My husband loves me, and I love him. But we do have a problem, really four feet of trouble…You see, we both love our footwear and after decluttering paper (see my sylvan apology here), limiting our footwear for a life lived from our van named “Greywacke”, a 2019 Winnebago Travato GL campervan has been a challenge for both of us.

Some vanlifers can get away with a pair of flip flops for beaches and showers, a pair of sneakers and maybe a casual or dressy pair of shoes and done. Nice, but that’s not happening for us.

Rob is a fairly regular mid-distance runner, so he needs a proper running shoe. If you know anything about running shoes, once a fave is identified, you had better get two before the shoemaker changes the shoe in the next go round. I am an avid walker (with visions of jogging on some days). My shoe selection is based more on terrain – a trail sneaker shoe for irregular surfaces and beloved sneakers for everything else.

We love to hike trails and Rob especially likes challenging terrains of all sorts. A good hiking experience begins with your feet.  Rob enjoys a low top hiker, a Salomon trail running shoe. I need a real deal hiking boot to feel secure after too many cartilage tears and bone fractures through the years (none of which I accrued hiking). Hiking boots do take up space…sigh.

Oh, and then, we have to have winter boots because we like winter activities (just not being cold) and our families live in solidly wintry places so that’s where we will be over holidays. For me, winter boots need to be nice enough for wearing with leggings and tunics or sweater dresses while maintaining a grip on icy, snowy surfaces, keeping my feet warm, all while looking more cute than clunky. At least that is my hope, but if they are comfy and function, I can tolerate a lot of clunky – just ask my friends and family.

Did I mention anything about being waterproof? Absolutely we need to have waterproof foot apparel because moisture happens while out and about. We definitely appreciate water–repelling footgear in all seasons – from dew dampened landscapes to spring’s mud slogs to summer thunderstorms on high heat and humidity days to gray, bone-chilling, coat-drenching, not-quite-cold-enough-to-snow, fall and winter downpour days.

And of course, there are our favorite water sports.  We love to kayak so we both need a shoe meant to get wet and dry quickly.  It must hold its grip on slippery, slimy, uneven surfaces as that seems to describe nearly every transition zone for any good paddle launching locale. I love to snorkel when I swim because I am curious.  I like to explore the world below the surface of the water as much as I do above it, so swim fins may be involved.

Then there is summer heat. Being a tenderfoot, I need a sandal.  I try to go barefoot but I know my limits. Sometimes I want a summer dress worthy sandal and other times I need a sandal for exploring what’s down that next path. Rob enjoys an airy sandal but will go for a mesh sneaker at times too – not a fan of little bits of sand, twigs, or gravel in his footbed.

In pre-pandemic times, we might go out, so having a nice-looking shoe for stepping out was a nice change of pace. Looking ahead, a year or so we know, we hope to be able to treat ourselves for a night out once again, so this future fancier footwear need may still exist…

Then there is après-activity time. At this juncture in my life, I get chilled easily. Warm slippers for my feet are a must – even with socks. Vans are infamous for the cold floors so there is not question, I will want/need to bring slippers.

Luckily, with our slow roll into full-time vanlife, we have been able to tailor our footwear collection to the trip at hand. Now a real test is ahead. We hope to depart from our current family holiday base for a series of meanders. This wandering should take us through all the seasons from winter in New England to the warmth of the famous Florida sun and then west to the deserts and mountains of the Southwest, chiefly to bike. (Did I mention our bike shoes? Never go anywhere without them.)

Here are final my selections (back row to front) for this next leg of our explorations:

• Specialized Bike shoes – easy, required by my bike pedals
• Keen Innate Leather Waterproof Hiking Boots – great on the trails, cute enough for leggings, all temperature ranges just adjust with socks, waterproof so they are good for rainy days, wet surfaces
• New Balance Leadville Trail Shoe – I don’t know what I’ll do when these wear out
• FitFlop Uberknit Sneakers – women if you have foot concerns, this is a godsend, but do size down
• L.L.Bean Wicked Good Venetian Slippers – because they are wicked good to my feet
• Eddie Bauer basic flip flops – always in the van for showers
• Keen Rose Sandals – nice enough for dressy moments, great for long walks, terrific kayak adventure shoe
• Birkenstock Arizona sandals – a late addition but worth the space
• Absent from the photo, because I was wearing them, my black Merrill Jungle Mocs

Debating Still:

• Which pair of Birkenstock sandals;
• Also, maybe blue Merrill strappy, cork bottom sandals (best for summer);
• Which pair of Merrill Jungle Mocs;
• FitFlop loungers or fine with the sneaker;
• Asics Running shoes – sole is getting worn; 
• FitFlop sport flipflops – say that ten times fast;
• Older Keen sandals – a bit large, sole is aging, good grip in showers;
• a neutral suede sneaker that keeps showing up in my online feed (oh dear…)

Definitely Storing:

• tall dress boots
• true Arctic winter Sorel snow boots
• all dressy-work style shoes
• all other casual shoes

My next debate is, how soon can I donate the shoes not taken, without regrets?