah, the hardest part is always having to turn around, and that's also why I wake up so early in the morning so I can cycle for as long as possible, because I need to be to class by 7 a.m. So after, you know, a good 45 to 60 minutes of cycling, I make my way back to the farm and I whip myself up a delicious breakfast, which is this enormous pot of oats with flax meal, and I put some protein powder in there, and I dice up an apple, and I put some salt and some cinnamon and a generous scoop of peanut butter on top, and I just devour that thing because we all know that in order to have a good day, you need to fuel the day and hot protein oats on a minus two degree morning, you know, can't really get better than that. But after breakfast, I'll start idling the van and warming up the engine. I'll quickly wash up my dishes, you know, crank up some music, and then I will hit the road. And I will hit the road for a full 10 minutes because that's how close I am to my school, which is just amazing. And uh, I'll tell you what else is amazing is driving. Not just driving in my van, which I absolutely adore, but driving here on the highways in the Okanagan Valley, it is just so beautiful, regardless of the time of day, because it'll either take you through these like rolling hills and countryside, or the highways they go right along the lakes, and it is just views upon views, and there's a good reason why every single license plate here says beautiful British Columbia because it is just so ridiculously pretty. I just oh I love driving in this area of the country so much. But yeah, I literally arrived at school just before 7 a.m. and then I'm quote unquote in class from 7 a.m. to 3:30, and I've now been attending this carpentry school for four weeks, and it's just been freaking awesome. Like seriously, my teachers are fantastic. My classmates, they are just uh such a good bunch. Everyone has a really good personality, and everyone gets along so well, and it's just such a fun learning environment. And again, very cognitively and very physically demanding. But once again, I'm so here for it because that's exactly what I wanted to get out of the course. And literally from day one, they just chucked us straight into the deep end, you know, they gave us all of our tools, they gave us, you know, a good pair of work boots, a bunch of PPE, a hard hat, you know, some glasses. And then we're out there in the yard and we're using these big table saws and miter saws and skill saws, and we're chopping a bunch of wood, and everyone's just covered in sawdust. And, you know, we're building the footings for these housing foundations for doing a bunch of concreting, and we're building the trusses for roofs, and you know, next week we're gonna start learning how to scaffold, and we're just learning so much, but I love how hands-on it is, and we've even done these fun little projects, like the first thing we all built was our own little sawhorse, and then we also got to build our own toolbox, which apparently in the carpentry world, that's like a rite of passage for every single carpenter to build their own first toolbox. And I've been told that every carpenter keeps their very first toolbox, you know. God forbid you ever throw that thing away because it's just the memory of where you started and also super duper handy too. And uh, I know that I'm definitely gonna be able to carve out some space in the van to uh keep my big toolbox and all of my tools at the end of this course, too. But yeah, it's just so awesome to, you know, just be physically using my body every single day and working on little projects in teams, just like feeling a part of something. And what's actually really cool is that like my classmates, they've come to know that my background is, you know, in exercise, nutrition science, and personal training. And even my teacher, he actually gets me to lead this stretching session for all of the other students every single morning. So before we're out there, you know, on the tools, because you know, you're always getting yourself into very awkward positions, like very just like strange repetitive motions. And, you know, in order to have like longevity in the carpentry world, like you need to take care of yourself and you need to make sure that you are properly recovering and you have good flexibility and you're stretching out. So, you know, coming from my background and also doing a whole bunch of yoga every single day religiously, I actually get to take all of my other classmates through like a 15-minute stretching routine every single morning. And to me, that is just so much fun. And uh yeah, it's another cool little opportunity that completely popped out out of the blue. So, you know, I'm so happy to take the reins on that and make sure that everyone is staying limber before we go and cut up some lumber. But apart from just like being outside and, you know, building shiz in the sun all day, I'll tell you that when we're actually in class and we're studying, like that is super cognitively demanding. And there is a hell of a lot of math involved. And boy, it is racking my brain all the way back to like grade nine and 10, learning algebra and trigonometry. Because yeah, there's something to be said for growing up in Australia and doing everything with the metric system to now coming to Canada, and even though in Canada they still use the metric system, because they're neighbors with the US, they also use the Imperial system. So we need to be taking all of our measurements, not just in metric, but more often than not, in imperial. And I'm just saying it makes a hell of a lot more sense in my brain, and clearly, almost universally, I believe that the US is still the only country remaining that actually uses the imperial system. Whereas metric, man, that's just where it's at, all right? It is so much easier to calculate things in meters and centimeters and millimeters because it all just adds up to tens or one hundreds. Whereas with Imperial, like, man, you've got your foot, and then you've got 12 inches in a foot, and then there's sixteenths in one inch. So you could measure the exact same thing and you could be like, all right, this is 50 centimeters. Or you could go down the imperial route and you could be