Ennui at Storrie Lake: a "Hard Life" production

Hanging out with the women here is fun. In the mornings, Jeannie and Annie take me out for a drag with the dogs.

I'm in good company here, so I have only myself to blame for my ennui. If I were just bored, that would be ridiculous. In French, it is indisputably très mauvais. It will be another nine days, and then the cast will be off. Doctor, will I be able to play the piano! Great! I never could before!

We are not amused.

I don't like to dwell on my restlessness, or the brief episodes of existential WTH I experience on the road. It wouldn't matter where I was, these things would still happen, but I'd be stuck in one place with them. I only mention them because people sometimes think their mental imps will stay behind when they hit the road, only to find they have stowed away in a basement bay. We all still have our work to do.

I have been field-testing my small generator with its plug-and-play solar panel.

The generator is a small, sealed battery plus an inverter. It can be charged with solar, with a 12-volt cigarette-style car port while driving, or with AC from an outlet. 

In turn, it charges my laptop (via 12-volt port or AC), all my devices (Nook, phone, wifi devices) via USB ports, and my camera battery via AC outlets. PLUS, it is a car battery jump-starter.

If you need only USB charging, the solar panel has two USB ports on its own and doesn't need the generator/inverter go-between. It is a 27 watt unit, nicely foldable and portable. It could be hung from a backpack to keep your devices charged on the trail.

If you always have ready access to AC, you wouldn't need the solar panel. The combo works well for me.

Overall, I like it. I can keep my laptop charged without running the engine, and I will also be able to use it when I'm stationary and off-grid, like at my cabin. I feel reassured having a jump start ready to go if I should need it on the road.

On the con side, it would be nice to have more capacity (I think it's a 26 Ah battery). Although, if it were much bigger I couldn't carry it.

I look forward to seeing my friend, Betty, on the way back down to Las Cruces (if she'll be at home). I will also be glad to see Annie and David in Truth or Consequences when I pick up the remnants of my possessions from their house. I'll leave something else behind, so there's always a "reason" to stop back by.

Edited October 28, 2014: The Duracell Powerpack shown here is not the unit I purchased. Reviewers say the new model does NOT have solar-charging capabilities, so that's a razzberry and two thumbs down. 

How to get a non-resident library card in Pima County, AZ

Just ask.

I got my very first non-resident library card this week! It's so exciting! I can request old-school books (made of paper) I've been wanting to read, instead of settling for what I can find at yard sales. And, Pima County libraries have cool e-privileges. It was all very easy; I got my card right then, and took home three items.

Please check out Never-Ending RV Trip, with Troy, Trina, and their five (5) kids. They are full-timers - yay! They've been on the road for a year, but have only recently begun to blog.

Weekenders drive out to the desert to blow off gaseous vapors. 

Speaking of steamy women, some of us RVing gals got together for lunch at Jo's (Mom's Little Run Away) house. We met Sunny from Changing Lanes. Also the lovely-but-unblogged Terri, and the equally-lovely Lucy.

Jo

Sunny

L to R: Annie, Jo, Sunny, Terri, and Lucy. Held: Fred

There were so many RVing ideas that my brain stopped listening. I hope Annie was paying better attention. I was just hanging out and basking. Jo pours big glasses of wine. In between bites and slurps I heard things like skeletal remains. On the way out the door I saw Annie scoop Fred into her jacket, but so did Jo. Then things got ugly.

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Texas rest stops need love, too.

Easy-out through Corpus Christi, and the seashore gravitational pull has been broken.  We had to wash most of the gravity off at a car wash with a series of delicate, yet demanding, maneuvers involving removing the Prius, the tow dolly, reattaching the two in reverse, pulling around, taking two bays, 122 quarters, two naughty words, becoming completely drenched, reattaching tow dolly, reconnecting the Prius, smudging my almost-clean-enough shirt, and Annie pulling her shoulder.  Later, we found sand in every crevice, and then there's the rig. [RIM SHOT]

These cormorants are just praying the salt comes off.  Why did we vacation here? I wanted to visit my mom in St. Augustine!

We were pleased to spend multiple units of time with Chris, another full-timer who will eventually be cajoled and shamed into blogging again.  

Photo by Teri

No, c'mon!  Not my backside!

Seriously, what is wrong with you?  Not my backside!

Honest, Chris, all the frontward pictures I took came out blurry!  It's like your frontside is a vampire.  Oh!  My mistake - here's a good one.




Teri is a full-timer who was cajoled and shamed into meeting us.  She caught the trolley, which was quickly controlled with ginger ale and bed rest.  It was good to spend time with her and learn more of her story.  She's in the pre-retirement set like Annie and me, and she has some interesting ideas for suitable employment that I'll try when times become desperate.

