INSTACART

Showing posts with label LiveWithLess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LiveWithLess. Show all posts

12/02/2020

CATCHING UP TO THE PRESENT TIME

We always liked camping. I grew up in Germany and went camping with my parents every year. I'm like my mother. I don't need much, but it has to be organized and easily accessible. I hate wasting time searching for stuff. My parents had a rather big tent to accommodate a family of four. 
One day, many years ago, one of Toms acquaintances gave him something she "found" at the curb to be trashed. It was a rather large JEEP brand bag. At the time we were so involved with our construction mess in the house, that Tom just set it down in the garage and never looked at it. Several months later he decided to take a look at what's inside the bag. I was busy indoors and didn't pay any attention to what he was doing outside. After some time, Tom came inside and asked me to come outside and look. I came around the corner and see this huge beautiful tent! We inspected it; no holes, no rips, all complete! It was perfect! Why would anybody toss a perfectly fine tent like this? We decided on the spot, "we are going camping!" We looked at a few campgrounds within a one hour radius and started camping almost every weekend. 


To move forward to what we are doing now. We still have the tent and will use it again eventually. For now, we've discovered that we can camp comfortably in our van. We own a Dodge Grand Caravan. With the stow-and-go seats folded down, it provides a large platform to serve as a sleeping space. Many years ago we got a full size, dual bladder, Sleep number bed. Over the years the mattress got dirty due to spills and we tossed everything but the bladders. We thought they would still be good as emergency beds. Little did we know. The platform in the back of the van is 4' wide. Too narrow for a full size mattress, and too narrow for 2 twin size mattresses. But guess what? Our two bladders fit perfectly side by side! I cut an old king size flat sheet and created two custom fitted sheets for our new beds. 


Our bedroom

Cooler and luggage

After this discovery, we went on our "test" trip. We didn't know how this would work out and were prepared to opt for a hotel or motel, just in case. To our surprise, we managed this well and spent only one night in a motel because we were not able to find a camp spot before dark. A list of campgrounds is provided on the matching page. We'll add new locations as we continue to travel.

Right away we realized that one bladder was leaking air. It was a slow leak and Tom did not end up on the floor, but that needed to be fixed before our next trip. We had a few nights with temperatures in the low 40s and even high 30s. Air beds are a good option, but as soon as the air inside the mattress gets cold, it feels like sleeping on a block of ice! While tent camping, we used to remedy this by placing a heating blanket UNDER the mattress. Even the lowest setting warmed the air in the bladders and kept us comfortable. Most of the time we stay at campgrounds, and have the luxury of electricity. We stopped at a Walmart and got an electric lap blanket for cars. It was returned the next day because it had auto shut-off that turned off after 3 hours. We replaced it with a regular heating blanket. That solved the problem, as long as we had power. We also had a bunch of hand warmers (to stick under the mattresses) on board, but did not use them. It would be easy to just run the car engine for a while, but that is not allowed at most camp sites and is not the safest option either. There is room for improvement.

Our old electric cooler was alright, but that too was only cooling when the car was running. At times, when we were out hiking or at night, the cooler did not hold the temperature for long. Therefore we opted for food that didn't spoil easily, and went to the grocery store more often than we liked. The idea of a power pack did not work out, because it extended cooling for only four hours. That purchase was also reversed.


This power pack is ideal for charging cell phones or other small devices, but not to run a thermoelectric cooler or an electric blanket.

As we arrived back home, we had some issues that needed to be addressed before the next trip. #1 was the mattress. What a lucky goose I am! Somebody offered an identical mattress with similar soil problems on Face Book market place for $30.00. We didn't care about the condition of the outer shell, as long as it was holding air! We only needed the bladders. A beautiful 2.5 hour drive north was in order to pick it up. At arrival, we found out that it actually came with the plastic box spring! Of course it would be too wide as well, but that can be rigged. The plastic frame is an assembly of multiple side bars and 4 platform covers. Out comes the circular saw. At the middle seam, we cut off about 3 inches on each side, and shortened the platform also by about 3". 

It was an easy job to customize the frame



We tried to fit the bladder with the matching shell, but that too was too wide and too long.

The frame lifts the mattress about 6" off the floor, creating some storage space underneath for items not used regularly. Also, Tom removed the last row of seats, which left a wide and deep hole under the bed. In this space I will have labeled bins with items we need access to frequently, like silverware and cooking utensils, spices, cans, toiletries, meds and supplements, and other odds and ends.

We carry a 5 gallon bottle of water with a USB pump, available at: USB Water pump

Once empty, we refill with two 2.5 gallon jugs available in every grocery store. 

Our new cooler arrived. We selected an Alpicool model available at the link below.

Alpicool cooler  We have tested it and it works well. Problem solved! 

It got pretty stuffy in the van at night, and we were looking for "bug free" ways to open windows and doors. This Hatch tent will be tested in a few weeks.
We also found slip over
Window screens for the front windows. They are super easy to install, fit over the mirrors, and are black to darken the inside of the van.

