Month: March 2011

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Fun and Sun on the Oregon Coast

Unfortunately, there isn’t a single viable public wifi signal in all of Florence, so I am still unable to share the story of the two remarkable days I’ve had along the Oregon coast, much less the last photos I took in Eugene. It just wouldn’t be fair to the tales to tell them without pictures.

I have been blessed with perfect weather, good company, and adventures straight off my bucket list. I cannot wait to share it all. The posts have been written so that the details do not fade from my mind and I will get everything up as soon as I can!

Today is a maintenance day. I’ll shortly be pulling out of the casino with just Miranda to have her oil changed and perhaps to use a dump station. I’ll hook up when I pull back in, then spend a final night at the casino. Tomorrow, it’ll be time to start the journey back to Canada where potential employers are eagerly awaiting my arrival so we can start to schedule interviews!

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Seriously Missing My Internet Connection

I have over 100 pictures to share of my adventures yesterday, but this Safeway/Starbucks connection isn’t allowing me to do much. The story is worthless without the images, so I’m not even going to offer a teaser.

Not having my own internet connection is starting to cramp my style. I’ll be back in Canada within the next two weeks and I will have a few days left on my current billing month, so I plan to surf, surf, surf!

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Respect

There weren’t many rigs in the casino lot last night, but it seems like everyone but me was running a generator. It was actually not that bad; we had room to spread out so the generator noise was a gentle buzzing in the background. It was annoying, but tolerable.

The casino rules state that there is a ‘quiet hour’ from 10PM to 7AM. Almost as though on cue at bang on 10PM, the parking lot went silent and suddenly the air was filled with the chirping of cicadas.

Thank you, casino lot neighbours, for being so respectful of the rules and considerate of your generator-less neighbours!

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The Fine Line Between Need and Luxury in Electrical Matters

Croft is harping at me to get a second set of batteries. Well, harping might be strong, perhaps ‘heavily hinting’ is better. 😀

Here’s the thing. A second set of batteries is useless without a way to recharge them. So, I’d need to add another solar panel. And then I’d have way more power than I need to run my 12 volt stuff, so I’d have to add a whole-house inverter to run my 120 volt stuff.

I understand that another way of looking at the second battery bank is that it gives you a spare to extend your boondocking trips. But what if my current system can fulfill my needs indefinitely? I don’t ever plan to boondock for an extended period of time in super cold temperatures.

So, battery monitor not withstanding, the next upgrade to my electrical set up will cost about $3,000.

If I had unlimited means, hell yeah, I’d go ahead and do that so I’d never have to think about my power consumption ever again! But I don’t have unlimited means and one of my goals for this life is to be more aware of what I’m doing and to stop spending money mindlessly.

The things I am not able to run with my current electrical set up, such as the microwave, rice cooker, breadmaker, or dehumidifier are luxuries. Not being able to use them does not in any way interfere with my quality of life.

If I had $3,000 to spend on luxuries right now, my first priority would be a Flexsteel captain’s chair. I’m tired of having a sore back after a long day of driving.

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A Sinuous Drive to Florence, OR

Oy. I was not ready for today’s drive at all! It was barely one hundred kilometres, but very sinuous, with several steep grades, only a handful of passing lanes, and no where to pull over and let the very long and impatient column of vehicles behind me pass. I got one honk and too many one-fingered salutes to count today.

What I saw of the scenery when I wasn’t white knuckling was breathtaking, with impossibly tall trees dripping with moss; not the kind you see in Georgia (Spanish) but rather that lush emerald stuff usually found on rock outcroppings. Can we say DAMP?!

I am staying at the Three Rivers Casino until Wednesday or Thursday. After that, it’ll be time to head back to Canada. I’m going through the Rockies, so I want to give myself plenty of snow-days to make the trek.

The casino allows for up to seven nights of parking on a slightly sloped well-marked RV lot. I joined the player’s club (free) and got ten dollars in free slot, which I turned into about forty-five minutes of fun in the penny slots.

My mother is concerned about my being on the coast, what with everything that has been going on in the Pacific, and I believe those concerns are justified. I am keeping a close watch on weather conditions and keeping the rig ready to go at a moment’s notice.

I was able to park with a fully charged battery and 1.5 to 3 amps coming all afternoon. I love having solar!