I bought a van.

Hmm… a hiking and camping-loving travel addict in their early 30s who buys a van to adventure in. Par for the course? Sure. Super fun? Hell yeah.

I’ve been busy and excited settling into van-ownership life after purchasing my new-to-me 1992 Toyota Hiace – affectionally named, Urb – an imported Japanese beauty that I found on Instagram by luck. It’s a right-hand drive, seats nine, runs like a tank, and quite honestly, feels like I’m rolling down the street in a giant sofa. It’s a vibe. I love it.

Aside from exploring the midwest in the van on our own, my hope is to start a small business – Trail to Taproom – this fall, where I take folks from a central spot in the city to a local trailhead for a hike. After, we’ll hit up a local brewery for a beer before heading home. I have of course already started doing these types of tours with friends, but I can’t wait to open it up to the general public to adventure with us.

Charitable rides are also going to be a big part of Urb’s future. My plan in 2025 is to offer free transportation to local outdoor organizations (think: Latino Outdoors, Queers on the Rocks, Outdoor Color Crew, etc.) to get out in nature outside of city limits – and to take the van to regional events like the Michigan Ice Fest and to local forest preserves. Acquiring insurance for this type of business is proving to be tricky …. but I’m determined to navigate the hell-hole insurance space and jump through whatever hoop I need to in order to figure out a way to get more people outside on adventures in and around Chicago.

Stay tuned!

Beyond van life, my freelance work has been quite busy. I was managing some family health emergencies in early May, which really knocked off my writing schedule. Now I am back in the swing of writing (and writing and writing), and gearing up for some upcoming travel between July to September, I’m back to feeling productive and eager to see how the rest of the summer shakes out in terms of assignments, published stories, and opportunities.

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Looking for gear/product reccos and sources for:

1. (CNN Underscored) Best bike bags & panniers

2. New, cool, innovative, unique gear for one-off stories for my product coverage in CNN Underscored, GearJunkie, Treeline Review, and more.

3. Interesting people + athlete + ambassador stories — I want to do more brand storytelling around people (over products). Do you know any amazing folks with interesting/timely/fun stories? LMK!

I’m loving Spotify Jams with friends – here’s my go-to playlist addition lately:

Thanks for reading ✌️

Your pal, Erica ✨