Bus Life & Internet Issues: A Very Real Midwestern Travel Diary
For a big chunk of 2022, we bounced around the Midwest living our best bus life… and dealing with the world’s most dramatic internet connection. If you’ve ever tried to blog from a moving bus or load a map with one bar of service, you already know: bus life and internet issues go hand in hand.
So this is a catch-up chapter — part travel journal, part “here’s what we learned,” and part “why does Starlink hate me?”
Leaving Michigan & Straight Into Chaos
In August, we had rolled out of the Mitten and headed for the Upper Peninsula. Beautiful? Absolutely. Reliable signal? Not even a little. My service went from “sketchy” to “nonexistent,” which is a fun place to be when you rely on the internet for… everything.
But the scenery? Unreal. And if you want to see what we got into before the chaos kicked in, check out our Michigan Adventures page.
Bus Life & Pet Woes: The Scabbers Saga
Right as we were preparing to head toward the UP, disaster: Scabbers — one of our three cats and our full-time chaos gremlin — slipped out of the bus while it was running. If you’ve ever lived with pets on the road, you know that is worst-case scenario territory.
We spent hours trying to coax him out. Hours. And nothing. We had friends nearby who promised to keep an eye out and try to trap him, but leaving without him? Sick to my stomach. It took a long time (and many pep talks from Zach) to pull out of that driveway.
We drove only 15 miles to settle the bus for the night, then came back the next morning. Nothing. It became a daily ritual — drive a little, come back, hope, repeat.
Meanwhile, we had the Skoolie UP event on the calendar. So we left behind food, his carrier, one of my sweatshirts, and an embarrassing amount of hope.
Three weeks later… THEY CAUGHT HIM. Our people trapped him in the carrier and called us immediately. We left the event early, raced back, and scooped him up. Tears? Yes. All of us.
CatDog (his unofficial title) was home again. Even if Heddy hissed at him like she was filing a formal complaint.
Kalamazoo, Bus Repairs & A Quick Reset
Once our crew was complete again, we headed to Kalamazoo to see friends and knock out some bus repairs. Little things, but helpful ones — seat fixes, organizing, actual travel-making sense of the bus.
And since we were nearby, we visited Leila Arboretum, which is absolutely stunning. I’ll eventually build a full gallery for it, but here’s a quick look for now:
Hudson, Illinois & The Spark That Started a Whole Series
From Kalamazoo, we wandered to Hudson, Illinois for an overnight. Internet? Barely. So we went hunting for something to do offline… and that’s when I found out the World’s Largest Square Knot was nearby.
We drove to it. And, well… it wasn’t there. Just a plaque.
But honestly? That disappointment turned into magic — because that’s the day the idea for our World’s Largest series was born. Sometimes the nothing stops become the beginning of something weird and wild!
The Scooter, the Glasses & The Beginning of the Bit
Around the same time, Zach had gotten me an off-road electric scooter. I sent a picture of me on it to my daughter, who immediately said I looked “tiny.” I told her my size was a figment of her imagination — I was actually an Oompa Loompa.
Add in the giant round glasses she had just given me, and suddenly the idea of chasing “World’s Largest” roadside oddities just… fit. It became our bit. And Hudson was our first unintentional intro chapter.
Internet Issues: The Ongoing Villain
All through these stops — Michigan, the UP, Kalamazoo, Hudson — one thing stayed consistent: our internet was a disaster.
Dead zones. Loading screens. One bar of hope. Sometimes not even that.
And honestly? Not much has changed. Even now, Starlink, hotspots, and rural roads team up like they’re trying to see how much patience I have left.
But here’s what we’ve learned so far:
- Have two backup options. Hotspot + Starlink. Or hotspot + public Wi-Fi + a prayer.
- Download maps before you drive. Especially when crossing state lines or going into tiny towns.
- If one bar appears, screenshot everything. Because it might vanish like a ghost.
- Offline days aren’t failures. They’re just bus life… being bus life.
Onward From Hudson
After Hudson, we eventually made our way toward St. Louis — the next big stop on that 2022 route. At the time, we had a whole checklist of things planned, a mix of roadside weirdness and city exploring. That chapter feels like a lifetime ago now, but it was one of the trips that shaped how we travel today.
Looking back at this stretch of our Midwest loop, what stands out isn’t the exact route or the itinerary. It’s the reminder that bus life is always a mix of beautiful stops, chaotic pet moments, and internet issues that somehow follow us no matter what year it is.
Some things change. Some things absolutely do not. And unreliable internet? Apparently that one is a long-term character in our story.
But hey — it keeps the journey interesting.
Bus life isn’t always glamorous, but it’s always an adventure — especially when your internet ghosts you halfway across the Midwest.