The Vanscontinental Express
Over the summer and fall of 2021, writer Victoria Scott traveled the American West in a JDM 1995 Toyota Hiace documenting a life and a world in transition. These are her dispatches from the road.
The Journey
Why I’m Dropping Everything to Travel America in a JDM 1995 Toyota Hiace
By Victoria Scott / Updated Mar 31, 2022
The End of the Road, the Beauty of Car Culture, and the Start of What’s Next
By Victoria Scott / Updated Dec 2, 2021
12,500 Miles on the Road Taught Me to Stop Apologizing for Who I Really Am—to Anyone
By Victoria Scott / Updated Nov 23, 2021
Back Into the Desert, Feeling Like I Finally Belong as the Sun Sets on This Van Trip
By Victoria Scott / Updated Nov 4, 2021
1980s Cars, Dark Forests and Human Connection: My JDM Van Journey Goes Northwest
By Victoria Scott / Updated Oct 19, 2021
How I Left LA With My JDM Van and Found Strength in the Eternal Desert
By Victoria Scott / Updated Oct 12, 2021
My JDM Van and I Went to the Brink and Came Back Stronger Than Ever
By Victoria Scott / Updated Sep 21, 2021
Pressing Pause on Van Life, and Homesick for a Broken Toyota Hiace
By Victoria Scott / Updated Aug 9, 2021
Disaster on Cuyama Peak: How I Nearly Destroyed My Van Alone in the Wilderness
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jul 21, 2021
Out in LA, Where Dreams Came True and I Could Be My Own Person
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jul 21, 2021
A JDM Van Breakdown in the Arizona Heat Showed It’s OK to Ask For Help
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jul 19, 2021
Driving Alone in the Wilds of New Mexico Made Me Think About Who I Want To Be
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jun 24, 2021
The Great Escape: Driving My JDM Toyota Van Out of Texas, Due West
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jun 22, 2021
I Finally Hit the Road With My Trusty Toyota Hiace. I Hope I Can Find Who I Want to Be
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jun 15, 2021
How a Simple Van Life Test Run Turns Into Its Own Epic 3,000-Mile Road Trip
By Victoria Scott / Updated Jun 10, 2021