• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • WORK
  • COURSE
  • PODCAST
  • DESTINATIONS
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • WORK
  • COURSE
  • PODCAST
  • DESTINATIONS
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

Bucketlist Bri

Bucketlist Bri

Adventurous Slomad Travel

  • Start Here
  • Destinations
  • Digital Nomad
  • Responsible Travel
  • Slow Travel
  • Van Life

Van Life Journal Week 4: Brace for Impact

Last Updated: October 20, 2021 · Van Life

[everyone, a day late publishing Van Life Journal Week #4 but better late than never!

In short, this week we discovered a colorful gem of a town on the Atlantic coast classed a UNESCO World Heritage site – Lunenburg delighted and surprised us in so many ways.

We also faced the eyewall of Hurricane Dorian, which surged over us on Saturday.

Here’s our week, in semi-detail! xx

Table of Contents show
Day 22 – Island After Island After…
Day 23 – Lovely Lunenburg!
Day 24 – We’re Inside a Postcard
Day 25 – Becoming Regulars
Day 26 – Brace for Impact!
Day 27 – A Classic Sunday Drive

Day 22 – Island After Island After…

Van Life Journal Week 4 // Bucketlist Bri
Driving through the Maritimes serves up these kinda views. | Bucketlist Bri

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a small commission should you decide to click through and make a valid purchase (at no extra cost to you). Thanks so much for your support!

We spent the night in the parking lot at Peggy’s Cove and woke up to a subtle sunrise on the lighthouse. Desperate for a bathroom I wait until the doors of the shop/gallery open and run inside.

It’s cold but I muster the will to stay outside and take pictures before spending the morning working inside the van.

In the afternoon we drive to Lunenburg, a small yet mighty destination and home to the world-famous Blue Schooner.

The drive down gets more scenic, as we pass several lakes and small islands in the middle with funny names on them on Google maps. Sheep Island. Clam Island.

We cross a rickety bridge and go up onto an island to empty our dirty water tank. We pay a small fee and refill and hit the road again toward Lunenburg.

We arrive and drive down the waterfront, passing the cutest shops and colorful houses.

Lunenburg, as we’d come to find out, is a UNESCO World Heritage town – having the best, well-preserved example of British-era houses and buildings.

Day 23 – Lovely Lunenburg!

Van Life Journal Week 4 // Bucketlist Bri
Paul eavesdropping on the conversation about the Dutchman who sails around the world and is headed to Bermuda next. | Bucketlist Bri

Starting the day somewhere new is always exciting. You don’t know the town’s vibe, nor the best places to go.

But we got extremely lucky to stumble upon No. 9 coffee, an eccentric coffee shop with homemade scones and pastries and top-notch specialty drinks.

For lunch, we pick up a rotisserie chicken and microwave two ears of corn.

We decide to split up the afternoon and work at another coffee shop in town, Shop On the Corner.

I overhear one of the owners of the shop mention his sister lives in Tennessee, so later I ask him about it and tell him my sister also lives in Tennessee and that we’ve got Tennessee license plates on our van.

Day 24 – We’re Inside a Postcard

Van Life Journal Week 4 // Bucketlist Bri
Lunenburg is classed a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has three National Historic Sites! | Bucketlist Bri

Surprise! We are working at No. 9 again. We just had to go back for their cheddar scones…

Today is laundry day, which takes a good 2 hours out of our workday. But it’s a necessity! Paul goes through 3x more laundry than I do. No surprise there.

That afternoon we go to work in the afternoon on the other side of Lunenburg, where the picturesque “postcard” view on the harbor is.

Today marks one week since we had a shower. And if you’ve been reading the other Van Life Journal entries than you’ll realize how big of a deal showering is to us now.

Lunenburg has a couple gyms and spas, so we ask around to find the best price for a day pass.

Just when we thought we had a solution, we test out another wellness center. For the same price, we could enjoy the gym and a salt-water heated pool, and a shower for 24 hours. Meaning we could shower the next day too!

Feeling refreshed from our shower and brief workout, we go out on the town to an adorable oyster bar with a view on the harbor. The seafood platter was pricey, but we got to try fresh, locally-sourced oysters, lobster, clams, shrimp, scallops, and a crab-leg cluster!

I decide after that meal that I’ll stick to my oysters and crab legs. Raw clams and scallops aren’t as tasty.

Next? Bedtime with half-full yet satisfied bellies!

Day 25 – Becoming Regulars

Van Life Journal Week 4 // Bucketlist Bri
I’m gonna miss those cheddar scones!

We’re on a roll at No. 9 coffee house! We’re starting to feel like regulars. The staff recognizes us and our orders, we chat about the van and what we’re doing.