like, yeah, sure, it's 50 centimeters, but it's actually one foot and seven inches and eleven sixteenths of an inch, just to be exact. So, you know, that in itself is a head spin. But once again, you know, as long as you've got some pencil and paper, you know, you can do the math. Or I will admit that sometimes it does get a little bit complicated, and a calculator can certainly come in handy. But regardless, Imperial metric, however, we're measuring and chopping the wood and nailing bits and bobs together, I'm having a hell of a lot of fun. I I really am absolutely thriving in this carpentry course, and I just freaking love it. I love showing up to class every single day with other awesome people and just being a student again and learning all of these brand new things that are absolutely blowing my mind, and I just know that they're going to come in handy for the rest of my life, and I'm gonna be able to translate them into so many different life scenarios and different projects. And now that I'm being introduced to the world of carpentry, it's just really opening up my eyes to see things from a completely different lens, a completely different perspective. And I just really appreciate and I acknowledge the amazing infrastructure that we're all surrounded by, you know, and like just looking at something that at face value you might consider to be, well, somewhat simple, like just your standard house. But once you actually start doing deep dives into this world, you're like, wow, you know, like all of the attention to details that went into building that and the planning and the teamwork, and just like people never allowing themselves to become complacent over the little things that you might consider to be one percenters. Because boy, when it comes to building a house, like everything adds up, you know, like everything has to be correct, everything has to fit, and every cut of wood, making sure that everything is level, making sure that every bolt and screw and nut and hinge is in the right spot. Otherwise, boy, I'll tell you, that thing's gonna collapse. So it just makes me appreciate all of the fine little things that go into all of these amazing structures that surround us that, you know, we might just take for granted. But God, like there's so much that goes on behind the scenes, and it's so rewarding and fulfilling to work and chip away at little projects with other team members and actually build something in the process, something that you're like, man, you know, I know every single ounce of effort that went into that. And look what we created! Like, this is so effing cool. Like, you constantly feel like you're achieving something, like you're working towards something because you are. And uh yeah, to actually see it amount to something, it's really something special. And it's making me just like really excited and really enthused. And I just know that in future, hell, even though I probably won't immediately go down an avenue to become a carpenter and you know, get up all the thousands of hours and get my red seal and all that stuff. Who knows? Maybe one day, but at least for now, it just feels so freaking awesome to be learning so many new skills that are instilling me with a crazy amount of confidence. You know, I feel a lot more capable, a lot more just like competent when it comes to working with my hands and using tools and using machines and operating equipment. And I just know that I'm gonna be so much more useful on planet Earth. And when opportunities arise where people are working on projects, like I can actually offer to help out and I know how to do a thing or two. And yeah, that just that really lights me up and uh it really excites me for anything in the future that I can just take advantage of because I'll actually have the skill set, and there's no denying that I have the desire because I love being able to put my brain to good use and actually move my body and be physically active outside in the sun, in the fresh air, and be in a team environment and actually work alongside other people that we can all just like put our brains together and we can really work toward a project that we feel really proud of, you know, we're pretty chuffed with ourselves, and we can actually build something and create something together. And heck, now that I know how to chop wood and sand things down and use different tools, and hell, I can even do decimal fractions of inches, right? And all the calculations. Like I just know that that's gonna come in super duper handy in many, many scenarios well down the track. And uh again, I'm just super grateful to have stumbled across this carpentry course completely out of the blue and just to be having so much fun, right? It's uh it's really, really freaking awesome. And I really think there's something to be said for being a student again and being in a learning environment and just being a sponge for knowledge. Like, man, it just it seriously lights me up. And I will absolutely keep you guys in the loop with all of the things that I'm continuing to learn over the weeks and the months to come because I'm only one-third of the way through this course. I've only just completed four weeks, and every single week builds upon the next. Pardon the pun. But truly, every single week continues to get more and more demanding, and the teachers they set a really high standard for us, and they challenge us and they push us, and I'm so freaking here for it. Like, I just love it, and I'm actually super excited for the final two weeks of this course where we're no longer gonna be in a classroom or working in workshops, but rather we're actually gonna be on a job site, like legitimately exposed to the trades. And I'm actually going to get a feeling for what it's like to be a bit of a tradey lady and actually work as an apprentice for a couple weeks. So that's gonna be super fun. And uh yeah, I will absolutely keep you guys in the loop with all things building and carpentry school. And essentially Monday to Friday, when that silent bell rings at 3:30 p.m. each afternoon and woo, school's out, I get back into my van and I drive a whole five minutes down the highway, and I actually pull into the parking lot of the gym because I figured if I'm living here in Vernon for a number