June 2, 2015
I am almost ready to leave San Diego. Today, my son’s mechanic friend Mike finished setting up my solar panel and batteries so that not only does the sun give me power, the van’s starter battery charges the ‘house’ battery (which I use to power my laptop, phone, and other gadgets) when I’m driving! So, even if it’s cloudy or rainy for days, I will always be able to power up.
Boy howdy, do I love technology.
I’ve done all the laundry, cleaned house, and in the morning I will head over to Jiffy Lube to top up, and then to the gas station to fill up. After that, a quick visit with my other son, and Scout and I will hit the road.
It will only be a short trip. I’m going to Big Bear Lake, about 150 miles away (and several thousand feet up) in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles.
My friends Linda May, Silvianne Delmars, and Atli Pommer are waiting there for me. We all bonded while camping for the winter after my first Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) in Quartzsite, AZ, a year and a half ago.
It’s remarkable how deep these new friendships run. Four women from very different backgrounds, three of us old enough to be mother to the fourth, and yet we understand each other better than almost anyone else.
The youngest, Atli, heads back to Canada on Thursday so I will only get a day with her. I will treasure that time because she may not come back this way for a long time. I hope to get up to Vancouver for a visit someday but it won’t be soon. I need to get my financial ship in shape first.
Linda and Silvianne are camp hosting for the summer in Big Bear. I will be boondocking for free and off-grid nearby for as long as the forest rangers will let me. (There are limits, but some rangers are more lenient than others.) Knowing my friends, I expect good food and conversation this summer.
And during the day while they are working, I will be working too, writing and editing more Kindle books. The first of these, Make Customers Love You: a 28-Day Challenge for Your Tiny Business, will be ready soon — and an actual challenge is in the works to coincide with the book launch. If you took part in the Customer Love challenges a few years ago, you know how much fun that will be. 🙂
So it’s my last night in the city. Tomorrow, a new adventure awaits.
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Travel safe, LaVonne and Scout! Give big hugs to Linda, Silvianne and Atli for me!
I wish a wonderful trip to U & little Scout ! Enjoy your friends company & the good food… I’ll be curious, how much power do U get with you solar panel ? Thinking about getting myself one, but the type that’s is portable ( foldable ).
Lucy.
Lucy, I LOVE my portable, foldable solar panel – it’s 100W and I use it to charge one 12V deep cycle battery. I tow a small vintage travel travel (10′ x 6-1/2′) and it’s enough power to run my lights (LEDs), sewing machine, small blender (Magic Bullet), charge all my electronics, etc. As long as I have a couple hours of sun every day, I have enough power for everything I need. If I wanted to go a few days without sunlight, I’d add another battery. — Lois
Hi Lois, thank U the info. is yours a Renogy foldable, the one that looks like a suitcase ?
Will 100 w make a small fridge run ok ?
My regards, Lucy.
Lucy, yes, the panel I have is the Renogy 100W suitcase.
I have a small AC/DC (regular 110 and 12V) fridge that is powered by the battery I currently have. As long as I have sun a couple hours a day, the battery is kept topped off which means the fridge works just fine. The panel size doesn’t affect the running of the fridge – you need a battery capable of running the fridge, and a panel with enough sunshine to keep that battery charged. Of course, more battery and a bigger panel allows for cloudy days and less “keeping an eye on everything” which can certainly be attractive when you travel full time.
— Lois