OUR STORY
We were the typical American family chasing the American dream...until July of 2021. We had a large house. We had nice vehicles. We had too much stuff. Our life revolved around work and shuffling our children from one activity to the next. We started to question the life that we were choosing to live. For years we had talked about taking a trip across the country in an RV. When we became pregnant with our fourth child, we did the opposite and built our dream house in Iowa. A few years later we started to regret our decision. We couldn't stop thinking about what could have been...had we taken the trip. The conversations grew and we started searching for a skoolie that was already converted. We'll never forget the morning that the listing popped up and Cara nudged Jim to wake him up. One week later we flew out to Salt Lake City Utah to pick up our bus. A few months later we took a family trip to Texas in the bus. A few months after that, we sold our house and everything we owned and hit the road in The Hocking Adventure Bus.
JIM
The FUN and adventurous Dad who does it all. Jim is the bus driver, homeschool teacher and adventure planner. He keeps us busy and is always up for an adventure! Jim worked in corporate sales for over 15 years and now works for our family by reaching out to brands and tourism boards to grow our own small business.
CARA
The FUN mom...always coming up with unconventional ideas such as living and traveling in a bus. Cara has been a photographer for over 15 years and is the one who shoots most of our content and puts the videos together. Cara enjoys cooking healthy meals, paddle boarding and hiking.
AMAIA
The leader of the pack. Amaia is our creative child. She started her own business on the road making and selling jewelry on Instagram (@busbeads). She LOVES the mountains and also loves being on the water paddle boarding or in the ocean jumping into the waves. Amaia is also a great cook and helps out a lot in the kitchen.
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BECKETT
Our oldest boy who loves being on the water. He loves the Florida springs and jumping in the ocean waves. He is great at building things and enjoys Minecraft and legos.
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STELLAN
Our easy going child who is silly and fun and is always the first one to try new things. He loves rock climbing and swimming and also enjoys Minecraft and Legos.
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HENDRIX
This free spirited wild child is always up for an adventure! He enjoys the ocean and playing in the sand. He also loves visiting new playgrounds and works hard to keep up with his older siblings.
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DENALI
Our wild and crazy 'puppy" that we added to our family at a skoolie event in February 2022. He has lots of energy and loves to be outside. He is always up for an adventure and loves playing fetch when he is not protecting the bus!
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JEMMA
Best known as the escape artist...our cat Jemma wears three trackers so we can keep track of her. She loves exploring outside but tends to wander off too far without permission. She wasn't happy when we added a dog to the family and she still lets him know with a swat and a hiss each time he walks by.
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