of months, then I'm best off actually getting a gym membership. Because I don't think it's any secret that coming from a bodybuilding background, I'm a little bit of a gym junkie, and I absolutely love lifting weights. And this world, you know, the equipment is top-notch. But it also goes without saying that having access to extra facilities, that is an absolute bonus. Like, namely having access to a shower and a sauna, because I've mentioned in past episodes how my van does not have a shower. And no, it definitely does not have a sauna either. Even though I swear to gosh, sometimes this thing has gotten so hot from sitting in the sun for like 10 hours here in Vernon that I come back and it could basically second as a sauna. Like I've got a thermometer in the van and it's been over 35 degrees Celsius in this thing. And whoo, yeah, it is like a little hot box, I'll tell you. But either either, I really do think that having a shower in a van is so overkill. And 99% of the time, you will just end up using that thing as like a storage closet anyway, because it would take up so much space. And also, you'd need to be so precautious about how much water you're using. You need a hot water heater, like your freshwater tank can only hold so much water as well. So it would basically be like a tiny little rinse off, you know, scrub down, rinse off the soap, like it wouldn't be a very enjoyable shower anyway. So, anywho, I'm so grateful to not just have a gym membership to uh get some sick workouts in, but also so that I can actually take a shower. And even though I don't have a high sweat rate, like it is so nice to actually get clean at the end of the day because my days are so freaking active, you know, like going for a bike ride in the morning and then being outside for hours all day in the beating hot sun, chopping wood, hammering things together, you know, just being covered in sawdust. And then in the afternoons, like I'll go for a long walk and I'll call a friend, or I'll walk down and I'll go grocery shopping, and then I go to the gym. And yeah, all in all, I'm just saying that it feels really good at the end of the day to take a long hot shower at the gym and just being able to crawl into my van at night actually feeling clean. Like, yeah, feels pretty good, not gonna lie. But ultimately, after school, when I park at the gym, I'll make myself a nice little pre-workout meal in the van and I'll just cook up a big pot of oats and I'll sprinkle it with some salt and I'll have a banana and a can of sardines, just like classic Tiara Nelson. And then after, you know, my 10 out of 10 gourmet meal, I will go for a walk in the sun and I'll call a friend. And the time zones work out so perfectly because like 4 p.m. for me here in Canada is around 9 a.m. in the morning for people in Australia. So every single afternoon, I can just catch up with a friend in Australia. We can have some really fun chats. Like that's been such a joy for me while I've been living over here is actually having so many phone call catch-ups and doing a lot of FaceTimes and giving people like little tours of my van. And yeah, it just uh it really, really lights me up. Just still being able to maintain those sort of connections and friendships, even though like we're literally separated now by the Pacific Ocean. So yeah, calling friends and family members, that's just uh that's such a highlight of the day. And also I can go grocery shopping some afternoons, you know, because the gym and again, like everything in Vernon is so close. And ideally, if I can park somewhere and then I can actually just like walk, I'd so much rather walk, especially because my van, it's just so effing big. So that's one of the reasons I actually love my gym, is that the parking lot is huge, and I actually have like found this one parking spot that I can like perfectly reverse into and I can pull out of, and like there's not a lot of other cars around. There's just a lot of space, especially considering that I have such a big ass vehicle. Again, like this thing is 24 feet long and nine feet high. You know, it is literally like a mini little truck. And if I can avoid pulling into really tight spaces, namely a shopping mall and the parking lot there, then yeah, I'm probably gonna park a little bit further away, chuck on a backpack, and just walk to the store. And oh my gosh, guys, speaking of stores, I have some of the best. News ever because if you listen to some of my past podcast episodes, you probably would have gotten the gist by now that I'm a little bit of a sardine fanatic. All right. Like me and Oilyfish, you know, we share a very, very special relationship. But anywho, I literally moved from Australia to Canada with over 50 cans of sardines in my luggage. Because in Australia, they're only $1 per can. And to my knowledge, up until this point, you know, or at least to my experience walking around grocery stores here in Canada and all of North America for that matter, sardines are expensive. You know, they're like upwards of four dollars per can. But this girl in my class, she told me that I should check out this store called Dollarama, which, yeah, I am pronouncing that right. Here in Canada, you do say Dollarama, not in Australia, where it would be pronounced like Dollarama with the accent. But anywho, this shop called Dollarama, it literally lives up to its name. And nearly everything there is a dollar, including cans of sardines. So this place it has one dollar cans of sardines in spring water. And it also has one dollar cans of chickpeas, too, because that's the other thing that just absolutely blew my mind was the price of like chickpeas and beans and lentils here in Canada. Because again, in Australia, you're paying like a dollar per can. And once again, it's like over 40% water in the can itself. But here in Canada, it's like $4 per can of sardines or chickpeas or lentils. But this shop called Dollarama not just does have $1 cans of sardines, but $1 cans of chickpeas and $1 of basically everything else. So I have hit the frickin' jackpot, and I'm just so grateful that even though I have been eating through my stash of Australian sardines, like I'm not going to have to break the bank. And I can keep enjoying cans of sardines for just a buck