Believe me, I know it’s annoying to hear someone constantly changing their mind. How do I know? By how annoyed (and how often) people get with me.
Hello — see website name above!
I think the problem is that I can’t visualize what something will really be like until I’ve decided to do it. That makes it real to me. I start planning, thinking about this detail or that, and I start to truly understand whether it will work or not. Normal people? I guess they don’t do it that way.
My mistake, of course, is talking about it.
I should learn to keep my big mouth shut. But talking is part of the process for me. I gotta do what I gotta do, ya know? I yam what I yam: a complete flake.
So here we go:
I want to get out of here. I’m bored. I want to do what I bought this van to do: travel. Also: stealth camping still sucks.
But the money issue hasn’t gone away. I simply don’t have the funds to do anything but wait for the next Social Security check, and the one after that, and the end of rent and utility payments… so we’re talking January.
Now, if I was a normal, patient person, that would be no problem. What is it, six weeks? That’s nothing — to a normal, mature adult. But we’re dealing with my inner toddler here, and she wants to go NOW.
I was agonizing about this in a vandwelling forum last night, and a very kind person who is now where I want to go, Quartzsite, AZ, offered to help me once I get there. She (or he, I can’t be sure — it’s the internet, you know) offered to loan me a solar panel and a few other items so I could have electricity (and thus, stay connected with you folks). Wow!
That was so very tempting… but what about food? Will I be able to find the food I need on my severely restrictive diet? (See, this is one of those things you — okay, I — don’t think about until it becomes real to me.)
And the sun. I’ll be going to the Arizona desert where, even though it’s cool winter now, there is virtually no shade. I will need, at the very least, a fan in the van, and preferably a vent-fan in the roof. Again: $.
I’ve already decided I can make do without most conveniences. I can wash clothes by hand, and keep clean with baby wipes and sponge baths. I can do minimal cooking (warming things up, really) with my backpacker’s camp stove. I can make do without organic, locally-grown produce if necessary.
But do without shade? Not likely.
My mechanic friend is willing to install a steel plate on the ski rack on top of La Vanne, which would go a long way toward keeping her (and me) comfortable during the day, but even though his prices are unbelievably low, I don’t have the money right now — for that, or for whatever emergency might be awaiting me on the road.
See what I mean? Patience, it is a virtue. I need to learn it.
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Hey LaVonne, Here’s something to think about…I don’t think it’s terribly hot right now in Quartzsite. 70’s during the day and 40’s at night? So maybe you don’t need the fan, but if you do, I found a cheapo fan at Walmart that worked very well. As for the shade…
remember David’s set up? It was brilliant and I copied it and loved it. He used D rings (adjustable) to attach a plastic tarp (also cheap at Walmart), to the top of the van and tent poles to make a super delicious awning. I used bamboo poles I had from my garden. I have a link somewhere I can find if you’re interested to where I originally saw this idea.
If you don’t have any attachment points on the van for the D rings, there’s always a beach umbrella.
One of the things I’m looking forward to at the RTR is learning from those who have been doing this for a while and have devised ingenious solutions to these everyday challenges we don’t think much about. I learned so much from David at the summer RTR. I thought his whole set up was brilliant. I know you will find just the thing. Look how far you’ve come!
Yolanda, I loved David’s set up at the summer RTR, and the way you adapted it for your own van. I’ll look for attachment points. But remember, it was a shady spot. You created shade to enjoy outside your van, but trees shaded the van. Even in the 70s, a van in the sun can get pretty uncomfortable for me. I don’t do heat very well. But I guess I will have to get used to sitting outside, since that’s part of the deal.
I think one of my ‘stuck’ points is that I have it set in my mind to do things “right” — like the way Bob Wells recommends or products he recommends — without thinking of possibly cheaper options. On the other hand, I don’t want to spend money on cheap options now that I will just want to upgrade in a couple of months.
Good morning – I can’t offer much in the way of advice for how best to set up your rig but I know lots about impatience. That is the one thing I have to deal with on a daily basis. It is hard to wait when you want something now and are psychologically, emotionally and physically ready to go. As I have gotten older and a little more fearful when I try something new, I always try to have Plan B’s for those imagined disasters. If in my head I have a plan, then I can just relax and go. Money is tricky though and you do need a bit of a safety net. If you have a CC that you can keep just for emergencies. Not too much longer now.
Yes, that’s very sensible. I should be sensible. Of course, you’re talking to a woman who once moved to L.A. with nothing but $41 in her wallet, a car full of stuff, and a car payment.
Yes, I am sensible, it is a curse :))!