BY: ROB HOFFMAN
The Internet and social media outlets like Instagram have accelerated the world’s infatuation with the van-dwelling, road-tripping, vagabond lifestyle to near obsession. Though the lifestyle and form of travel is nothing new in-and-of itself, there is new opportunity in the way we can share these experiences, and extend our ideas to a global audience. More and more people are getting excited about the possibility of replacing their condos with vans and hitting the road for a life of simple beauty and unparalleled freedom.
A lifestyle once reserved for those who hide in the long shadow of society has since exploded into a culture of united free-thinkers who refuse to anchor themselves to the monotony of corporate life. Still, not everyone is able to move out of their lives and hit the road on the drop of a dime. For those day-dreaming of a life on the road, staring out their office windows and wishing it was the windshield of a van, Jon Gaffney and Gale Straub have crafted an Intagram page that offers a glimpse into the good life.
Jon Gaffney, known by the Instagram handle, The Van Man, and Gale Straub, a writer, editor and photographer known for the blog, She Explores, recently launched a collaborative portfolio of views from the inside of their home—which is to say, their van.
Straub and Gaffney left in August 2014 on a ten month journey across North America, which never really ended. Their van of choice is slightly unorthodox compared to the overwhelming surplus of Westfalia and VW bus enthusiasts. They travel in a Dodge Sprinter, resembling more of a moving van than hippy mobile. Perhaps this is why, in their photo series, you will only be able to see from the inside out. After all, it’s the insides that matter—and the views afforded by the greatest bedroom on earth.
