Oh, 2018. The year of seemingly ZERO internet access! It’s been wildly difficult to share much these past months back in the states as we are always on the go or in areas with really bad internet connections. This post alone was insanely delayed due to the sheer amount of time trying to get a good enough connection to slowly upload photos. We hope to get back to sharing more often, but we’re going to need a more stable and consistent connection before that may become a reality.

So, what’s been going on with the Hedgers? SO. MUCH. This past year we traveled to four countries, lived in two of them, and bussed around fifteen states! We’ve gone from gainfully employed to semi homeless, and back again.

This post summarizes our year together, but even if this abridged version seems painfully long for you, we’ve conveniently highlighted the important bits for those of you who absolutely hate reading! You’re welcome.

Without anymore ado, here’s 2018: The SEMI Undocumented Year!


January

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At the beginning of 2018, we had officially signed our resignation paperwork with the JLP program in Korea. Our schools were nixed from the program and we needed some time to think about our next move. Where did we want to go? What did we want to do? We were finding it really hard to make any sort of clear decision on the matter, and we needed more time.

January is also the time when we have a ton of vacation, so we headed to Thailand. We were seriously considering moving to Chiang Mai for a while so we decided it was a great idea to check out Chiang Mai and get a feel for the city. We had been to Thailand before, but had never made it up to the northern regions. As two of our close friends had recently moved there to teach in International Schools, it seemed like as good a place as any for a vacation destination. The trip honestly didn’t seal the deal for us, but we knew it was a good option and was always there if we wanted. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our second time around in Thailand hiking in the lush jungles, relaxing on the gorgeous beaches, and eating all the delicious and cheap foods we could stuff our mouths with.

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Our Big Announcement!


February

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Korea’s winter vacations are weird, especially for high school teachers who are required to come back for a week of desk warming in February during graduation. We do nothing during this time, but we knew we’d be on holiday once more soon enough. This month, our vacation was taking us back to Japan, one of our favorite Asian destinations.

We love the culture, history, and beauty of this country, and always find ourselves discovering more each time we visit. We toured central Japan over a span of two weeks, and visited friends who lived in Tokyo. If only the cost of living in Japan weren’t so high, we’d move there in a heartbeat. I’m just glad we lived so close by and were able to make three separate trips while we lived in South Korea. We’ve outlined our entire time that we spent on this trip in a separate blog post, so if you are interested in more photos as well as an itinerary, be sure to check that out!

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2 Week Central Japan Winter Itinerary


March

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In March, we began to pack our things and sell the leftovers we didn’t plan on taking home. We both were still discussing if we wanted to come back to Korea next year in order to focus on saving a bit more and starting a business in the near future. If so, should we look into storing some of our belongings? That was resolved fairly quickly as we were told Korea doesn’t have storage units. As we were unsure if we’d even be back at all, we decided it was best to just get rid of everything. We were still both considering trying out some freelance work anyway, so why decide right away on way or the other?

It didn’t feel real that we would be leaving Korea in just a few short weeks. We spent most of this month spending time with friends and co-workers. Our students also threw us some pretty sweet and thoughtful going away parties! If you look closely below in the bottom right corner, you can see the drawing Ryan’s students did of him.


April

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At this point we knew three things: That we wanted to see family and friends, we wanted to challenge ourselves, and we needed time and space to think about what was next for us. Now that we were leaving Korea, we had toyed around with the idea of traveling around the States in a van conversion, and this was finally starting to seem like something that would satisfy all our needs for the upcoming year. It was settled.

Namwon In The Snow Styled Shoot

Vintage Inspired Traditional Hanbok Engagement Shoot

This month, Stephanie also did a couple of stylized photoshoots that were pretty fun. First, she traveled north in search of some snowy landscapes. Having a blanket of white covering the historic park in Namwon and a few colorful temples as the setting, her model Sam really looked lovely. The next shoot she did an engagement shoot in the springtime. With cherry blossoms blooming and the couple dressed in traditional Korean hanbok, the scene was breathtaking. Be sure to check them out if you haven’t by following the links below!

