We purchased our Storyteller Overland Dark MODE van in mid-December 2025 from the only Storyteller Overland dealer in Pennsylvania, Fretz RV, about 90 minutes drive from our home in Hershey, PA. We immediately christened our van Van, Aertie, for my favorite UCI bicyclist, Belgian Wout Van Aert. Just like his namesake, Aertie didn’t let any grass grow under his wheels.
Within the first two weeks of owning Aertie, we were on the road to Savannah, GA, for a Christmas road trip with our daughter Anna, her husband Andrés, and their adorable rescue pup, Kylo. We didn’t need to take advantage of Aertie’s camping facilities on this trip as we were staying in an apartment in Savannah, but it sure made the long drive a lot more comfortable for four adults and a dog. It was a great way to break the van in, learn how to drive it, and to take advantage of its many features.
Not much more than a month later, we were back on I-95 South to Miami and back to Hershey in a very quick 5-day road-trip to take a family member and all of her earthly possessions including a dog, two cats, a bicycle, and many pieces of luggage to Miami International Airport for a direct flight home to Bogota, Colombia. Originally scheduled to fly out of New York’s JFK Airport, she learned three days before her flight that it had been canceled and wouldn’t fly until April because it was too cold for pet cargo, hence the need to fly out of Miami. On the trip home, we christened the van’s queen bed when we spent our first night in Aertie in a Love’s Truck Stop outside of Jacksonville, FL – after first enjoying coastal shrimp at Singleton’s Seafood Shack. Our first overnighter was a great success.
The Big Adventure
Days 1-4: Finally, in mid-March, we put Aertie to full use on a three-week adventure through the deep south. We started with two days in Rock Hill, SC, where we slept indoors at my sister’s house. From there, we moved on to Columbia, SC, where we got two nights in a Hilton so my husband can be a panelist at a conference at the College Sports Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. I spent one day bicycling along the serene river bike trail. After four nights in the lap of luxury, it was time to go full-mode camping and bicycling.
Day 5: I had activated the Harvest Hosts 30-day trial that we got when we purchased our Storyteller Overland van, so we spent the next night in front of the grape vines at Lu Mil Vineyards, a lovely winery outside of Lumberton, NC, where we visited with a Scott’s former resident and his new wife. The winery property was filled with trails, lakes, flora and fauna, and memorabilia including a Bob’s Big Boy and statues of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe among many other collectibles. It was a great first experience both with Harvest Hosts and with idyllic camping in Aertie.