too. So yeah, fair to say, life is effing good. So when I go grocery shopping, you know, I stock up my bag with so many sardines, I'll tell you, and I bring them all back to the van. But in the afternoons, after I call a friend or go grocery shopping, then I'll go to the gym for a few hours, I'll use the sauna, I'll enjoy a shower. And then by that point, it's like 7 p.m. So after I leave the gym, I drive like five minutes back to the farm, which again, it's so convenient because everything in Vernon is so close. Like the farm I'm living on, it's literally five minutes to the gym. And then my gym is only five minutes to my school. So everything's on this just like really wonderful round trip. And when I get back to the farm in the evening, I'll turn on some music, I'll open up my big side roller door, and I'll just cook myself some dinner. And it's so peaceful. It's such a lovely way to wind down for the day because there's just the fresh air and the afternoon sunlight coming through my van. And it's amazing because the sun sets so late here. Like it's setting around 8 p.m. at night right now. And in peak summer, the sun's gonna be setting around 9 p.m. So the evenings are just spectacular. And I love making dinner in my van. I just love cooking in my van in general. Again, with the sunlight and the fresh air and being able to just like heat up a cast iron pan and at night crack some eggs in there and dice up some beetroots and chuck on a few herbs and spices, and then I have like a few extra vegetables on the side, like anything that's just inexpensive at the grocery store, you know, whether that's tomatoes or carrots or some broccoli or you name it, right? And I usually also have another can of sardines on the side because, hell, why not, right? Extra protein. And now I know they're super cheap in Canada. And yeah, they're super frickin' healthy too, all right? Like take it from a van life dietitian. But uh, it's just the most wonderful way to wind down for the evening. And after dinner, you know, I wash up my dishes, and I actually am just in the routine of actually going for a nice little walk in the evening, and that's actually when I throw out my trash. And I say that because living in a van, I think it's a really good idea to be taking your trash out at least once per day. Because once again, you don't want food scraps just sitting around in a hot little box and actually attracting bugs and insects and vermin. So it goes without saying that it's a good idea to keep things tidy and keep things hygienic. And yeah, that's just part of my routine of I'll take out the trash each evening. And I don't want to be reliant on the woman who owns this farm and like use her garbage cans. So I'll just walk down the street for about 10 minutes until I reach this gas station and I'll just throw away my garbage and then walk back to the van. And by that point, it's like almost 8:30 at night, which again is deceiving because the sun is like just setting over the hills, but there's still so much light in the sky. So yeah, it it's later in the evening, but it doesn't really feel like it. But anywho, by that point, I just crash in my bed and I'm just like, wow, all right, that was a really effing big day, right? Like 4:30 in the morning, waking up to bike ride and go to class all day and build shiz in the sun and then going for walks and going shopping and going to the gym and then finally coming back to the farm. Like these are really big, jam-packed, demanding days, but I am just thrilled to be having them. And I'm thrilled to be in the thick of it because I'm the type of person that just loves to feel as though they're constantly doing something or working towards something or achieving something or feeling productive in some way, shape, or another. Like I just despise feeling aimless. So now that my days just like are so filled to the brink with different agendas, I'm just like, hell yeah, you know, bring it on. And every single night when I just like crash into bed at like 8:30, and I'm just like, whoo, all right, another day done. Like, it makes me feel so alive. Oh, that's the best way I can describe it. Is just I feel so alive and being able to crawl into bed at night and cuddle up and get all cozy in my van and do some journaling and then fall asleep feeling exhausted in the best of ways. Like, uh, I just don't think anything could beat that right now. Honestly, like my life is off the freaking hook. And as if one dollar cans of sardines weren't good enough. All right. I'll tell you what, guys, this past week I went kiting for the very first time in Canada. And oh my god, I swear, I am still absolutely buzzing because when I lived in Australia, I lived on a kite surfing beach. And every single day that the wind was up, I was out there on the water, riding waves, jumping around, having the time of my life. And I literally had not been kite surfing ever since the day before I moved here to Canada. So that was on the 25th of February. That was like two and a half months ago. And I'll tell you what, I was having serious withdrawals. But now moving here to Canada, I brought over my 10-meter kite, I brought over harness, I brought over my bar and lines, but I actually didn't bring over a board. And when I moved here to Vernon, I joined this Facebook group for kite surfers and windfoilers here in the Okanagan area. And I just put out a little post saying that, you know, I'm new to town and I'm just a freaking kite surf fanatic, and I'm super keen to meet other kiters and get out there on the water, and I actually need to purchase a secondhand board. And, you know, kiters, they are just the best. The community is freaking amazing. Just kite surfers, they are just enthused beyond words. They're absolute win junkies, but they're also so generous with their time, so generous with their advice. Like they're just so friendly, so nice, so upbeat. And before I knew it, I just had this influx of messages. All these people in my DMs, you know, welcoming me to the area, saying that they'd be really keen to tee up and kite together, and people offering to sell me equipment. And yeah, it was just amazing. But in particular, this guy named Shane reached out to me, and he's actually a local here in Vernon, and also just