Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Month: March 2019

Winter at Palm Oases in the Desert

March 31, 2019 / / 49 Comments

Disclaimer: Mark and I are wimps when it comes to cold weather. We realize that a lot of people in North America have to deal with extreme winter conditions. To them, this post might come across as whiny and we might be called “spoiled brats”. We’ll take it, as long as we don’t have to move up north! 😊

The first winter Mark and I were back in the United States after sailing on Irie in the tropics for eight years, we decided to house and pet sit in Massachusetts and Connecticut. “Since you’ve never shoveled snow in your life, you have to experience it at least once,” my husband reasoned. Despite 2015-2016 being a “mild” winter, one of those in New England was enough. And, I did get to play in the snow

The following fall, we drove our little Prius across the country for a winter of house sitting in Northern California. Who would have guessed it’s actually chilly there during that period of the year? We needed to run the heat or start the wood fire every morning and the following spring was the coldest and wettest in ages. We seem to attract extremes, which put an end to the long drought in California. You’re welcome!

Our next plan to stay warm during the winter was a 3.5-month house sit in San Diego, CA. The days were alright, but the old house wasn’t insulated well. And, who turns the heat on in San Diego? It was another cold winter for us, followed by an extremely chilly and windy spring in New Mexico. Obviously, we were starting to run out of options.

Green desert in Borrego Springs, CA – yes, that’s snow on the hills

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The Value of One Dollar

March 27, 2019 / / 50 Comments

“It’s only a dollar,” most people say when they spend it. But a dollar here and there amounts to many dollars. You can all do the math. Mark and I are frugal beings. We save a dollar here when checking our supermarket receipts and challenging mistakes. We save a dollar there not buying a treat. We save several dollars by looking at GasBuddy to find the cheapest diesel in our area. Being conscious about our spending habits “saves” hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. We say “Nope, let’s not buy that grill for our camper yet” until it drops in price and we convince ourselves “We don’t need more stuff.”

Other times, we agree we shouldn’t go out for dinner or join people to have a beer at a bar. These outings are expensive; we can eat and drink for much less at home. Often, we promise ourselves we’d use the money we didn’t spend on splurge A for splurge B another day. That day, of course, never arrives. This is our way of life – whether we like it or not, it allows us to stretch the money we have.

One of these months I hope to write a more detailed blog post about how we manage to make our money last and offer tips of how we stay on a tight budget, but today I wanted to share a few examples of how one dollar can be “stretched”. It’s only a dollar, but it can mean so much more.

East Jesus art scene
Our view from the Cadillac in East Jesus
TV screen interpretations

Recently, one dollar gave us: Continue reading

Slab City, CA – Friend or Foe?

March 22, 2019 / / 51 Comments

If you live in California, you might have heard about Slab City, a free-for-all community of squatters – mostly in RVs (Recreational Vehicles) – in the middle of the Southeastern California desert. The area is an abandoned military base with leftover concrete “slabs,” where rules don’t exist. It has quite the bad reputation, especially by people who have never been there.

I first learned about Slab City when watching “Into the Wild” (directed by Sean Penn and released in 2007). This true story about 20-something Chris McCandless searching for freedom and the meaning of life, was written by Jon Krakauer in 1996 and later turned into a movie. Slab City was briefly featured in this tale, which resonates with me and has my favorite soundtrack (by Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam).

Boondocking on the edge of Slab City – the muddy hot springs here didn’t look appealing
Approaching Slab City
Slab City appears like a wasteland. The gloomy weather sure contributed to that.
Vendors along the side of the road
Slab City “city limits”
Church of Slab City

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Birthday Weekend Abroad

March 13, 2019 / / 69 Comments

When you live together 24/7 in a small space, it’s incredibly difficult to surprise your spouse. How do you sneak out and make your way to a nondescript store without your absence being noticed? What do you answer when asked “Where have you been?” Or, how do you order a gift online without an address? When we were house sitting, there was an opportunity to intercept the mailman and hide the package, but now that we travel full-time in Zesty again, I was at a loss about what to get or do for Mark’s birthday on March 1st. Believe it or not, but it was stressing me out. It’s one of the few events we celebrate, so it has to be done in style, despite my husband saying he didn’t care.

Before – Dodge
After – Mercedes

Ever since we’ve owned our Mercedes Sprinter Westfalia camper van, Mark has wanted to change the Dodge grill with the Mercedes one. These two engines are exactly the same, but for some reason, the van was “branded” as a Dodge when imported from Germany in 2005. The little Dodge emblem on the hood was immediately replaced, only costing a few dollars. But the grill replacement was vetoed by me. $70 for something cosmetic? That money would be better spent elsewhere on the van. After 1.5 years in our possession, Zesty was still driving around as a half Dodge/half Mercedes. Mark was getting antsy. He found the Mercedes grill on sale, and I said: ”Great! That’ll be your birthday gift.” I have to agree, our van looks much better now.

Installing the new Mercedes grill

Yet, a car part doesn’t constitute a good birthday gift. Continue reading

Monthly Expenses – February 2019

March 9, 2019 / / 21 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂 Since July 2018, Mark and I have been combining van life in our Zesty and house and pet sitting, which we did full-time before that. The best of both worlds! 

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts. If a non-emergency were to happen outside of that state, it will be expensive! For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

The last days of February, we boondocked (free camping) just north of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ

In February, our van was our home as we traveled and camped in California and Arizona. We finally replaced the grill, something Mark wanted to do from the moment we bought Zesty 1.5 years ago, but I vetoed, seeing it as an unnecessary expense. When he found a good price, I caved. We were actually on track for the cheapest month in a long time - less than $700 - despite the extra costs for taxes, propane, clothes, and a dump station (we rarely pay for this, but couldn't find a free one in the Borrego Springs, CA area, where we stayed for ten days). Then, we filed the form for my naturalization (citizenship) application on February 28th: $725. Just like that, our monthly expense more than doubled on the last day of the month!

Old Dodge grill
New Mercedes grill

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IWSG Writing Update March 2019 – My Road to Publication Step 2: Submitting to Agents

March 6, 2019 / / 51 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My book progress

Last month, I decided to share my personal road to publication, starting with the non-fiction book proposal. You can read that post here. Such a proposal is needed to pitch a memoir to an agent or publisher. I’m pursuing the traditional publishing route first, since one can “always self-publish later.” Continue reading

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