Communing With The Campbells – Van Life & Arriving in San Diego

Emerald Village, California from Anthony Campbell on Vimeo.

Hello from Emerald Village Observatory just North of San Diego here in California. Emerald Village is the first community of many on this North American leg of our adventure. We arrived in our Camper Van exactly a week ago and received such a warm welcome. We took part in the community retreat weekend which was a fascinating and revealing insight into the ‘excruciating joy’ (as the residents put it) of communal living.

This community is by far the smallest we have visited so far. There are just 6 full time families living on the 9 acre site alongside a sprinkling of ‘tiny homes’. These are a collection of cabins, generally on wheels that rely on access to communal facilities like bathrooms, kitchen, etc. Life at EVO is not glamorous or always easy, but if you ask anyone who lives here, they would say they would choose community living again and again. It is rich and full of opportunities to learn and grow and in the very short time we’ve been here we have really felt the warm embrace of community.

Alongside community life there is the reality of living with 3 kids out of a camper van. For the first 3 days of this week we had consistent rain and low temperatures. Electric blankets have been a God send with temperatures dropping below freezing over night. Van life certainly takes some getting used to but we are finding our rhythm. We are also beginning to explore our surroundings and yesterday we visited the Sea Lions in La Jolla, San Diego. San Diego is consistently voted the most desirable place to live in the USA and it’s very easy to see why. A stunning coastline, incredible architecture and a laid back super cool vibe. Katie and I felt like it would be the perfect place to create an intentional community! A close second to Henley-0n-Thames.

See you next week. The Campbells