a freaking kite surf fanatic. And he invited me into this WhatsApp group where other local kiters they all just message about the wind forecast and which beaches they're heading out to, and yeah, so people can tee up, you know, and go kiting together and help each other launch and land and ultimately just have a really freaking good time dancing in the wind, right? So, anywho, last Thursday it was around three o'clock. I was wrapping up class for the day, and I got this message from Shane completely out of the blue saying, Hey, wind is up. I'm down at Kin Beach pumping up my kite. I've got a spare board in my truck. It would be great to meet you, you know, heading out to the water. If you come down, just wave and holler from the beach like an absolute mad woman, and I'll come in, I'll give you the board, and you know, we can go out kiting together. And I'm like, whoa! Okay, this was so unexpected. And I looked at the location of Kin Beach and I'm like, no freaking way. This place is only a five-minute drive from my school. So right after my class finished, I literally got straight into my van and I drove down to this beach, and I was just so pumped up because I was going somewhere that I'd never been before. I was about to meet a complete stranger who was kind enough to be lending me kite gear. And the fact that I could potentially be kite surfing that afternoon for the first time in Canada, I'll tell you that my excitement was just off the charts. And when I pulled around the bend to this beach, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was like, what? Is this even real? Because this kite surfing beach, it looked so similar to the beach that I lived on in Australia, and the beach that I learned to kite surf on because it was this big sandy beach, which is like these grassy fields, plenty of space to pump up. There was no rocks, these shallow sandbanks. But the difference was I wasn't in Australia anymore. I didn't have views of islands and the port of Brisbane and the Glasshouse Mountains, but instead I was in Canada. I was in the Okanagan Valley, and this beach and this bay where people kite surf, there's like, oh, there's just views in the distance of all of these Canadian mountains, and there's these rolling hills, and there's like all these farm fields, and again, the views are just spectacular. They're absolutely breathtaking. And I got out of my van and I walked down to this beach and I see this single kite surfer just like doing these runs back and forth, and you know, woman of my word, I started waving like a crazy person, saying, Hey! And Shane, you know, he saw me and he came into the beach and he introduced himself. And he told me he had this spare board in his truck and he'd be happy to help me launch. And he was really encouraging me to get out on the water. And man, I was so keen, but also I was just like, Oh, am I actually gonna be able to get up and ride today? Because I'm looking up into the sky and I'm seeing this guy's 17-meter kite just like hovering above us. And the thing about kite surfing is that the lighter the winds are, the bigger the kite that you need. Whereas the stronger the winds are, the smaller the kite that you need. And I see this guy, you know, flying on a 17, and I only have a 10, right? And I'm like, oh, is the wing gonna be strong enough for me to actually be able to get up and ride? And you know, Shane was like, listen, how much do you weigh? And this guy's over a hundred pounds heavier than I am. So hence a bigger person does also need a bigger kite, too. And plus, the wind was actually starting to pick up. There were some pretty strong gusts, and you know what? I was like, the only way to find out is to just give it a red hot crack. So I went back to my van, I stripped down, and I put on my full-length scuba diving wetsuit because, again, for reference, Canadian lakes are brrrrr. They're very chilly compared to the Australian ocean, where I'd just be out in Australia zipping around in a bikini. Whereas here, you know, most people they kite in full-length wetsuits and booties. Well, I didn't have any booties, but I did have a wetsuit. So I chucked that thing on, I zipped it up, I pulled out my kite from underneath my bed in the van and went down to the beach, started pumping up. Shane he got me this spare board, he helped me, you know, adjust the straps so my feet could fit in there. And before I knew it, you guys, I was harnessed up, I was attached to my kite. I was trudging out into the water, and I was completely oblivious to the fact that it was absolutely freezing because I was just so mesmerized by what was happening. I was like, oh my gosh, I'm literally standing in the middle of this beautiful Canadian lake surrounded by mountains and rolling hills and farm fields, and actually seeing the wind billow in my kite and have my kite fly straight up into the air and you know, just hover there above my head. And I'm like, this is actually happening right now. I'm actually about to go kite surfing for the very first time in Canada and make this dream come true. And I was almost like in a constant state of disbelief. And I had to keep reminding myself that you're really here right now, Tira. Like, this is happening. You're so present, like taken every single millisecond. Because when I woke up on that Thursday morning, I could have never predicted that within just the next few hours I could actually be on a Canadian lake with my kite bar in my hands again, just like riding waves. And wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Just the euphoria, the thrill, the joy, just oh my god, I felt so alive. I felt so ridiculously happy. And I was just out there, you guys, just like doing runs back and forth on this beach, and I was having a ball. I was having a blast. I was having the absolute best time of my life. And I do not think it would have been possible to wipe the grin off my face because I was just so insanely happy to be there. And I was so insanely happy to be kit surfing again because I hadn't kitesurfed for two and a half months, and kiting makes me happier than anyone or anything on this entire planet. It is just ultimate joy for me. It's just ultimate euphoria, it's ultimate flow state. And when I haven't kited, like any