I am continuing to “move into” my van. I thought I was just about done, and then the fall weather kicked in. My ultimate goal is to live in places during their warmer seasons, so that I won’t ever really live in “winter” again. But I’m still tied to my building (hasn’t sold yet) so that means winter is coming. Not only will I have to winterize in a week or so (meaning I won’t have running water) but I will also need to put away some of my t-shirts and shorts and bring in some warmer clothes and a winter coat!
But for this week, it is gorgeous fall weather. It is in the mid to upper 60’s each day, and the lows are down in the 40’s at night. We’ve had a couple of rainy days but for the most part it is sunny during the day and clear at night. And so it was a perfect time to go stay in my friend Ginny’s driveway. She lives on the bay, so when I arrived with Chinese take-out, we sat on her deck (it was already getting dark) and watched the stars and planets. Mercury is making a spectacular show in the early evening sky and after awhile, as our eyes got accustomed to the dark, we could even see the Pleiades. We sat, ate, drank and talked about many things, but mostly about gratitude for having gotten to such unusual places in life. It was such a nice visit.
Tomorrow Cosmo and I plan on going to visit my friend Leslie. She is a former soap maker and that’s how we met. She has given up running her own business, and now has more time with her dog and for playing the banjo. I am looking forward to visiting her.
I am still considering my overnights away from my parking lot as “practice trips.” When I stay in my van on my own property, it is very easy to think of something I need and run inside to get it, and to come inside to get a shower or go to work. When I’m in someone else’s driveway, I need to have everything I need with me, and when I don’t, I make a note so I can make sure I have it for next time. One thing I realized is that I have limited battery power onboard. I can run the lights, but the fridge drains the battery in no time. I have to learn how to run it off propane. And in January, my solar package will arrive and that will resolve most power issues.
Until then, I will have to either find places to plug into shore power, run my generator some, or just really budget my electricity.