There were three things I knew going into this #VagabondLife gig: (1) I was doing it solo. (2) Some days would probably suck, for various reasons. (3) I was going to make a mistake sooner or later that would rock my world, and not in a good way. What I didn’t count on was all three of those things happening all at once, which made for a very bad Saturday. So bad, to be honest, that after I got my trailer parked for the night, I unlocked it and then sat inside and cried. A lot. I felt like the world’s biggest screw-up…
Westward Ho: Day 2
Ah, this was a good day. Woke up a bit later than usual, and I can attest that the blackout blinds in the Alto are really good. I opened one and was almost blinded by sunlight! All that sunshine was good for the solar panels. After a night of running the heater at 55F and the iPhone white noise program (helps mask the sounds tinnitus makes), the battery meter stood at 12.6, after starting at 12.9 the previous evening. Sweet! And the solar just works, I don’t have to remember to turn it on, so I love that part. Breakfast…
Westward Ho: Day 1
As I was driving today, I thought of calling this post “All the Single Ladies” after the Beyonce song because here’s the message especially for solo women who might be thinking this is all really complicated and hard and it would be crazy to consider doing it yourself. It’s not. It’s not super easy, but like most good things in life, a little work goes a long way to a big payoff. This towing an Alto is pretty easy stuff: Get the mirrors adjusted right. It took me about 5 seconds on the highway to realize the function of the mirrors,…
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The good parts of the day first… Today’s sunset was amazing. The KOA might be hard by a freeway, with the attendant noise, but the sky is amazing. This is #nofilter stuff right here, people. I didn’t need to change a thing. Unhitching the car was OK. I went slowly, and thought about each step before I did it. And the two were finally separated, so I could drive off to Walmart. And buy food and paper towels and dish soap. Such an exciting trip. Now for the bad parts of the day, both involving new skills I obviously am still…
The Adoption of Breeze
Bella and I pulled into the Safari Condo parking lot this morning, ready to adopt the newest member of our little vagabond tribe. There she was, waiting in the bay, complete with a red bow and a welcome sign: Then it was a day of learning so many new things that I think my brain grew another brain just to try and hold onto the flood of knowledge the Alto grandmaster, Denis Messier, passed along to me. Full tour of outside, then inside, every single thing had something special to remember about it. Kudos to the crew that took care…