kitesurfer would be able to relate to this in the sense that you have withdrawals, you miss it like nothing else. But then when the opportunity strikes to get out there and ride and dance with the wind again, like you drop everything else. Kiting always takes priority because you can't dare miss out on that opportunity. You know, you need to take advantage of that window because it's for such a finite period of time. Because I'm telling you, Mother Nature, she is unpredictable and she will do what she wants. All right, she runs on her own time. And as much as people like to forecast the weather, all right, the wind has a mind of its own and you are completely at its mercy. So when it is kiting conditions, you need to get yourself out onto a beach, you need to pump up your kite, strap on your harness, launch that thing, mount yourself on a board, and get out and have a freaking good time while you can. Because it's not like the gym, it's not like 24-7. You can't just go when you feel like it. Because when kite surfing dishes are prime and like finally the stars align, and you know, the wind is blowing in the right direction at the right location, then once again, you need to drop everything you're doing and you need to get out on the water because you will seriously regret it if you don't. And that afternoon, I just had such a ridiculously good time, and I was just ecstatic that the wind was strong enough to get up on my 10-meter and actually ride on this Canadian lake. And I'm just so grateful to have made friends with Shane, and he's been so nice and generous. And he said, whenever the wind is up, because he's, you know, been kiting in the area for years, he's such a local, he knows all the spots, he'll message me, we can tee up, we can kite together, he's happy to lend me his board. He said if it's not as windy of a day, he can lend me some larger kites to fly on as well. Like, man, kiters, they're just the best. And in fact, on the 6th of June, in just a few weeks, there's gonna be this huge kite surfing meetup day where everyone who kite surfs in the Okanagan area, they're all gonna be teeing up in Pentikton and we're gonna be hitting the water together, you know, having an absolute kite party. And also, it's kind of like a version of a garage sale, too, because so many people bring secondhand gear and they sell it, and that's gonna be a place where I can get myself a new board, I can get myself a new kite or two, and also I just can't believe that it's on the 6th of June because I feel as though that is the best birthday present I could ever dream of, because my birthday is on the 5th of June, and I just can't imagine a better way to welcome in my 29th year of life than being surrounded by a whole bunch of kitesurfers and celebrating by just like having a mad time dancing in the wind with a whole bunch of other just kite surfing, wind junky, enthusiastic people. Like, it's gonna be so effing fun, and I just can't wait. And I'm just so grateful to have met Shane and I'm so excited to make more friends and meet more people in the community, and oh, just kite surfing, man. I tell you, like, nothing beats it. Nothing I've ever experienced in my life even remotely compares to the dopamine and the endorphin rush that I get from riding on a board with a kite in my hand, just feeling ultimate freedom, ultimate flow, just ultimate euphoria. And oh, it just it feels like the ultimate high. I swear, like kiting, it feels like a drug to me. And there's no denying that if I do go for too long without kiting, I do have serious withdrawals, and I seriously miss it. But the great thing is that the post-kite surfing highs, they last a good long while. Once again, like I kited on Thursday afternoon. This was days ago, and I feel like I'm still absolutely buzzing because my adrenaline was just pumping. And that afternoon, after doing so many runs back and forth down the beach, like unfortunately the wind did eventually die off, and I was able to come into the beach, land the kite, like deflate. Shane was there, we had some good chats, and you know, I packed everything up, walked back to my van, and it wasn't until I was actually standing inside, I'd put my kite surf gear down on the ground, I slammed the sliding door, and I just had this moment where I was able to take this nice deep exhale and go, oh, wow, that really just happened. And I was able to just bring myself down to earth. And I didn't feel quite as much adrenaline running through my veins anymore. And I wasn't so sympathetically just like stimulated. And I was just really able to gather myself and take it all in. And I just had this overwhelming feeling of love. And so much love for my life. And I was just standing there in this wetsuit, just like dripping and freezing cold with my hands against my cheeks, shivering. And I just had the biggest grin on my face. And I just kept just like shaking my head saying, I am so in love with my life. I just, I can't believe this is my reality. And it was such a beautiful and special moment. And yeah, it was just, it was something I'll never forget. And I'll also never forget, like, when it finally dawned on me that holy effing smokes, I am really, really, really, really, really cold right now. Like, I don't know if I've ever been that cold in my life. So I was like, okay, how can I defrost? How can I avoid hypothermia? So literally, I revved up my engine. You know, I started driving down the highway, turned on the heat, still like sitting in my wetsuit. And I get to the gym, and honestly, I'll tell you, I was so tempted to just walk straight through the doors, go into the bathroom, and get myself into that sauna pronto because I was so effing cold that I was like, I don't even care. Like, in general, I really don't care what people think about me. And at this point in time, like, I don't care if I walk into a busy gym wearing a freaking wetsuit dripping wet. But anywho, all right, I actually did end up stripping down out of the wetsuit in my van. I was just wearing a little kite suit underneath, and then I just put on some pants, chucked on some flip-flops, chucked like a bunch of like shower stuff into my backpack and a spare pair of clothes, and then I went into the gym, and then I went into the sauna, and