It’s nice to feel a sense of belonging somewhere, even among strangers!

For some reason, both Paul and I can’t remember what we ended up doing Friday afternoon. It was the eve of hurricane Dorian I remember, so we went up on top of the hill in Lunenburg where the campground is to scope out where we could stay for the storm. It wasn’t ideal.

We also strolled around and gawked at all the houses with colorful trims and fancy af architecture.

Day 26 – Brace for Impact!

Van Life Journal Week 4 // Bucketlist Bri
No. 9 cafe with a cute Westy (sorry Van Rouge)

The hurricane is coming! After devastating the Bahamas and surging the coast of North Carolina, hurricane Dorian decided to make it’s way straight to Atlantic Canada. Precisely, exactly where we were.

The eyewall of the hurricane was supposed to land somewhere between Lunenburg and somewhere else, passing straight over us.

All of the shops and businesses closed in advance to prepare for the storm.

That morning, again desperate for a bathroom, we scope out which shop was open.

And to our delight, No. 9 was open! But they had no power. So we could only order an iced coffee or a pastry. We chose the pastries.

We sat down at the table to work. Paul skips to the bathroom first. Meanwhile, I plug in my Nintendo DS charger to the wall. Suddenly it occurred to me that no power = no electricity = no charging our laptops (or crucial DS) = no internet = no work.

So we sit there while the sky darkens and the wind and rain picks up. Soon the cafe closes because why stay open when you have no power?

We drench ourselves running back to the van, already parked in its safe spot on a hill up the street that was protected with two rows of shops.

We hunker inside the van, dripping wet. We use our towels as floor mats because otherwise all of our stuff would get soaked.

It’s only just passed noon or so and we’re in the van for the day for good. There’s no going back out or driving now!

In a couple of hours, we became the only source of light in the whole town. Both the sky and the streets went dark as everyone lost power. But we had our generator and I was playing away at Zelda on my DS while Paul napped.

Distracted from my game, I didn’t notice how much the back left window was leaking. Paul woke up and saw it immediately.

We use up all our available towels and dish towels to soak up the excess water, but it was just dripping in as if there were no window at all.

Paul came up with the idea to “redirect” the water from soaking into the upholstery by putting electrical tape and guiding it to a bowl. And it worked for the most part!

We had bowls and towels below every window. By 7 pm the hurricane blew right over us and passed.

The rain slowed, but the wind kept its speed. Several fire trucks and ambulances sped by us that day. There was even someone walking their dog – who was wearing a yellow trenchcoat – in the middle of the storm.

Day 27 – A Classic Sunday Drive

Van Life Journal Week 4 // Bucketlist Bri
Here’s Van Rouge! Driving on a beach the day after Hurricane Dorian blew by.

Believe it or not, the next day the sky was as blue and clear as could be.

Everyone was out and about in the parks and streets. Most would have no power for the rest of the day.

Paul and I take a leisurely Sunday drive down the coast a bit through small towns and parks. There were many, many felled trees from the storm. Some even block half the highways.

We drive with no end goal, which is nice.

We pull over at one park that seemed popular, right next to a beach. A lady pulls us over to stop us and gives us so many tips on what to see in the area – just out of kindness and curiosity.

We take her advice and explore the park – which was beautiful and serene. A raised boardwalk stretches across a kilometer of grassy marsh and leads to a sandy beach.

There are lots of small islands in the water and colorful houses lining the water’s edge. We stop several times to take pictures, unable to resist the wild and quiet scenery.

We drive back to Lunenburg for our last night. We go to a popular restaurant and settle inside a cozy booth and order hearty seafood dishes to our hearts’ content.

It was our last night in Lunenburg, we decided. Tomorrow we would hit the road (after a morning at No. 9, of course) and head north.

Little did we know at the time we wouldn’t be driving too far. The next town that caught our eyes was only a 13-minute drive away.

We were heading to Mahone Bay.

As we start week #5 I’m realizing the effort it takes to write a journal every day. But seeing as how I can hardly remember last week, it seems all the more necessary to keep up with this!

I’ll aim to publish every Monday. Meaning, the week will now start recounting from Mondays – Sundays instead of Tuesdays – Mondays.

Thanks for reading!! xx

  • Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
  • Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
  • Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
  • Share via EmailShare via Email

By: Bri · In: Van Life

you’ll also love

eco-friendly van life essentials to have in a vanOur Top 10 Eco-Friendly Van Life Essentials
@vanrouge_roadtrekVan Life Journal Weeks 7-9: 4 Provinces, 3 Weeks
Crossing the Mexico-US border by Van: Complete Guide // BUCKETLIST BRIDriving From Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to US Border

Join the List

Stay up to date with the latest adventures and travel guides.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

The Ultimate Guide to Coba Ruins & Cenotes

Primary Sidebar

hello!

