Excited.

Oh I am so excited, there are changes afoot

hubs car needs to be replaced soon, as I now have my nifty little run around we can look at something a bit different for hubs, he just needs to drive to and from work which isn't to far away, my car can then be a run around.

we still have a few years to go before we can put the great retire early plan into action, so in the interim we want to find ways to enjoy life more, now no 1 son is 17 and doesn't want to holiday with us,[no 2 still happy to explore new places], weekends are just calling out to us.

When the boys were younger we had a camper van, nothing posh , not fitted out out, just sleeping facilities, the van had an awning that you could attach so we would set up kitchen etc in there,but it did the trick and we had some amazing holidays with friends who also had campers, those were the days the boys were happy to stay in a filed and make their own entertainment with friends, dens, camp fires , climbing trees, how times change.

Hubs and I love the outdoor lifestyle, we love to walk and explore new places, so our thoughts have turned to getting a new camper, in my dreams I would love a VW

split the difference, go check out their hire vans, swoon.....

but they are so outside of our price range. a nice dream though.

From a practical viewpoint the van we had before would be more than adequate, but now I am older I would like the benefit of some mod cons, nothing much, a cooker, fridge, a tap with running water, and some storage cupboards, I can make pretty things to go inside.

Much pondering and surfing the net we have indeed come back to our first van, a Mazda Bongo.As luck would have it there is a sales room not too far away and they have some beauties, we are going to take a peak next Sunday, just to look you understand!

all photos from the Bongo Camper sales site

I absolutely love this van, its the colour that sways me

but its out of our price range at £8k

their other vans are just fine, not a pretty colour though, this one is up at £6.5k, still a bit pricey

no 2 son would sleep in the roof and hubs and I would have the double downstairs!

Then add the awning

photo from Bongo camper

and hey presto a comfy home away from home.

Now hubs is a handy man he can put his hand to most things , seeing as you can get a kit to fit it out yourself for £419

Tranzwagon

]just one of the many prepacked kits to buy.]

and pick up a basic model for about £4k this would seem the cheapest option, start with just the awning and 'camp' then build the interior ourselves.seems like the most cost effective way forward.

Holidays then become little adventure road trips, finding new places, even crossing the channel and venturing further afield, with our last van we even used it in the winter months. 

summer 2015 seems like its going to be a good one.I'll keep you updated with progress.