I literally spent the next hour in there just defrosting. And I swear, it was like the ultimate version of doing a cold plunge and then having heat exposure. And yeah, it felt really freaking good. And I think it would be fair to assume that after such an enormous day like that, where I'd been up since 4:30 in the morning, I went for a long bike ride, I was in a carpentry school all day building shiz. I went kite surfing in the afternoon. Now I was like relaxing in a sauna, and you would think that I would be due for a pretty rock solid night's sleep, right? Well, I'll tell you that I could hardly even get to sleep that night because I just couldn't stop thinking about kite surfing. Because I literally felt like a junkie who had actually gotten their wind hit, and I could just like not wait to get my next fix. Like, that's how much I was holding out for it. You know, like I just gotten my high, but boy, I wanted to get high again. So like I hardly slept on Thursday night, and even on Friday morning, because I was just dreaming about kite surfing, I woke up at like 3 a.m. on Friday morning, and I was like, all right, it's probably a little bit too early to get caffeinated and go for a bike ride. So I literally just laid in my van for like an hour and a half, reading on my Kindle, and then by the time it was 4:30, I was still clearly wide awake. So that's when I kicked on and started my day and went for a bike ride, went to school, and all in all, I just did it all over again. You know, Monday to Friday, just in that routine, five for five. Just minus the kite surfing that afternoon, unfortunately. But clearly, I'm still absolutely off my rocket, and I am just holding out for when I can get my next fix and when I can hit the water again. Because man, I'm just so excited to go kite surfing again, and I'm just so effing happy that the main kite surfing beach here in Vernon, it's literally a five-minute drive from my school. Like, it's meant to be. The fact that my school gets out at 3:30 in the afternoon and the sun sets so late here, the days are long, and the wind starts to pick up in the afternoon around that time. Like, it is seriously just a dream come true. I just, I can't believe that I'm living in this amazing part of British Columbia right now, in my van, on a little goat farm, going for bike rides, going kite surfing, learning how to be a builder, going paddle boarding, just like venturing off on the weekends and camping and hiking and meeting so many brand new people. It's just like, oh, you know, like this is the best thing I could have ever possibly imagined, plus more. I just I pinch myself on the daily because my life effing rocks. I'm literally living my absolute best life. And for so long, this was just a pipe dream. But the fact that now it's my reality, it's just it's almost unbelievable. It literally feels like I'm living in my own little version of a dream, and I just can't get enough of it. Like I'm so head over heels, madly in love with my life right now, and my current Monday to Friday routine of waking up early in the van and making some coffee and going for bike rides, coming back for breakfast, driving to school, you know, building shiz all day, and then when the stars aligned, being able to go kite surfing in the afternoon, or just being able to catch up with friends for phone calls, go to the gym, use the sauna, just like drive back to the farm and turn on some of my favorite music and make some dinner while I watch the sun go down and just go for a nice leisurely walk in the evening, come back to the van, chill out, wind down, do some journaling, fall asleep. Like, ugh, it's so miraculous and it's so much fun. And I love just living in the thick of it in the Monday to Friday routine, but it's also super duper fun on the weekends because I've been living here in Vernon now for four weeks, and when I first arrived, I didn't know anyone. So what I did was I downloaded Hinge, and yes, I'm well aware that Hinge is a dating website, and it's one of the dating websites that's more often targeted at people who want long-term relationships, you know, they're trying to find their life partner, but heck, I'm just on there for a little bit of fun, and I make it very clear on my profile that I'm living in a van, I'm traveling, and I literally say word for word that what I'm looking for more than anything is just friendships and meaningful human connection. And yeah, listen, if I meet someone and there's just this magnetic chemistry and amazing energy between us and a really good vibe, then I'm definitely not going to shut down an opportunity to be a little bit romantic or have a fling. But in all honesty, that's just not what I'm really searching for right now. And I just know that coming off the back end of my past chapter of life, which entailed over a decade in Australia, of just pouring my heart and soul into relationships and my career and my sporting endeavors. And all I knew when I was living in Australia was devotion and long-term commitment. And now that I'm living in Canada and I'm truly embracing this new chapter of van life, I just want to give myself unapologetic permission to change my mind and embrace my freedom and just literally blow with the wind and do whatever I desire in the moment. And I just know at this point in time, I am not in the position where I can make any hardcore firm decisions on exactly where I want to be, or exactly what I want to do, or exactly who I want to spend my time with for the long run. Because I just want to explore my options. I just want to have fun. I just literally just want to embrace my free will. And I just want to meet so many different people from different walks of life and go on so many different adventures. And the awesome thing is that I've met so many guys here in Vernon that totally respect that, or either they might even be on a pretty similar wavelength themselves. And man, I'm just telling you, it's so refreshing. It's so nice to be on a dating website or technically be going on dates with people, but if there's just clear communication from the start that, hey, listen, there is absolutely no pressure here to be the love of my life. And if we don't instantly connect on a romantic front, then I'm not just going to