About us
Established in 2018
We are a couple of visual story tellers, artists, and dreamers who live and travel full-time in our self converted Dodge Campervan. Our goal here is to inspire you to chase after your own dreams no matter big (or small… 🚐) they may be!
We are full time van-dwellers, artists, and entrepreneurs. We found ourselves in our early twenties becoming stuck in life long careers in a bustling city that we were not fond of. We then decided we needed a radical transformation. We’ve found purpose outside of the 9-5 grind and have transformed our lifestyle to revolve around art, adventure, and travel. Since becoming full time digital nomads, we’ve created a new way of life in our completely DIY Dodge conversion van Dory!
We purchased our van in December of 2018 and promptly spent the next 5 months turning it into our new home. We headed off into the sun in May of 2019 and never looked back. Fast forward almost 2 years later and we have explored much of the East Coast & American Southwest. We landed in South Florida right at the start of the COVID pandemic and then spent the beginning of 2020 renovating the van and getting ready to hit the road again. Now in 2021 we are back full time on the road traveling! Hope to see ya out there!
We hope to see ya out there!
Kat & Dalton
our rig
- Name: Dory the Big Blue Van
- Year, Make, & Model: 2001 3500 Dodge Ram Van
- Body Style: High Top Conversion
- Purchased From: Craigslist, Ed Wilson's Garage
- Initial Mileage: 96,000
mission 🚐
Our goal with VANLIFE was not to live IN the van but to live OUT of the van – to take our passion for art, photography, design, nature, and the outdoors and turn it into a daily happening.
We hope to create a community of like-minded, positive individuals who will grow to love and support one another on their own individual journeys & dreams – no matter what they may be.
fun facts
- Dory was named after Hurricane Dorian, who was headed right to our campspot as a CAT 4!
- the van was originally built out in Baltimore, MD!
- So far we have camped in the following states in the van
: VT, NY, PA, MD, WV, TN, NC, SC, GA, FL, LA, TX, CO, WY, MT, ID, UT, AZ, WA, & CA (Soon to be OR, NV, & NM!)
: VT, NY, PA, MD, WV, TN, NC, SC, GA, FL, LA, TX, CO, WY, MT, ID, UT, AZ, WA, & CA (Soon to be OR, NV, & NM!)Dory the dodge
Dory is a former transportation vehicle for an assisted living facility in the state of Virginia. She had a long noble career transporting people in need from here to there. Then in 2018 a young eager to travel couple got ahold of her, gave her a facelift, and … Now in her retirement she travels the country full time and calls Florida her home base!
dalton frankton
Dalton is always the first one up with a bright and bubbly smile ready to start the day by getting outdoors as soon as possible. He is an incredibly dedicated hardworking artisan, bringing the utmost passion and dedication to his work. Dalton did most of the heavy lifting when it came to the van’s transformation. Creating a beautiful functional home and studio on wheels for us to live and create out of.
katherine kennedy
Kat is a true Florida girl constantly chasing around the sun and dancing amongst the flowers. She is an incredibly talented award winning studio based fine artist, designer, and content creator with a passion for bringing art and art education into our everyday lives and spaces. She has worked alongside Dalton everyday to design our dream home and studio from top to bottom.
... and meet our newest hitchhiker:
Lorelei, but RORY for short! Our little Texas Heeler (Blue Heeler mama and Aussie Shepard dad) from a little farm town in Oklahoma! When we saw the sign and called and saw her picture we knew it was fate!
We picked her up in a gas station parking lot the next day! Covered with fleas and ticks we’ve given her a lot of lovin’ and shes comes a long way in her 5 almost 6 months! She has visited 9 states so far! Can you believe it!