At the end of the month, we said our VERY tearful goodbyes to our schools, students, friends, and to Korea. As we got on the bus to the airport, it was raining harder than it had in months. It was as if Korea was just as sad to see us go, too. We love Korea and couldn’t imagine a better way than to summarize some of our favorite moments while there. Check out our posts below for more!

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Goodbye, Korea

50 Quintessential Korean Bucket List Items


May

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We were back stateside! The beginning of May saw us reuniting with family. Soon after, we were on the road to Jeff City, Missouri. We were set to check out a shuttle bus that had loads of potential on being our conversion project. It took us nearly nine hours to get there, but we were super excited about the possibility of the purchase. The bus looked fairly good, and was everything we were really looking for. Cheap, roomy for a two meter tall man to live in, and diesel turbo charged. We signed over the paperwork and handed over the money, but as soon as we went to start her up, she didn’t turn over. The starter had gone out right before our eyes! Thankfully the man who sold it to us was a diesel technician and repaired it for us, but once we got down the road and stopped to fill up on fuel, we noticed a leak underneath the engine. Foreshadowing for what was to come? We could only hope it would be another easy fix like a loose hose.

We made it all the way back to Oklahoma without any more hang ups and started our five week, sun up to sun down renovation. We wanted to get it done in a month, but even with our simple design, we went over our timeline by a week. It was hot, tiring work and we didn’t document most of the process as doing so would have taken us so much longer and we just didn’t have the energy. Even with the help of a few family members, we still were crunched for time and itching to get on the road. By the end of the month, we were physically and mentally exhausted from the renovations, but felt accomplished and energized with the possibilities in our future with our bus, which we had named Onward.

READ MORE:

Our New Home On Wheels

On the Road: A First Glance of Onward

Tour Our Camper Bus


June

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By mid June we were finished! The ultimate plan was to make a five-week loop through the American Southwest. Looking back, it wasn’t the brightest idea to hit some of the hottest places in the States during summertime, but the desert seemed to call to us and was a place that neither of us had explored thoroughly. We craved a complete change in scenery from the green fields of Oklahoma and the rolling mountains of South Korea. The desert seemed like as good as a place as any, and we wanted to spark a fire in our creativity.

As we made our way though New Mexico, it seemed like the plan was working. The landscape was incredible and we felt like we were really doing what we had set out to do.  We were waking up on free public lands, hiking around gorgeous vistas, and living like nomads. We were on Cloud 9, but Onward the bus had other plans for us. Heading across the Arizona border, we started hearing a grinding noise coming from the right side of the engine every time we accelerated past a certain point. Smoke soon started billowing from the tailpipe and we found ourselves back at yet another mechanic, this time in Winslow, Arizona. The turbo had gone out and we found ourselves feeling a bit nervous about the reliability of our bus while we waited for four days for the repairs we reminded ourselves of past trips where things seemed to be going terribly, and while in the moment things may seem hopeless; you always look back on those moments with lessons learned or at least a good story to tell. We steeled ourselves with those thoughts and crossed our fingers for no more set backs as we hit the road once more, pushing all the way through to California seeking ocean views and a sense of renewal.

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Buying A DIY Camper Vehicle Tips and Advice

Our Bus Conversion Common Questions


July

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The ocean seemed to do the trick as we were feeling uplifted and ready to tackle the next destination, the dry and hot state of Utah. The bus now appeared to be in good working order as she chugged along the road and through winding and mesmerizing canyon passes. We were both amazed by the scenery, but Ryan especially. We loved southern Utah’s parks as the landscapes were so surreal and unlike anything we’d ever seen before on any of our travels. The hoodoo’s of Bryce Canyon National Park were probably our favorite and we spent our time camped out in the coolest temperatures Utah had to offer with the higher levels of elevation. It was here, on the fourth of July, were we saw an eagle swoop down and kill a prairie dog to the excitement and applause of everyone on the tour bus. It was definitely the most American thing either of us had ever witnessed on this day of nationalism and celebration of freedom.

