30 SOMETHING HOURS TO DEPARTURE

I'm so glad I got the laundry done yesterday! It was so raw here today. Rain and ice cold wind all day. 

Tom had an oil change done, all fluids and tires checked. The van is in top shape. I used today to do a detailed pedicure, because for the next three months it will only be touch up and maintenance. 

Talking about maintenance - this morning we found out that all three members of our apartment management and maintenance team were terminated. No notice, and the transition to the new team took place today. With the original team, we felt very comfortable leaving for several month and never had issues. We did go to introduce ourselves to the new property- and maintenance manager and discussed our absence and the few things we need them to take care of while we are gone. They seemed nice at first impression. We shall see what, if at all, anything will change.

It feels really good to be ahead of schedule and not feel rushed or stressed. Tomorrow will be an easy day of loading last minute odds and ends, strap the chairs to the roof and go grocery shopping. 

We leave Wednesday and should be able to build Zen towers in the afternoon. I did see that it is supposed to rain though.

ODDS AND ENDS

TIME & DATE

Juice Plus+ came in today. We are now covered for about 4 month without reordering. Juice Plus+ is the one thing we refuse to travel without. Especially in 2020, we know how important it is to keep our immune system strong and responsive. Sometimes it is a bit challenging to feed ourselves in the same healthy ways we maintain at home. So far, we managed to bridge the few days when it was raining hard outside. But even if we eat junk for a day, we don't feel so guilty knowing that we have JP+ in our blood stream to protect us. 

The weather forecast changed and so has my schedule. It is supposed to rain on Monday. That's when I had planned to do last laundry. That will now happen tomorrow. We chose not to have a washer/dryer inside our apartment, and I have to walk a few feet outside to the laundry facility. Well, what's done is done!

More reinforcement of the bed is needed. The frame was sliding due to the vibration and bumps on the road. We'll adjust that tomorrow. A little bit if re-packing is also needed as more items have entered the van. I just want to make sure I get to the things I need easily without having to unload half the car. 

By Tuesday night, we should be all packed and ready to go the next morning, The first leg of our trip is only about 2.5 hours and as of right now it's supposed to rain there. I'll just ignore that bit of information. It will be dry by the time we get there!

Ziploc bags!

Ziploc bags - a must have item for campers! I'm so happy they finally offer 2 gallon bags too. Instead of keeping 150 tea bags in this big square cardboard box, I transferred them to 4 quart size ziploc bags. They use much less space this way, are easy to slide into small spaces in the big bin and my teabags are never subject to moisture or bugs. I fill the bag, and sit on it as I zip the bag, to get (almost) vacuum sealed results.

I always transport plenty of them and when they are not soiled, I reuse them often. Even for transport, I take them out of the box and roll them into a big roll with an elastic band around. Again, it takes much less space in the bin. We usually buy in bulk. Having plenty of the items we constantly use on hand, prevents trips to the grocery store. Space is a serious concern when VanCamping with 2 people for about three month. Efficiency packing, loading and organizing becomes a game of Tetris! The big hole where the rear seats were is fantastic!

We have 7 more days until we leave. The van is almost completely packed, suitcases are also just about done. Most of the missing items have to go through the laundry next Monday.

I got my hair cut today. I was sporting the "Covid19" style. No style at all, my hair just grew. Now I have a medium short sunshine cut, appropriately for Florida. 

Everything we had on order from Amazon and other places has arrived and nothing else is in transit. Our mail forwarding order starts on Dec. 15. Tom will fill you in on our mail arrangements in the next post.