Chapter 1 - Life Before The Tent

Prior to living in a tent I lived in something even smaller, an apartment in New York City.  For awhile I was living underneath an Ikea loft bed (seen below); a colleague of mine was sharing his 8’ x 10’ bedroom with me.  Times were tough...

My NYC Corporate Headquarters - that blue thing was my inflatable mattress 

Before accepting a job in NYC I had never spent a day in NYC, but it sounded like a good time and a healthy change from Utah.  NYC and I had a honeymoon that lasted nearly 8 months; we were madly in love, but then I started to see (and smell) the true side of the city.  I started entertaining thoughts of other cities, and even made a few trips away from NYC to see such cities.  A few of those trips turned into affairs, and my relationship with NYC never recovered.  The break-up was nasty.  We have since seen each other on what was intended as friendly terms, but we naturally go back to fighting and leave on an even worse note.  It was never meant to be.  I wish the best for New York.

During one of our fights I threatened to move out West and become a truck driver.  I’m not even kidding; I even laid out the financing plan for truck driving school.  Between my job and feelings toward the city I needed a change.  That same week I had an acquaintance in town that crashed on my couch, I will refer to him as “Big Tent” as he owns a spacious 4-man dome tent.   Big Tent helped me realize my irrational plans of leaving the city and becoming a truck driver. 

“What you should do is live out of tent.  I lived in my tent in my bedroom for awhile and I was never happier.  It’s like you are sleeping outside, but you’re not,” he shared with me. 

“Pure genius,” I thought to myself, “this guy clearly has all the answers.”

Big Tent was right, living out of a tent clearly made more sense then living out of an 18-wheeler.  It just so happened that I had purchased a tent online earlier that week.  At the time I didn’t know why I was buying a tent, but Destiny sure did.

I eventually parted ways with NYC and my accounting career.  I then spent time in North Carolina, Idaho, and Hawaii until I finally settle my tent stakes down in Utah for a few months.  At first I thought I was crazy for living out of a tent, but each night when the crickets would sing me to sleep I was reminded otherwise.

 

Left: A view of the foyer, Right: A view of the master bedroom

Soon winter began to move in and tent life wasn’t as comfortable as it used to be.  It was time to migrate south to sunnier skies, and I had my eyes on California.  I had been in contact with a friend who had procured prime tent real estate for me.  He mentioned that the camp site would be only a block from the ocean in Huntington Beach, CA.  That was all I needed to hear, so I quickly packed up my car with my clothes, my tent, and my moped.  It was in Southern California where I would once again cross paths with Big Tent…

Gas leaked from the moped while tipped to its side... The fumes left me high for a few days and my car still smells like Chevron 85 octane.