The test run in the rented van couldn’t have gone much better. My goals were to:
A) See if I could actually live in a tiny metal box
B) See if COSMO could actually live in a tiny metal box with ME!
C) Try out a variety of experiences that I expect to encounter along the road
I accomplished those goals and more. The “tiny metal box” had everything we needed to thrive out on our own. Complete with kitchen, bathroom, bed, dining space (when the bed is raised up into a sofa), TV, front living/office area with table when the passenger and driver’s seats are turned around to face the rear. It was a delightfully efficient space, and everything I needed was at my fingertips. During the 4 days, there was never a time I felt cramped or claustrophobic. Instead, I felt safe, secure and cozy.
The model I rented (Roadtrek Simplicity) is the very basic model. It had no solar panels, no generator, and limited battery capacity. I couldn’t run the A/C unit without being plugged into shore power and the days I was traveling were in the mid to upper 90’s. It turned out not to be a problem. The first night we stayed in a parking lot, because when we start living on the road, even though it won’t be our first choice, the reality is that sometimes we may have to pull into a Walmart or Home Depot parking lot for the night. So I had to experience that, and we did so on the first night out. Easy, Peasy. We just pulled in, I turned on the roof vent (there is a reason they call it a “Fantastic Fan”), and opened the back windows by the bed. The hot air immediately exhausted and a nice breeze came through the windows. It was way more pleasant than I had expected. Cosmo took a few minutes to settle down the first night, pacing a bit and then sitting in the driver’s seat so he could see everything going on outside the windows. But within a few minutes, I called him and he came to bed. We both slept soundly.
Day two, we went to the local dog park and Cosmo played with his buds (canine and otherwise). We drove to a friend’s house and camped in their driveway. They made us lunch and we went for walks and shopped for an extension cord in case we needed to plug into 20 amp service that night so we could run the A/C. We never found what we wanted, but it was a great chance to take Cosmo into Home Depot and Lowe’s. He did well. That was something I worried about; when I get on the road, I will mostly go only places where Cosmo is welcome so I don’t have to leave him locked up in a van. I was pleasantly surprised that he was so well-behaved in the stores. My friends cooked us dinner and we sat in their home and talked until bedtime. We went out to the driveway, and turned on the roof fan and opened the windows. It was hot, but what a gorgeous night. When you lie down and look out at the full moon, proceeded by Jupiter in her trek across the night sky, it doesn’t matter much if you are parked on concrete or in the garden of Eden. The sky looks the same.
I woke with the dawn, and found a new routine for making coffee. No Keurig this morning, so I just boiled some water on the propane stove in my “kitchen” and poured it over the coffee in my French Press. I took my coffee and went back to bed with Cosmo to continue my morning ritual of checking e-mail from my laptop and reading the NY Times on-line. I have a Jetpack from Verizon Wireless that connects me to the internet anywhere I can get a cell phone signal. Around 8:00, our hosts texted and said they were up and making cinnamon buns. We headed in for more coffee, fresh fruit and sweet rolls. I brought in Cosmo’s bowls and he had his breakfast with us.
The third and fourth days we spent at Killen’s Pond State Park in a beautiful campground.
We spent a lot of time outdoors taking walks, or just reading under the green canopy of trees. I had worried a bit, being mostly a Type A person, that I’d have a rough time with retirement. Would I get bored without a full schedule? Would I feel lost without work? Let me assure you, I will settle into retirement iwith no problem whatsoever. It was such a relaxing couple days. I’d get up from reading to go inside and make a meal, and then bring it out to the picnic bench to eat. Cosmo spent most of his time under the table at my feet.
So, as they say at Cape Canaveral, “All Systems Go.” We did so well in the basic van. The van I hope to buy–a Roadtrek Zion–has the same design and layout, but it has upgraded batteries, an automatic, under-hood generator that kicks in should the batteries get low, and lots of solar panels on the roof to keep the batteries charging even when the engine is stopped and the generator is off. So if we made out in the basic model, we will live a life of luxury in the upgraded model.
Now, all that is left is to sell my building and I can buy the van of my dreams and get on the road for real.