About Us

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Just a couple of Canadians cruisin’ around North America in their 1984 Dodge camper van…

Pre-van life, we had been living in Toronto doing the whole people-clipping-their-nails-on-the-subway-beside-you and drunk-people-arguing-outside-your-window-at-3AM city life. Don’t get me wrong, we still love the city but it was just getting too expensive and too stressful. We spent a year saving while anxiously searching for a van to no avail.⠀

After several disappointing leads, we decided to move to Alberta on a whim with hopes of having better luck out west. We found Clementine a couple weeks before moving and sealed the deal instantly without even seeing her in person.⠀

After restoring the interior to a more modern glory, we hit the road and drove all the way to Mexico before going coast to coast in the US twice, and completing our cross-country drive in Canada from Victoria, BC to St. Johns, NL – and back. We run a web development business so we’re able to work while travelling and have also become quite the makeshift mechanics.⠀

Along the way, we launched a camping directory where we add all of our campsites so other travellers can follow along. We’ve got no plans of stopping and are learning and loving new things every day.

Generic Van Life - About Us - Justin Parsons

Justin

Justin was born in and around St. John’s, Newfoundland, and spent most of his childhood becoming an expert campfire-maker and rock-skipper before spending his teenage years in Calgary, Alberta. Justin launched his own web development company in 2007 and has also toured Canada several times as a musician. He later moved to Toronto where he continued to design and code while working in the music industry.

Generic Van Life - About Us - Olivia D'Alessandro

Olivia

Olivia was born and raised in the ‘burbs of Toronto, Ontario where she was surrounded by people from all over the world and instantly knew she wanted to make travel a priority. She spent her days slinging drinks to fund international expeditions before returning to Toronto to work in the fashion industry. She gradually started to step away from the studio and focus more on graphic design, which has allowed her to join forces with Justin and grow their web development company.

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Pierogi

Pierogi was born on February 8, 2019 at The Griffondog House in Calgary, Alberta. She is a rough coat Brussels Griffon with a grumpy mug and a huge personality. Currently, she enjoys rolling around in the sand and chewing on everything in sight while desperately hoping that someone might drop some human food in her general vicinity. Despite her young age, she has adapted fully to life on the road and is eager to keep on smelling all the new smells that the world has to offer.

Generic Van Life - About Us - Clementine

Clementine

Clementine is a 1984 Dodge B250 from Edmonton, Alberta. She was born before the days of fuel injection and power windows and is full of unique quirks. She didn’t spend long as a regular cargo van before being converted to a camper by a now defunct company called Wild Rose. She’s had her share of “health issues” on the road but has been a trusty companion to Justin & Olivia since fall 2017. With a steady diet of gas and oil, she proves to be pretty tenacious for an old bitty.