Some stops on the road are about seeing a place. This one was entirely about the people.
After wrapping up our Houston house sit on February 25th, we pointed Charlotte toward San Antonio to spend a few days with Ethan’s childhood best friend Nathan, his wife Cat, and their son Ezra. We arrived Wednesday night and stayed through early Sunday morning, and every single minute was worth it.
Coming back to a kid who stole our hearts
This was our second visit with this family. The first time was last year, right around Ezra’s birthday, and it was the first time we had ever met him. We left completely smitten. There is something about this kid that just gets you. He is sweet and smart and the kind of almost-six year old who will sit down with you and talk about Pokémon with complete sincerity and total expertise. We knew coming back to celebrate his birthday early this year was going to be special.
Ezra was turning six the Wednesday after we left, so we made sure to celebrate before we hit the road. We were not about to miss that.
The great fish convincing of 2026
Cat had been wanting to get Ezra fish for a while. He had been asking for them, she was on board, and the only remaining variable was Nathan. So we took it upon ourselves to help make the case. It did not take much convincing, honestly.
What we did not anticipate was how much we did not know about fish.
We walked into Petsmart as complete beginners with a simple plan: get Ezra a goldfish. That plan lasted about five minutes. Turns out goldfish need a lot more space than you would think, and the tank size we had in mind was not going to cut it. We grabbed a 5 gallon tank first, thinking that would work. It would not. Then we were told we needed a 20 gallon for goldfish, which was not going to fit in the space they had available. So we landed on a 10 gallon tank and had to find a fish that would actually be happy in that size.
Which meant convincing a soon-to-be six year old to let go of the goldfish dream.
He took it like an absolute champ.
We ended up setting up a 10 gallon SpongeBob themed tank, because obviously, and then came the part nobody tells you about: you have to let the tank run for a few days before the fish can actually go in. So we had to explain that to Ezra too. No fish yet, buddy. Soon though.
He handled that with the same grace. The kid is a trooper.
They went back on his actual birthday and he came home to six guppies in a SpongeBob tank. Apparently he was a very happy boy.
151 Pokémon and a very good weekend
If you want to know what we did for most of the visit, the answer is Pokémon. Ezra had an encyclopedia, and we spent a huge chunk of the weekend working through Google’s feature that lets you catch all 151 original Pokémon. We would spell out names, guess which one it was, and work through the list together. We got all 151 by the end of the weekend. It was so much fun, the kind of fun that reminds you why spending time with kids is the best.
When we weren’t deep in the Pokémon world, we were just hanging out. Talking, eating pizza, letting Ezra and Rooster figure each other out.
That last part deserves its own mention.
Rooster meets Ezra
Ezra was scared of Rooster at first, which is fair. Rooster is a lot. He is energetic and enthusiastic and does not really understand the concept of personal space. But by the end of the visit, Ezra was chasing him around the yard and giggling, and Rooster was in absolute heaven. Watching that shift happen over just a few days was one of those quiet little moments that sticks with you.
When it was time to leave Sunday morning, everyone cried. We are not ashamed of that at all.
What nomadic life does for old friendships
There is something really special about the way van life has let us drop into the lives of people we love, even if just for a few days at a time. Ethan and Nathan go way back, and getting to see that friendship in the context of Nathan’s family, his wife, his kid, his home, is a different kind of connection than a phone call or a quick visit home ever gives you. We parked Charlotte in their driveway, settled in, and just got to be present for a few days.
We have loved both visits with this family and we are already looking forward to the next one. Ezra is going to be seven before we know it.
Rooster, not ready to say goodbye.
Up next
We left San Antonio early Sunday morning and headed west toward the desert. Next stop: Guadalupe Mountains, and a landscape that never gets old no matter how many times we see it.
Do you have people along your route that you make a point of visiting every time you pass through? Tell us about them in the comments, we love hearing about the humans who make this lifestyle so worth it.
Wandering with Charlotte 
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