I’m Bri, an adventurous digital nomad living abroad full-time since 2015. It is my hope to inspire you to live a life of adventure, seek out meaningful experiences, and travel slowly and mindfully!

About Me

Connect

join the list

Featured Posts

Bhaktapur, Nepal | Ghaijatra Festival |Bits of Bri | Tales of Bri

The Ancient City of Bhaktapur – Nepal Blog

Woman wearing orange activewear cycling the San Juan Islands in Washington USA

Ultimate Guide to Biking the San Juan Islands (Washington)

Bay of Yelapa, Mexico with palm trees, colorful houses, and anchored boats

How to Vist Yelapa: Jalisco, Mexico’s Unspoiled Fishing Village

QUICK LINKS

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • WORK
  • COURSE
  • PODCAST
  • DESTINATIONS

Search

Let’s Connect!

@bucketlistbri

When you say “yes” as a solo traveler and stay When you say “yes” as a solo traveler and stay open to the randomness of life and the kindness of strangers, really wonderful memories can be made. Thank you Lama family and my new Tibetan friends for such a fun and insightful sequence of experiences 🙏 💛

#solotravel #localtravel #nepaltravel #nepaldiaries #nepali #solofemaletravel #kathmandunepal #thamel #tibetanfood #solotraveldiaries
My first week back in the chaos of Kathmandu, 💛 My first week back in the chaos of Kathmandu, 💛 

Being back after 7 long years away has jolted my body, brain, and spirit. At first, I felt overwhelmed with the recurring thought of, "I don't know what to do with myself." It was only when acceptance knocked on my door, and I finally decided to let it in, that things began to shift and flow.
 
In Nepal, particularly Kathmandu, everything around me swarms like a hive. I have nowhere else to go but inside myself. I've discovered through years of slow traveling (and solo travel) that peace awaits me there -- a sense of independence, power, and knowing that is still, comforting, and safe. And I can tap into it whenever I need to.

Chaos and peace reside in all of us, and Nepal has a cosmic, ancient way of reminding you of just that. 

📍 Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur

#nepaltravel #patan #durbarsquare #nepalphotography #slowtravel #nepal #solotravel #lalitpur
They ask, “Why?” I was 29 when I embarked on They ask, “Why?” 

I was 29 when I embarked on the plane on the 21st, and 30 when I disembarked on the 23rd. How fitting. I spent all of my 20s abroad (except for my two final semesters in undergrad), and moved to Nepal when I was 21. 

What better way to say goodbye to my twenties than by returning to the start? I felt the desperate urge to start my 30s this way—alone on a one-way ticket with no concrete plans. I have both feared and longed to come back all these years. You see, I had made a promise to one of my closest Nepali friends that I’d see her again, but the reality is that I no longer can. 

She, along with another dear friend, passed away from cancer a couple of years back. The thought of returning to my old life here without my friends made me, well, incredibly sad. I had thought that, upon landing in Kathmandu—or taking a bite of my first momo—after so long, I’d find myself bursting into tears of both grief and gratitude. But I didn’t. Instead, I found familiarity in the chaos and chaos in the strangeness. 

Just being here—and the decisions and actions it took to get here—has reminded me of the preciousness of this one very short life. And that, by choosing to celebrate mine—at the exciting turn of a decade no less—by coming back to Nepal on a solo trip that would force me into daring discomfort when I could instead retreat to the comforts of family or my partner, is how I want to live it.

Truth is, a couple of months ago the thought of Nepal felt out of reach. It felt risky, unattainable. But the idea itself pushed open, just a crack at first, a door that had been otherwise closed. I could have more easily ignored my “what if?” daydreams—calling them off as too hard, too uncomfortable, or too far-fetched to actually pursue—and kept it shut.
But sometime in mid-July, I decided to look at flights. And I found one (truly, just one) option that could work. And it just so happened that it would fall on my birthday, or rather bridge my birthday. The idea of getting on a plane at 29 and getting off it at 30—back in Nepal—sold me. I fell in love with the story, the adventure, the unknowingness of it all. 

So, yeah. That’s why. Or as I prefer, “Why not?”
Rebuilt, it is indeed different now, but at the sa Rebuilt, it is indeed different now, but at the same time just as I remember: the swirl of incense, spice, sweat, and candle smoke peppering the air; the pigeons cooing and flapping overhead; the Tibetan devotees and tourists melodically shuffling clockwise around the dome; the street dogs curling up in corners; the monks humming and drumming inside monastery halls. 

