Earlier this month, a large, dark grey school bus parked next to the former Charlie's on the Avenue restaurant in Del Ray.
Within days, rumors started to swirl on neighborhood online forums, and the normally-private owner came forward.
The bus is the latest project from one of Alexandria’s most in-demand, award-winning and talented photographers, Sarah Marcella. “The Boudie Bus” (as in boudoir) will be traveling around the country empowering women through photography.
Finding Herself — and a Bus
Late last year, Marcella found herself at a “turning point” in her life. In December, she decided to hit the road in her beloved white Subaru, living out of it — by choice — to challenge herself and figure out a few things about who she was and what she wanted to do.
Friday morning, sitting on a temporary couch in the bus, she said that the 11,000-mile trip was exactly what she needed. “I found my spirituality, gained trust in myself, and I decided that I wanted to do this.”
Driving back to Alexandria from that trip, Marcella stopped by the Skoolie Homes company in Kingsport, Tennessee, which converts school buses into homes. While there, the company’s co-owner offered to sell Marcella the bus that Skoolie Homes had used to demonstrate at trade shows.
“I knew instantaneously: ‘This is my bus,” Marcella said. The 2007 Freightliner bus has a Mercedes engine and a Thomas body, leading Marcella to joke that she’s finally made it — she owns a Mercedes. (In truth, she’s a Subaru woman.)
With just 132,000 miles on it, the bus has long life ahead of it. It’s rated for up to 500,000 miles. The $20,000 bus was already wired for electricity. Over the next few weeks, Marcella will spend about $10,000 outfitting it with a new kitchen, seating area, bathroom and bedroom.
“I’m learning so much. It’s really incredibly empowering doing this,” Marcella said. Her friend, Elizabeth Kukla, whom she met at the co-working space ALX Community in Old Town, has been a huge help. “She’s given me the confidence to do a lot of the work myself because she’s so confident,” Marcella said.
She plans to put bamboo flooring in the small bathroom, install storage cabinets, a closet and pantry area, get custom cushions for seating and a hanging egg chair. She’s not a big foodie so she isn’t too worried about not having a refrigerator, but plans to install a Yeti cooler for when she has food that needs to be kept cold. She also plans to have internet and a cell phone booster for remote areas, and a projector and screen in the van to review photos with clients.
Marcella is used to living in a small space. Her apartment in Old Town is just 300 sq. ft. and rather poorly laid out — and that’s even more space than she needs, she said. She’s been paring down her wardrobe for years and will send her bulky winter clothes to her mom’s house in Maryland for storage until she needs them.
“It’s still going to be an adjustment for sure, but I love not having a lot of material possessions,” she said.
Marcella’s Mom may also inherit the Subaru that Marcella drove cross-country in earlier this year.
Driving the bus is easy in some ways and quite difficult in others: She doesn’t need a special license or any training to drive it, and she said the visibility is amazing. “It’s like driving with a panoramic view. I have no blind spots in this bus, so it’s really easy to drive.”
But it’s also exhausting. She drove it for eight hours one day and felt like she had been driving for 18 hours. The steering wheel vibrates and she has to be hypervigilant about her size, speed and the space around her.
The bus gets less than 20 miles per gallon, she thinks, and the 90-gallon diesel tank costs between $300 and $400 to fill.
Female Empowerment on Wheels
Marcella has named the bus “Shakti,” a term that comes from the Hindu culture and refers to the highest feminine power in the universe.
“Everything about this bus is about female empowerment, including individuals who identify as female – I’m not leaving anyone out,” Marcella said. “That’s who I’m trying to empower and reach with this project.”
“I want to be doing photography that makes people feel amazing and I want to help make women realize their natural beauty. I want to be known for empowering women and not manipulating their bodies. I want to help women love and accept who they are.”
Marcella has been spending her savings to renovate the bus, and she will have to start making money once she’s on the road. She plans to raffle off tickets for the first photo shoot on the bus before leaving Northern Virginia. She already has an event booked in early September in Bend, Oregon, and needs to be in Arizona for another event later that month.
She has plans to work with wineries and host bachelorette parties that will include photo sessions, and also wants to offer special packages for “van lifers.”
“My tagline is ‘More than just nudes’ because I want it to be more about spiritual empowerment and have this boudoir come from within. I want it to be much more natural boudoir,” Marcella explained. “We don’t need all of the masks we put on.”
Wherever It Leads…
Marcella has photo shoots booked here in the Alexandria area through the end of July, and she will hit the road in August. She’s thinking about taking the bus up to see family in Erie, Pennsylvania, and will eventually base herself in California. She plans frequent trips back to Alexandria for work, friends and family.
She doesn’t see herself living on the bus full time, permanently, but she will live on it for months at a time driving around the country empowering people.
For now, she’s living in her small Old Town apartment, and emphasized that she is not living on the bus at the restaurant — it’s just a temporary parking space for now while she renovates and gets ready. She mentioned — more than once — that she’s really appreciative that the owners of the building are letting her park there at all. She won't be in Del Ray long, as she plans to move the bus to a more private location in Arlington soon.
Even though she’ll be driving the bus alone once she leaves, Marcella knows she’ll find a community. Many “van lifers” caravan from one place to the next, looking out for each other, helping each other and even sharing meals.
“A lot of people think that it’s a party lifestyle, but that’s not what it’s about at all. It’s about individuality and independence and not having to be tied to financial commitments, like a mortgage,” Marcella said.
While some people do live out of their vehicle out of necessity, there are a number of unfortunate stereotypes about the growing community of people who have chosen to live life on the road. Marcella said she has met well-paid government contractors who love traveling, young people who can’t yet afford a permanent home and a wide variety of gig workers.
“There’s such a stigma against this type of lifestyle, but it’s actually just this beautiful freedom and, again, you aren’t running from anything, you’re just creating your own life. You’re taking the power into your own hands.”
On the side of the bus, Marcella wants to have a sign: “Expose in power, liberate in love.” She also will move her Subaru bumper sticker over, which says, “I hope something good happens to you today.”
Marcella has a temporary, single-page website at theboudiebus.com, where people can sign up for more information.
She will also be having an open house this Saturday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to talk to people, provide tours of the bus and talk about her project.
“I know that once I get moving on this and am able to show people where it’s going, people will be more excited.”
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