#vanlife #simplicity #vancamping

12/01/2020

SIX YEARS LATER

Much has happened since our last post in July 2014. Let's start where we left off. Our home did not sell in time, and turned into a rental. Thankfully occupied by our daughter and her family. Back on the island of Fehmarn,
Tom was asked to help the grounds keepers getting the campground ready for the winter season. Cutting back shrubs, securing structures and such. He agreed and was volunteering through October and November 2014.

We were planning and preparing for our own first winter in the camper, when the campground owner approached us with a proposal. She asked if we, since we were the only campers around all winter, would be willing to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing freezes, report damages and mop the office/stairwell as needed. In exchange, we were invited to stay in the apartment above the office overlooking the Baltic sea. That was a "very difficult" decision to make! We moved to the apartment when the water to the campsites was turned off, and enjoyed the luxury of a large livingroom/dining room, a bedroom, a well equipped kitchen, and a bathroom with a deep soaking tub. We even had a car available to drive to the grocery store or get needed parts for the campground. 
It was cold! It's always windy on the island, but during the winter months, it is brutal! We did not have much snow that year, but it was cold enough to freeze the coast.

We spent Christmas and New years in Kassel with our German Family. That was a lot of fun.

In March 2015 we travelled back to NH  for a few weeks. On our return trip we ended up in Rota, Spain for a week. That's what happens when you fly "space A" on military planes. Unfortunately, there was no flight offered from Rota to anywhere in Germany. We ended up taking an endless, horrible bus ride from southern Spain all the way to Hamburg, Germany. From there it was only a short train ride to our island. 
In May I surprised Tom with a 60. birthday trip to Berlin. We stayed at the house of a super nice Couch surfing host through www.couchsurfing.com. We toured the city, and on his birthday we enjoyed a show at the Friedrichsstadt-Palast. The show was called "The Wyld". Similar to Cirque de Soleil. Great performance, great costumes and all in all a huge surprise for Tom.
The summer was warm and we took trips to Hamburg, Lübeck, Bonn, Berlin, Mainz, Kölln, Kassel, Eutin, Dahme, took the ferry over to Denmark, and explored the island.
In June we purchased our own car. We got a cute little used and cheap BMW. It served us very well, and to this day is still in the family.
In October 2015 we came back to the US and stayed there until March 2016. We took a flight from McGuire AFB to Sigonella, Sicily.  It was beautiful. We explored the city, climbed up Mt. Etna, traced the steps of "The Godfather" in Taormina, and then took the ferry over to Malta. We spend only 3 days there. It is on the list to go back and spend more time there.
After we arrived back on Sicily, it was no problem to catch a flight over to Germany. We had the great privilege to travel in the cockpit! That was a first time experience. I loved it!
Summer 2016 was cold and windy. Problems with our rented home in the US turned out to be a big and constant worry. We were contemplating, thinking, revising, until we decided to relocate back to the US and take care of business first and come up with a new plan. Now since we had figured out the SpaceA situation, it really didnt matter much where our headquarters was. We sold the camper and pretty much everything in it and came back to NH for good - for now.
From there we drove across Canada to Madison, WI.
For the remainder of 2017 we, once again, worked on the house to get it ready for the market...again. We really did not want to live in that house, in that State since a few years. We moved away for that reason. After long and hard thoughts we settled on a new location. Close to military bases from which we could fly out to destinations around the globe, and below the snow line. We zeroed in on Virginia and plotted our next move. 
While in the planning stage, we managed to travel to TX, FL twice, a big Canada loop, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Germany.
Finally, in March 2019 we moved to VA. More tenants moved into our home. The market was not in our favor. That rent to own situation turned sour within a few month. In September they vacated the property and left us with much damage and dirt and financial stress. We spent from September to November working on the house - again. Finally by the end of November it was listed for sale. We went back home and anticipated a quick sale, only to find out, on Christmas Eve 2019 that the house suffered extensive water damage due to a frozen pipe. Back to NH we go to assess the damage. Is was not pretty...
We had it all back to normal by February. That's when covit19 started occupying the news.  Long and behold, our home sold at the end of February 2020. After all was set and done, a HUGE burden lifted off our shoulders. We were free! But then again, the pandemic kept us home. We originally had plans to travel to Japan for cherry blossom season. That did not happen. All international travel on military flights stopped completely. 
Today it is December 1. 2020. This crazy year is almost over, but I dont see the care free living, we enjoyed in the past, coming back any time soon. I'm certain that future international travel will require the covit vaccine. That will certainly curb my desire to travel.
We decided to venture out and explore the State of Virginia. We did 2 weeks of van camping along the "Wilderness Road". We started in Winchester, VA and traveled south to Cumberland gap. Then through N. Carolina back to VA. 
We enjoyed it so much that we have two new trips in the planning stage. We are leaving December 16. 2020 to Florida. But that will be in a new post.
Stay tuned. This is going to be fun!

#vanlife #simplicity #vancamping