Chinita's WanderList

Every day I try to take little steps towards prepping me for the road trip. Small completed tasks become completed projects. The belongings are packed and in storage bins.  I am happy to report that most of the clutter was donated, re gifted, etc.  There will be more decluttering when I come back in January. The more "stuff" I hold on to, the more anchored I feel.  Less stuff less worry! On the prepping front, I have now invested in "Reflectix" material to create heat reflectors for the car windows and privacy during nap times. I used liquid fabric glue and fabric from the $ Store and created these!! My home economics teacher must be spinning in her grave - I didn't use any measuring tools or templates... just eyeballs and a sharpy. In the food supply area, I am going to "try" on keeping it "low carb".  I found out that Costco has a sale on "premier protein" shakes - so I am hoardi...

How to Pack Like a "Girly-Girly" Woman that I am. I have never gone camping voluntarily in my life.  However, I am a traveler. I have been blessed to have visited many exotic locations in the past.  Kenya and Tanzania during a photo-safari back in 2006, a river cruise in the Nile in 2008, a cruise to Alaska back on 2016, etc. So, even thought I don't know much about camping, I do know how to pack in an efficient way.  I am thrifty and don't like to pay for extra luggage charges. I have to pack for a sixtyish day road trip that includes both early winter and then warm temps on the loop back.  Challenge accepted. I am using these handy "toiletries" bags to pack: toiletries, bug spray/sun screen, and chargers/batteries/electronics peripherals. In the process of packing away other stuff, I realized that I have these little Ikea organizers.  These are perfect to help me separate items inside of the clothing container.  One for t-shirst, one for...

No Hot Coffee? Le Gasp!  It was with a bit of a shock that I realized the other day: no 7-11 at the woods... From MD Renaissance Fair Vendor - 2010 So I checked in with a group of wonderful women in Facebook and I asked their advice and turns out I am not the only one who has confronted this obstacle.  Fortunately I can count with a brain trust just a couple of keystrokes away! There were many suggestions, for example get cold brews (already made) or get cold brews instant coffee.  Really good ideas for when I am in my South West Leg.  However, for the Western Expansion leg (Maine to Oregon) - I am going to be driving right at the beginning of the winter season and for what I have read, I am going to need warm yummy coffee in my tummy early in the morning.  Hot Chocolate in the evening and maybe even some apple cider. So following their advice, I decided to get a butane stove.  I had to google what butane is.  I was THAT clueless... but ...

Motion Sensor Perimeter Detection System  on a shoestring budget.  I've been crawling the internet for ideas and inspiration for this trip.  I also have joined many groups in Facebook for RVing, Camping, Wandering, Solo Travels, Van life, Women travelers, and over eaters anonymous.  The resources available from the lovely women (ladies, girls, gals, etc) are boundless. I had these InnoGear Solar gutter lights I bought during Amazon Prime days.  I didn't know what I would do with them but, I just had to get them! There were 40% off! When I started prepping for the road trip I added them to the pile of "this could be helpful" - I figure there was a way to use these when I am off the grid. They can charge during the day while I am driving and I have light! The "Ever Brite" smaller ones I bought during a recent trip to Home Depot , once I had the "I am Legend" aha moment. These are designed to last all night and also have a motion ...

"Life is not a Dressed Rehearsal " Life may not be a dressed rehearsal, but it helps to have rehearsals before weddings, big presentations, interviews, dating, and life changing road trips... Yesterday I had a "packing the car" dressed rehearsal.  I am packing up my entire household so I have plenty of empty containers of the same size and shape.  I took the empty versions of the containers and packed the car.  Tested the windows and sunroof mosquito net contraptions too. This is the list of items: Goal Zero Yeti 150 power bank Clothing container - I need clothing for both winter and warmer climate. Misc equipment container - lamps, batteries, toiletries, charges, coloring pens, books, pepper spray, etc Carry-on suitcases -  half way through the trip I am flying out to Mexico for a wedding so I need "wedding-going-clothing".  I put the warm climate clothing items in the suitcase for storage until I switch them. Yes, I am a girly girl woman. Two...

How I am putting my Geeky skill set to use First thing first: I need a way to keep my laptop, phone, iPad, camera, etc, etc, charged - I got my nifty Yeti 150 (on sale this weekend on REI - no, they are not paying me any money to advertise) Then: Wouldn't it be nice if I had a dash cam so I can record the endless hours of driving... Maybe I can borrow a Go-Pro from a friend! Never got an answer... I do not want to buy a go-pro or dash cam! I am being thrifty... oh wait a minute, I have an old phone! There is got to be a way to do this.... I Googled "how to re purpose old cell phone as dash cam" - I found many articles but I like HTG (How To Geek) - so I follow their advice.  You can read ALL About it by following the link . I suggest you delete ALL apps, so you have a bare bones phone.  This will help with battery and memory. Delete ALL data and personal information, if you loose it, your personal information will not go with it.  You don't want to ...

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,...