Some days on the road feel like a dream.
And some days… feel like a survival reality show.
This was one of those days:
A heat wave warning blaring on the weather forecast.
Stuck in highway traffic for over an hour — no AC.
Day one of my period.
And then, like a final boss level: Timmy broke down.
Oh, and did I mention? No restroom in sight. Anywhere. (even in Tim Hortons or Petro, really???)
Yep. All in one day.
But here’s the twist: even in the middle of the chaos, we felt lucky.
Timmy didn’t break down in the middle of the highway or on some remote countryside road. No — he waited until we reached downtown Ottawa, right near a cluster of auto service shops. We even managed to drive him there instead of calling a tow truck. Small mercies. Big relief.
By that point, the heat had drained every ounce of energy. We were sunburned, sleep-deprived, slightly delirious — but not defeated. We still had a roof over our heads (even if it was Timmy’s overheated one), and more importantly, we had each other.
We cracked jokes. We cheered each other on.
Someone even said: “Hey, this might be the highlight of the trip — the one we’ll always tell people about.”
And honestly? They might be right.
It tested us — physically, mentally, emotionally.
But we didn’t complain. We couldn’t.
Because somehow, despite it all, we still had:
- A place to sleep
- A full charge on our Bluetti battery (lifesaver!)
- A kind mechanic who could fix Timmy in couple of hours
- And a cozy little coffee shop to cool off in while we waited
Maybe that’s the thing about vanlife — it strips things down. When it’s hot, it’s really hot. When things go wrong, they go all the way wrong. But when you make it through? It feels kind of epic.
So no, it wasn’t the most “fun” day of the trip.
But it might’ve been one of the most meaningful.
Here’s to breakdowns, breakthroughs, and the beauty of still moving forward.