Who we are
We’re Michael Hetisimer and Haley Sparger. We’re two twenty-somethings that decided, instead of buying a house and settling down, to travel the world and make memories full-time!
Why a bus?
Haley’s had a dream to travel the world most of her life. Before she graduated college, she tossed around the idea of booking a one-way flight to Australia, and figure it out from there.
Mike’s not quite the risk taker Haley is, and proposed starting with the US first. They bought a used 2006 Grand Surveyor travel trailer and an F350 and began their journey.
Not after long, they discovered some of the shortcomings of traditional RVs and Travel Trailers. Namely, they’re not made with the best quality. The TT they bought needed consistent repairs, and it seemed in rougher shape after each trip it made. It was clear that a travel trailer wasn’t the answer.
After seeing a school bus parked in a campground we were visiting, Haley discovered the term “skoolie.” They realized that for less money than a conventional Class A bus, they could convert a used school bus into a customized RV, built with better materials and designed to support their lifestyle.
How did you meet?
It’s something out of a storybook, honestly, and takes place back in the spring of 2014.
I (Mike) was twenty-two and was working Full-Time at Aldi, a grocery store in my home town. I’d taken off the Spring semester at my college to focus on my family, after helping take care of my father until his passing the prior November.
It was late February when my closest friend and Fraternity brother Ernie gave me call. “Mike, we’re going to PCB (Panama City Beach) for Spring Break, you’re coming, right?”
I needed a change of pace, and luckily, my boss was understanding enough to give me a week of vacation with only a few weeks notice.
The Friday of the weekend trip I jumped in the car, picked up my friends, and we cruised down to PCB. The first couple of days were spent partying, running around, and generally just having a good time.
The following Sunday evening, we were all hanging out in the hotel room (There were 8 of us sharing a one bedroom unit!), preparing to go out to the club, when I decided to jump the gun and head out early.
I left my friends behind and made my way down the hall to the elevator (we were on like the 7th floor) and waited for it.
Once it came, I hopped in and the doors were just starting to close when the door to the unit in front of the elevator popped open. Out came a girl and I held the door to the elevator so she wouldn’t have to wait.
Right behind her came the prettiest woman I’d seen that trip, Haley.
Her and her friend jumped into the elevator, and we made some small talk. It turns out they were on their way to the club as well, and Haley invited me to tag along.
For the next several days, her and I talked, walked the beach, and hung out. At the end of the trip, she spontaneously blurted out, “You should come to Lubbock some time!”
For the next few weeks, we texted, called, Skyped, all the time. I knew she was something special, and for some reason was crazy enough to be interested in me.
So I asked for a weekend off from work, and did the unimaginable. I booked a flight to Lubbock, Texas to see a girl I knew for six days over Spring Break.
The rest from there is history. We took turns flying back and forth to visit one another, and once I graduated college in December of 2015, I packed up my car, and made the thousand mile drive to Lubbock, and never looked back.