completely disregard you as a person and ghost you, because we've all been there before, and it can be pretty freaking ruthless. But I just have to say that my experience thus far here in Vernon, going on dates with different guys, it's just been so much fun. And everyone is so open-minded to friendship, and people think it's pretty groovy that I'm living in a van. And I've just been introduced to so many new places because I'm brand new here. You know, like I can do a whole bunch of exploring on my own, but it's fair to say that it's a lot more fun when you have company around and you can just engage in fun and upbeat and deep conversations. And I've just been going on so many hikes on the weekend. I went paddleboarding down the Enderby River. I've gone out for burgers, I've had dinners with people, I went to the drive-in movies in my van. And that was such an amazing experience. Being able to park way up high on the hill, open up the rear doors, like have the full bed set up, like the little radio in the van so you can hear the movie and like see it projected on the big screen. And I just gotta say, I by far had the best seat or the best bed in the house. Because everyone else is just pulling up, you know, in their SUVs and they're sitting in the front seats, or people are in their pickup trucks, and they've got like mattresses in the back. And yeah, obviously, that's an awesome experience too. Just being able to watch a movie outside in general. It's super fun, but I gotta say, all right, doing it in a sprinter van, top tier. So highly, highly, highly recommend. And every weekend has literally just brought something new. For example, this past weekend, I literally went camping with someone, and we decided to drive up these logging roads on Friday afternoon, and we literally picked this dirt pullout and drove the van down this road. We found a lake and we decided to pitch camp right next to the water for the night. And it was just such a vibe because we were just playing music, we were having fun conversations, we had the van door wide open, we were cooking steaks, I made us a salad. It was just, uh, it was such a great night, and there's just so many amazing memories. And one of the craziest things is that when we drove the van up high into these hills, like obviously we climbed some decent elevation because it got significantly colder. But literally, while we're there cooking dinner, it started to snow. And I'll tell you the scenery of just like me sitting on my van bed and seeing the roller door wide open, looking out over this lake, like a steak cooking in my cast iron pan, and just like watching these snowflakes fall onto the lake. It was just so extraordinary. It was so freaking beautiful. And again, it was like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And it was actually hilarious because I have actually never shared a meal with anyone else in my van. And I realized that I only have one steak knife. So, you know, I took one for the team, happily so, and I let them actually use the steak knife to cut up their T-bone. And what I actually did was I used the pocket knife I had on my keychain, and I'll tell you what, it worked an absolute treat. But the only downside of that entire night was the fact that we couldn't actually light a campfire because it was snowing and everything was so wet and everything was so damp. And even though we tried our absolute best to, you know, get somewhat of dry kindling and, you know, put like a little bit of like paper underneath, and like we just squirted that stuff like nobody's business with my can of WD40, just trying to get that fire to ignite. But man, despite our best efforts, you know, she just uh she wasn't lighting up. So that was that. But that was just a really fun night to just spend quality time with someone and go on a bit of a road trip. And gosh, it's just so awesome to be meeting so many brand new guys here in Canada who are super outdoorsy, they're super active, you know, they're just fun, right? They make you laugh, but you can also have meaningful conversations, and it's just it's so refreshing, and it's so nice to know that other people out there, they too are just craving in-person human connection, and there's no distractions from phones, there's no distractions from TV or social media. It's just so real, it's so genuine, it's so authentic, and uh everything in my life right now just feels like it's so aligned, and everything is falling into place, and nothing feels forced, and everything just feels like pure joy, and I just have full faith that everything that's meant to happen for me either is or it will. And I swear to golly gosh, these past four weeks of living here in Vernon, they've just been so spectacular, and I just feel like I'm riding the ultimate high on life, and I think that the only thing that could make this even better is if I was able to kite surf every single day. I would be absolutely off my nut. And there's probably only a select few people on planet Earth that could actually handle my energy. But in saying that, you guys, that's pretty much my life right now in a nutshell. It's just downright epic. And I feel like I'm just exploding at the seams, and I'm just bursting with happiness because I am just so over the moon, ecstatic to be living in my van right now, and living in Canada, and just relishing in radical independence and freedom and choice and being able to do whatever I want whenever I want. And it is just a dream come true, and I truly feel like I'm living on top of my own little world because I am. But I do want to say thank you so much if you did make it this far into the episode, because you could have been listening to anyone or anything right now, but you decided to actually tune in to good old Tierra Nelson chit-chat about van life, and that means a lot to me. So thank you very much. And also, I just have to say, guys, I would greatly appreciate if you could please like and subscribe to this channel, click that follow button, tell your family and friends about it, and continue to tune in for all of the wicked and wild adventures and episodes to come. But until then, have a wonderful day, a wonderful morning, a wonderful evening, wherever you are in the world, and until next time, adios!