(cheerful rock music)
Hi, Rachael.
My name is Craig Gordon here,
and I am coming to you from my home on the road here,
in my 1999 Bluebird school bus
that I converted last year
with the help of my friends and family.
After a failed business deal
at the very beginning of COVID last year,
I ended up, at 27 years old, home on my parents' couch,
starting fresh again.
I thought about the big picture of what I wanted to do,
and if the big goal in my golden years at 65
was to get an RV, and go see the country,
well, why should I wait 40 years to go do that?
So I got online.
I started looking at Sprinter vans
and trailer tiny homes, and buses,
and I finally found the perfect bus.
It was in South Dakota.
I flew out there, and I bought the bus.
(upbeat music) (diesel engine rumbling)
I drove it 28 hours, all the way back to Massachusetts,
so we could get busy on the renovation.
And I had this amazing moment,
pulling in and seeing the look on my parents' faces
of me driving this big school bus.
And it's just been such an amazing journey since then.
So in early May, we began ordering and building this bus
the exact way that I wanted to have it.
We took this bus from just the hollow insulated shell,
and we've created what you see today.
So the first thing you will notice about this school bus
is it is not a school bus anymore.
We've got the residential door here on the front
with a security pad.
We've got a large, 20-inch roof raise
here in the living area.
We've got an outdoor outlet there,
and some beautiful, big storage boxes underneath.
We've also fitted it with a custom motorcycle deck
to allow me to transport my street legal motorcycle.
Climbing up to the roof here,
we've got the roof deck, solar panels and some skylights.
All right, come on in and make yourselves at home.
Welcome aboard the Bluebird school bus.
I want to start here, in the front driver's area of the bus.
I have not touched a single thing up here.
I wanted to keep this history alive,
and it's just such a beautiful thing.
We'll move over here now to show Rachael Ray my kitchen,
which is a terrifying statement to be making,
but here we go, nonetheless.
We've got recycled cabinet bases here on the bottom.
We've got slide outs for full range
and ease of use,
a three burner propane cooktop and oven,
and a epoxy poured countertop
that I made in my grandparents' garage.
And long throw in the drawers was essential,
so these drawers are almost the entire length underneath,
which maximizes the storage here
in this already tiny space.
Stainless steel sink here.
We've got full running hot water in the bus,
courtesy of a 100-gallon freshwater tank
back there underneath my bed,
a stainless steel fridge and freezer.
And on top of the refrigerator, we've got the espresso bar.
This is my favorite part of the whole bus.
I love my coffee, and waking up every morning,
and getting that look out that windshield
out into the woods,
and make myself a nice cup of coffee,
is just such a special thing to me.
This is where I eat, and I made this table back in 2011
as my senior project in high school.
So it was so special
to be able to wheel this out of my childhood home,
and now use it as a dinner table.
This is like a very realistic looking white brick.
It's a thick raised foamboard.
So in addition to looking real,
it is also very lightweight, which is an absolute win
when you're trying to focus on weight savings.
We've got the closet here, my shoe rack down at the bottom,
and then I have additional storage for my clothes
here under the bed, in that dresser.
The walls in the bedroom are my favorite in the bus.
This is a Japanese wood-burning technique
known as Shou Sugi Ban,
and it just brings the grain of this wood to life.
On the wall here, we've got the tankless hot water heater,
which allows me to monitor my water usage,
and I can also determine what temperature
I want my water to be.
We've got our bathroom sink and mirror,
which is also used for storage.
And we've also got tons of storage
underneath this entire sink here.
Moving on to the shower,
this is real blue glass shower tile, there on the back wall,
underneath a 14 inch-rainfall shower head.
And we've got those two big skylights
you saw right over the bed and the shower,
letting in tons of natural light.
I'm so glad you all stopped by.
I've been so grateful
to be able to share this Bluebird home with you.
Goodbye.
(chimes tinkling)