We were also beginning to think about what we were going to do for income in the future. We had loads of marketable skills, but freelance work usually requires an Internet connection, and the United States still barely has signal for phones calls in the remote places we were staying on the bus. We weren’t hurting for money, Korea had been good to us and we were able to save quite a bit, but most of it was in investments and we didn’t want to blow through all of our liquid funds in the meantime. Blogger sponsorships which offer free hotel stays, free clothing, and free tours might sound amazing, but they don’t put food on the table guys, nor gas in the bus tank. Bidding on freelance gigs is a part time job, too, with no guarantee of landing the job and after a few very discouraging encounters with some not so great clients we started thinking, “back to plan A?!”

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The Adventurous Guide to Bryce Canyon


August

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After a fun and relaxing family reunion on the Alabama shores at the beginning of August, we made it back to Oklahoma and made some much needed repairs to the bus, Onward. Most of the repairs were simple ones, such as fixing the water pump and building an overhead storage cabinet above the kitchen sink, but they were necessary nevertheless. With all the down time, we were itching to get back on the road again, so at the end of the month we set out once more, this time with the Pacific Northwest as our ultimate destination. Again, not the best idea to be heading north with fall and winter on the horizon, but hindsight is 20/20.

We passed through Colorado once again on our way north and stopped over to see our friends. Low and behold, we noticed the overdrive light flashing on our bus and, with heads swimming with repair costs and time lost, we took her in to get looked at. This time, it was the electronic fuel module that had gone out and yet again, the bill was not cheap. Our friends were kind enough to put us up for four days in their apartment while we waited. While they were at work, we sat in their living room staring at each other with exasperation over the situation. Not only did plans seem to be falling through and the bus was displaying one problem after the next, but our ability to mentally process all the setbacks was wearing thin.


September

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At the first of the month, Onward was ready to go once more. We took deep breaths and packed our things onto the bus and said thank yous and goodbyes to our friends. Our destination was the least populated state in the nation, Wyoming, so we were hoping the repairs would be sufficient this time around and get us through without any problems. The first night back on the bus after the repairs felt good, but it was filled with tensions as well. This was only the beginning of this leg of the trip and we were already needing repairs. What would the next three months bring?

When we arrived in the Grand Tetons, we both felt reenergized. The campsite we had scored on free access lands had an incredible view of the mountains of the park and we took our time there, enjoying our remote location. Our creative juices were flowing once more, and we did an excellent job of documenting our time spent there and even managed to write a bit more for the blog. We felt really good and our photography and writing reflected our state of mind while we were there.

The rest of our time this month was split between Yellowstone’s expansive park, Idaho’s hot springs and gorgeous mountain views, and a circumnavigation of Washington’s Olympic peninsula. Fires had unfortunately resulted in a lot of park closures, so we were remiss to find ourselves missing out on some of the more iconic hikes the park had to offer. Instead, we set our sights on Mt. Rainier National Park were we were to meet our friend, Kerbie who was to stay with us on the bus for a week. Mt. Rainier was stunning in her fall colors and we fell in love with this park instantly.

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The Ultimate Guide To Free Overnight Parking

7 Amazing Adventures in Grand Teton National Park

Mt. Rainier From High Rock Lookout


October

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If three’s a crowd on a bus, hey, why not four?! In October, we dipped down into Oregon and once in Portland, we picked up our friend, Sam. We attempted to explore Mt. Hood, but horrible rains, fog, and cold weather forced us inside the bus most of the time. We managed to kill some of the time by teaching Sam to chop wood and do other outdoorsy things as this was her first camping and real roughing it venture. By far, our dip in the famous Bagby Hot Springs to warm our bodies and souls worked the most for morale, however!

