Opportunity Dances With Those Already on The Dance Floor - H Jackson Brown, Jr

I've Been Preparing Myself for this Trip All My Life! 

(I just didn't know it until now)

Have I mentioned that I have never gone camping voluntarily in my life? ever... I've dated outdoorsy, adventurous people in the past, but me? nah... 

Dad used to work for the Public Health System in Guatemala and he used to work in some remote locations.  I went with him a couple of times, maybe more. It required donkey rides, canoes, hikes through muddy jungle and back of pick up trucks. Mosquitos, spiders, snakes, and scorpions? oh yeah... plenty! I still hate spiders to this day.

Mom says she strongly identifies with Sancho Panza and has never been tempted to go fight windmills... she prefers to stay at home and binge-watch Netflix.  

So, I was surprised to find out that I already had a lot of stuff around the house that I can use for this trip. I've got solar lamps, solar radio, battery operated radios, rechargeable AA batteries (come to think of it, I have a lot of re-chargeable AA and AAA batteries- I wonder why? hmmm), water bottles, 5 gallon water jug, sleeping bag, sleeping pads. Camping chair and table.  I even have those tiny little towels that expand with water and the tiny little rolls of charming ultra...

Coloring Pens and Coloring Books!
Because... Art Happens!

Did I mentioned that I hate spiders?

Had the Solar Panels for the AA batteries

I had this conversation in my head while putting all of these things in "for the trip pile":

"Name one thing you'd need a rope for!?" 

I have solar panels, but I thought it was only good to re-charge my AA batteries.  I did find this handy little "Yeti 150" from Goal Zero - I got it from E bay - but I know that starting today 8/24/2018 they will go on sale at REI -

I also found out that they have a "legacy" cord that allows me to use my little tiny solar panels to charge it! (score) but it will take 72 hours of uninterrupted sun to fully charge ha ha. I bought the car-charger adapter so I can charge it using my car's battery while I am driving.

It was also recommended at the FB groups to get a cargo carrier box... It is a good idea! But I do not want to pay $500.00 for the box and $200.00 for the cross bars... I looked around in Craig's list, and Let-go - but still $200.00 is a bit too much for my wallet.  I spoke with a couple of those "outdoorsy" people I know. They told me the expense may not be worth the extra storage space.  I want to put my "valuables" somewhere rather than just in the car.  While cleaning out the basement I found this box. It has combination locks and I added a laptop security wire with a "huge" lock....

Now I have a more secure box for the laptop and US Passport (I am brown after all) . I took pictures of all my important papers (ID, Credit Card, Health Insurance, AAA, back and front so I ge the "if you loose your card call this number" info) and they are backed to the cloud and on my phone.

 

Now for the next project, it probably would have been cheaper to buy one already done in Amazon - but the point is, I want to try to make do as much as possible.  

I ordered some mosquito netting and powerful magnets - but I think I was a bit short on the fabric

I kept calling around, until someone said, you know, a fabrics store may be a better bet than a hardware store (duh)

A quick search in google informed that JoAnn Fabrics sells mosquito netting among their crafts supplies.

  

One trip latter and an hour or so re-learning how to sew - I managed to attached the magnets with a covering of duct tape.

The duct tape was a suggestion from one of my FB groups! To avoid rust... It also helps reinforce the delicate edges of the mosquito net fabric. So I have a "dome" now!



I even "cameo" the white mosquito netting with black fabric paint - I managed to spray paint my nails, shoes, and the side walk in the process (shhh don't tell the HOA)

Next Post I am going to tell you how to re-purpose an old phone so you can have a "dash cam" :)!