As the 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour season approaches, it is fascinating to me to look back on how James and I spent 2022. I'm excited to be able to compare these numbers from the last 3 tour seasons. They do a decent job of telling the story of our years, though the numbers fall short encompassing all the change, difficulty, variety, adaptability, growth, adventure, joy, friendship, love, connection, & magic that happens in this life.

The 22 season was James's seventh year as a full time touring professional disc golfer on the Disc Golf Pro Tour and brought my first time in central America, our first trip to Europe together, and was also James & my third year in the van together. Thank you for being here, I'm pleased to share a peek into our tour life with you.

We slept in a total of thirty one states, and five countries, as well as one night on a plane. That makes 15 nights in Costa Rica, 5 nights in Norway, 8 in Finland, 9 in France, and a total of 327 nights in the US. (Confession: I fought with Excel to get Norway labeled on the pie chart, & lost. It's the golden slice.)

In 2022, James and I spent a total of 287 nights (79%) in the van! Even if we split a spot with friends, or stay with family, we almost always still sleep in the van. It confuses friends and family members sometimes, but there's nothing wrong with their guest rooms- they're just not our own bed. And given the opportunity to sleep in your own bed almost anywhere, wouldn't you want to, too?

2022 was our most expensive year on the road yet; as far as housing cost, we totaled $9,315. Our least expensive month was November with a total cost of $120 (one hotel room), and our most expensive month was July at $2,633.33 for the month. We spent most of July in Europe, and of course that added to our daily expenses (& our time not spent sleeping in the van). Our average daily cost for the year was $25.52 for the two of us, compared to $14.23 in 2021, and $7.02 in 2020.

According to Google, in 2022 the average American rent was $2,305, ($27,660 for the year, often not including utilities) which results in a daily average housing cost of $74.35. This puts our average year cost at just under 35% of the national average. Tallying all this was so interesting to me, we definitely felt like we were living the fully luxurious life on tour this year, as we split a spot with friends more than the previous two years (171 days this year), and spent more than three weeks in Europe- so naturally, I honestly thought our costs would have been even higher.

In addition to rent, most Americans also pay for a vehicle, as well as the cost of its upkeep (gas, maintenance, insurance, etc.), whereas our expenses are combined. Even with our trip to Costa Rica in January, we only spent $815 on lodging for the month ($26.29 per day for the two of us).

We paid for a place to stay 51.2% of the time last year. We enjoy splitting places with friends and splurging on the fancy campsite or Airbnb here and there, as it provides us with a temperature controlled space, bathroom, etc. which is lovely for overnight temps above 70, below 25, or if we want a shared space for games, movies, and/or tour family dinners. It feels like we have this 'luxury'` built in to our budget, because of our lifestyle.

We spent a total of 84 nights at friends' and family's places, paid for accommodations 141 nights, spent 40 nights at the disc golf course, 44 nights at campsites, and 59 nights at rest stops/ Planet Fitness/ Wal Mart/ Cracker Barrel/ street parking floating (and one night on a plane).

When it came to campsites, we paid for a site 39 times, and stayed at free campsites 45 nights in total.

There are many ways to 'do van life'. I know I've mentioned before that sometimes because of social media or other influences, people think that certain lifestyles (especially those that get put up on a pedestal) are inaccessible for them. The road life can be for anyone, though I would also say it isn't for everyone. You can do van life and have a regular 9-5 job, you can do it and not travel, you can do it and save money, you can add luxury if you want. My point is, van life as well as any other lifestyle can look different for everyone, and that's okay. Don't let that keep you from doing the things you want to do with your life.

We spent the most of our time in Texas because of the Texas swing of tournaments at the beginning of the tour season, as well as calling Austin, Texas our home this past off season.

We also knew we wanted to buy & build the bus also had us been a bit worried, since we didn't have the bus yet, or who would build it out, where, etc. and we were starting to stress that it wouldn't end up happening in time. Everything seemed to line up perfectly at the end of the tour season; the day we purchased the bus in Miami, we got a call that it was going to be able to be built out by the incredible design team at Chewy Designs Inc. out of Austin, Texas, and a couple of weeks later we arrived, ended up renting out the cottage on the ranch, and the rest is history! The combination of mild temperatures, natural springs, live music, climbing gyms, and tacos was perfect for our rest & recuperation before the 2023 season.

In total, we spent 72 nights in Texas, 30 in Florida; attending music festivals, bus buying (&breaking down); 25 nights in Minnesota for the Preserve tournament, & visiting my Mom's side of the family and my stepdad Tim; (James actually spent more time in Iowa and Illinois than is listed in the numbers here, there were two times when we were apart & I tracked the data for myself.) There were 22 nights spent in California with my Mom and wonderful aunt Kelly, visiting friends & enjoying a tournament in Santa Cruz; 20 nights in Oregon for the Beaver State Fling & Portland Open, and some rock climbing with Missy Gannon & Tom Szevin, and Nate Perkins; 18 in Kansas for the Dynamic Discs Open and World's competition,14 nights in North Carolina for the wedding of Jewels and Jeremy Koling, as well as a couple tattoo appointments for myself in Marshall; 14 nights were spent in Nevada exploring hot springs and starting the 2022 tour season in Las Vegas; 12 in Arizona at the All-Sar competition in February & hiking in Sedona's red rocks; 12 in Virginia with the Conrad family for Thanksgiving, & quality time; 11 nights in Georgia for the Champion's Cup Major event, 8 in Vermont for the Green Mountain Championship tournament; 8 in Colorado for the match play exhibition event, & a show at Red Rocks with the gang; 7 nights in Massachusetts at the stunning tree farm for the Maple Hill Open presented by MVP Disc Sports; 6 nights in Arkansas for the Jonesboro Open; 6 nights in Wisconsin spectating the US Women's Major event, & seeing my grandpa Truman; 6 nights in Kentucky for the Idlewild tournament; 6 nights in Iowa for the Des Moines Challenge tournament; 6 nights in South Carolina for the USDGC Major competition; 5 nights in Maryland visiting my Dad, stepmom, & two wonderful half-siblings, as well as James' long time friend (family member) Eric & his amazing partner Jen; 4 nights were spent in New York state doing some more outdoor rock climbing with Missy & Tom (& Tom's brother); 3 nights in Utah hiking, & adventuring with our dear friends Nate, Paul Oman, Madison Walker, Wilson & Megan; 2 nights in New Orleans, Louisiana exploring the city before our rig changed sizes and we don't want to drive downtown in large cities); One night in Connecticut for a Billy Strings & Willie Nelson show with more amazing friends Zoë AnDyke, Dustin Keegan, Nate, Paige Pierce, & Corey & Molly Ellis; And during the course of our long distance drives, we spent one night in each- New Mexico, Alabama, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee.

2022 was the last year I kept track of the nightly data from our tour life, and 2023 was my last year full time on the road as I pivoted to part time this year's 2024 season. I'm forever grateful to have this log to look back on to keep track of the whirlwind circus dream.