"Whatever you do, just don't post my picture to your blog."  Always happy to comply.*

We're in for the night at a Texas rest area, where they have free wifi. It's not strong enough to stream videos or TV - the gold standard - but plenty for surfing and blogging. Not good blogging, but it's fast enough for obnoxious posts.

We watched an honest-to-Pete murmuration at sundown. Please watch this and pretend these young women are us:



They are so graceful and lovely, those starlings, and they really only want a place to sit for the night. We're like them, we Road Starlings. Beautiful and flowing, restless yet weary, and ready to settle in for the night with wifi and Nutty Bars.

*In real-life, I always comply with photo requests.  If you don't want your picture here, it will never see the light of day.  Unless you're Chris' backside.

Let the pickle chips fall where they may.

Our new friend, Chris, joined us at the lagoon last night!  We had fun!  We see eye-to-beak on a lot of things besides just RVing.  One thing we did not agree on:

She thought it was warm enough to swim.  I disagreed.

Chris was having genny issues of her own with her Onan MicroLite 2.8 KW generator. The problem sounded similar enough to ours that Annie thought they could fix it without Camper Clinic in Rockport.

We're going to make it work now, okay?

Jubilation!  It's charging again!  

There's another story I have to tell THE RIGHT WAY before someone else tells it wrong.  I pulled a jar out of the pantry, and the hugest, meanest, ratty thing ever encountered fell out of the cupboard.  First, it roared at me, then bared its teeth RIGHT IN MY FACE, then dropped to the ground and swaggered into the bedroom.

I've lost that 30 seconds forever, but Chris had to double over, so amused-at-my-expense was she.  I (allegedly) make a sound that (allegedly) turned two of the cats to stone and made Annie temporarily lose continence (allegedly).  I may have also lost continence, judging from the evidence when I came back around, or else I broke the pickles on my crotch.

You remember we visited Judy and Emma in Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.  Birds.  Remember now?   She had dozens of mice.  We were smug.  Mice in a rig!  we snickered behind our hands.  Would you like to borrow a cat (hur hur hur)?

I released the hounds into the bedroom, and within five minutes our Ellen gave us a tenderized mouse woodchuck and that was the end of the drama, except for my change of clothes.

 

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Some of you guys who don't have your own Amazon link have continued to use our link for your purchases - thank you!  We are very grateful.

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Bloggy despair

Renowned fecal RV blogger, The Midlife Cruiser, is hanging up her keyboard and settling down. I'm so happy for her, whatever. WHAT ABOUT US???



               

O, what a noble blog is here o'erthrown

Nellie and Jonathan have found a place they'd like to call home, so let's wish them a Happy Staying.  

Annie said, "Nellie knows there will be a hole in the Internet where pooping dogs used to be."

Good luck, you guys!  

Here you go. It's generosity.

I dreamed I started a band and named it Dixieland Stain.

Our friends,  Darlene and Downwind Nicole, have started their new life and their new blog, Where the Wind Goes.   They're finally living in a van down by the river!  Woohoo!

 

One thing, ladies:  you have comments turned off, and THAT WILL NOT DO.  I will just text you my comments in the wee hours.


I read Kahlil Gibran to Annie this afternoon, but it didn't go well.

R: Those who give you a serpent when you ask for a fish, may have nothing but serpents to give. It is then generosity on their part.

A: I get that. It's like when some guy goes, Man, can I have a dollar? and you give him a turd.

R: Because that's all you have. It's generosity. I don't have any money, but my pockets are full of turds. Here you go.

A: Turds were buy-one-get-one so I stocked up.  You're welcome to have some.

R: Okay, I'm going to start reading again. Let him who wipes his soiled hands with your garment take your garment. He may need it again; surely you would not.

A: Because you just gave him a turd.

Some cool things, and a cry for attention.

Have you heard of this crazy thing?  I know southwestern stick homes have these swamp coolers, but I didn't realize they were available for RVs.  RVs are now officially better than stick houses (because of the wheels and engine-thing).  You know I'm interested, to be talking about cooling while my long-johns ice over.


Very recently I discovered a network of women RVers, many of whom are solo rig owners.  Jennifer, of Living In My Car, set up a group to gather us in one spot, presumably to hose us all down and get us looking presentable again.  The last few weeks have been hard on my spirits, but finding these women and their blogs has turned me around.  No more shall I wander the streets, looking in vain for blue skies or a precious ray of sun.  I will hunker down, read these inspiring blogs, and stop whining.*   You should check them out, too;  you've been a little mopey lately yourself.



*Offer may be withdrawn without notice.  Not available in northeastern or Pacific Northwest states, Vancouver, Scandinavia, or the Arctic Circle.  Reasonable limits apply.