I’m both at home and a foreigner in a strange land, once more, discovering it all over again with new eyes—just like those of the reborn stupa.

The last time I saw Boudhanath—one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world—was in 2016. It remained under reconstruction after the deadly 2015 earthquakes, so I never got to see it in all its magnificent wonder—until today! 🙏 

And wow, Boudha under the rain this afternoon was just what I had been dreaming of ever since I left Nepal after one year living/studying/working here. 

It’s so good to be back 🥹🇳🇵

📍 Boudhanath Stupa (northeast Kathmandu) — you can catch the local bus here from the airport for only 20-40 Nepalese rupees instead of paying 900 Rs for a taxi 😉 

Save this reel to your Nepal folder and follow along @bucketlistbri 💛

#nepal #boudhanath #kathmandu #lifetimeexperiences #nepaltourism #visitnepal #kathmandunepal #nepalnow #nepalviaje @nepaltourism #nepalnow
I have a confession 🙈 I have not enjoyed crea I have a confession 🙈 

I have not enjoyed creating or posting on Instagram for a few months. But I have recently hit a big reset button🚨 and I feel inspiration flowing back to me. 

I think in many ways, and for years, Instagram has stunted my creativity and photographic eye. Funnily enough, I used to love creating short travel videos long before it became a thing or a lucrative job. Now it feels like I’m always playing catch up. Now I select 5 photos out of 500 and I choose them through an Instagram filter of what “works.” I really don’t like doing that, which is why I often go weeks without posting. I lost my why, again and again and again. 

What I really enjoy is the art and act of it — the “seeing” — the visual story, the edit that just transforms the feeling. The emotion that videos and photos evoke — in me when I take them and also in others when they absorb them. 

That’s why I love writing and photography both, and combining them both through blogging. I forget I don’t have to do this, I GET to. 

The joy, the flow, the “creation” of it all is so powerful. 

So I hope you enjoy these photos and behind the scenes — for some reason, I always felt they weren’t “good enough” to share except for in Stories. How odd, who told me that? Only I did. So I’m giving back to myself the permission to travel far and wide and share whatever I feel like creating and sharing far and wide, too. I know many of you can relate… You’re not alone 🤗 — this is your sign to give yourself that permission slip to show up as authentically you 💛

1. iPhone snap of me happy in a teahouse 

2. The gorgeous Japanese-style exterior of Amei Teahouse evokes scenes from “Spirited Away”

3. Spotted through the window 🫖 

4. Jiufen under the rain 

5. A woman from Malaysia was sitting at our table at dinner and gave us her “Jiufen souvenir” to remember her by. It was so sweet!

6. Wandering the alleyways and found a temple hiding under the mist 🐉 

7. Taiwanese tea ceremony 😍

8. Those layers ⛰️ 

9. The sweetest lady and owner of our homestay had us model in front of her elaborate door, which she was very proud of! 

#taiwan #jiufen #taiwantravel #taiwantrip #iseetaiwan
Jiufen is a charming mountain town in Northern Tai Jiufen is a charming mountain town in Northern Taiwan with an interesting Japanese gold mining history🏮💛 

It is an enchanting destination that deserves to be savored—don’t make the mistake of coming only for a day!

As I shared in a previous reel, many Studio Ghibli fans have caught wind that the Amei Teahouse is rumored to have inspired scenes in “Spirited Away,” and therefore make the day trip from Taipei to see it in person and live out their fantasy. 

However, Miyazaki has denied the rumor that Jiufen, or any particular teahouse, was the source of inspiration for the film!

What did introduce Jiufen to the global stage, however, was the 1989 film “A City of Sadness.” It was filmed in Jiufen on Shuqi Road (the street going down past Amei Teahouse).

Please remember to visit Jiufen mindfully & with care 🙏 

Learn more about what to do and see in Jiufen, Taiwan beyond “taking a photo of the Spirited Away teahouse” in my 2-3 day itinerary — free on my blog! @bucketlistbri 🤍 🇹🇼 

#jiufen #taiwantravel #studioghibli #spiritedaway #jiufenoldstreet #taiwan #ameiteahouse #heartofasia
Follow My Adventures

Footer

On the Blog

  • Start Here
  • Destinations
  • Digital Nomad
  • Responsible Travel
  • Slow Travel
  • Van Life

Info

  • Work With Me
  • My Blog Course
  • Slomad Stories Podcast
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

adventures await x

Copyright © 2023 · Bucketlist Bri | All Rights Reserved

0 shares