Kerbie left us to go start a new job in Medford, Oregon while the rest of us continued on for two more weeks together.  The plan was to hit the Oregon coast and slowly make our way down until we reached Florence, where we would cut inland to Eugene and Sam would catch a bus back to Portland. Sharing 100 square feet between three people is hard to do, but somehow we managed to make it work. I pictured myself during this leg of the trip enjoying our time like Ken Keesey and his friends on the bus Furthur, but with less drugs. You never go full hippie, guys. Like Keesey’s bus adventure, the chaos of our bus trip also led to the documentation being put on hold.

Let me paint you a picture. Three people need showers after four days without. Our options are to drive over an hour, at the least usually, to a state park and drag all our belongings off the bus and shower, or research a new campsite that has access to water which we can boil and then shower one by one. Every little task you do in your daily life takes 1000xs longer on the bus, so documenting, writing, filming, photographing all took a back seat to eating, bathing, driving, cleaning, making and unmaking beds, finding a place to sleep for the night, and so on. How on earth some people do this full time while working remotely is honestly beyond me. Other than that, we enjoyed our adventures down the Pacific coast together. We simply needed to manage our expectations versus the reality.

READ MORE:

Bagby Hot Springs: A Quick Guide

North to Central Oregon Coast Guide


November

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Northern California is much less populated than the southern cities and metropolises and November found us perusing Highway 1 and the Redwoods National Park. It was in the Redwoods that we did some of the first relaxing and slow paced travel we had done thus far, and we didn’t care that we spent days parked in the same areas taking in the beauty around us. We were finally starting to feel like we were able to think a bit clearer, like our minds had now defogged, so our thoughts once more started focusing on the future. So what if we were neglecting the blog? We had bigger things to be discussing and working on. Freelancing was beginning to seem like a lot of work that neither of us were excited about, especially after many less than encouraging experiences we had had.

As we pushed further south, the sky became more and more cloudy. No, not cloudy. Smokey. Smoke was everywhere, the worst Californian wildfires in history were flaring up, and we were headed right for them. We changed our course to try to keep as far away as possible. Campgrounds were closing for winter, however, and our options for places to stay were running thin. Even in highway rest areas police were kicking people out for sleeping in their vehicles, even though isn’t that the point of a rest stop? Thankfully, a friend of ours reached out once she found out we were nearby and told us to stop by Santa Cruz. We stayed with her family for a few days in a nice comfy bed, catching up and avoiding the confining walls of Onward.

After three days we pushed on, trying to make California work for our coastal road trip plan, but meeting the same obstacles: Fires, closed campgrounds, and laws against sleeping in your vehicles. With forests closed and outdoor activities nixed due to terrible air quality, we considered jumping ship entirely and heading back to Oklahoma early. We couldn’t go very far inland with temperatures dropping quickly in the evenings, and there was nowhere to go along the shore either. At that moment, another friend of ours reached out and invited us to his place for Thanksgiving in Los Angeles. We jumped at the offer and made a beeline from San Fran to L.A. where we spent the holidays in much better spirits.


December

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In December, we pushed through for over twenty-six hours of near straight driving, finally arriving back in Oklahoma. After being away from the States during the Christmastime for six years, we had forgotten that the Christmas season is just that, a whole season. The marathon of visiting our spread out families began as well as preparing gifts, which we always make ourselves. It was great to finally have time together with our relatives for the first time in years, but once again blogging and sharing got placed on the back burner.

We also took this month to make a solid decision on what we wanted to do. Thoughts of Korea had been once again threading their way into our minds. After all, it was a job that we loved for five whole years! KOREA 2019, HERE WE COME!!!!!! We don’t leave until April, so we are hoping to do one last trip on our little blue bus before then.

2018 was meant to be one of discovery, challenges, and finding ourselves. We had a lot of fun and some hardships thrown our way. We are excited to see where we’ll go in the next couple of years and are hopeful to eventually start our own business in the near future, but time will tell. As you can see, a lot can happen and change in just a year!


What exciting things are in store for you in 2019? We love hearing from you in the comment section below!


READ MORE:

Our New Home On Wheels

Tour Our Camper Bus

Our Bus Conversion Common Questions

On the Road: A First Glance of Onward

Buying A DIY Camper Vehicle Tips and Advice