Meet Rita (short for Chaparrita) - 2000 Ford E450 Skoolie
I (Jenn) adopted Rita from her creator, Craig, in June of 2024, in Sausalito, CA. She's been converted for full time off-grid living. Craig put a lot of love, thought, effort and countless hours into building her. She's 22 feet long, so she's considered a shorty - like me (5'1").
This blog will document our time together...for however long it is and wherever we roam. The good, the awesome, the bad, the ugly and the hysterical.
Rita and I were built for adventures, risk-taking, saying YES to the unknown and spreading smiles wherever we go.
That's just how we roll.
Latest News
Omega Camp
Rita got her fancy new tires put on in Fort Bragg and we were off. The first hour or so was the super sketchy winding part where I had to pull over a million times to let people pass. Surprisingly, I’m actually not annoyed at being the slow one. Once we got past that part it was much smoother sailing. Rita was clearly excited about her new tires. I could feel her soul come alive as she bounded along the open road with new and beautiful scenery. This is what her heart needed and she had a permanent smile on...
Read More
Fort Bragg
The first order of business in customizing Rita, was to get a shower installed. There are lines already in place, and a hot water heater. Just needed to waterproof the bathroom, put in a drain and hook up the shower head. Easy peasy, right?! Well...no. I headed up to Fort Bragg, CA to hire my ex for this project and a few others. We owned/lived on a sailboat together for 10 years. He knows how to do everything and he happened to have time to and interest in helping me. 10 long days in Fort Bragg… Did not end up...
Read More
Jenn and Rita Hit the Road
Welcome to Rita's Blog a 2000 Ford Thomas E450 School bus that has been converted into a tiny home. I purchased her from her creator (Craig) in June 2024. Quickly transitioning to full time living, while getting up to par mechanically is a bit overwhelming, but we are persisting. The idea for this life began almost 2 years ago, when I was living in Mexico. I was planning to return to the US to be around my family more. But the US is awfully expensive...how to do this? I had lived on a sailboat so, tiny space living is not...
Read More