By Spencer
It’s been three weeks since we drove away from our apartment in upstate NY. We’ve been very busy working, planning, and making memories. The three weekly posts so far have explained all our fun adventures, but I wanted to add a brief post about some of the specifics of how we are adjusting to this new lifestyle.
Working remotely has been good so far. We’ve been able to find a library and work basically normal 8-hour days Monday through Wednesday each week. Often the library has had interesting architecture or some historical background so that’s a nice little bonus. One thing I’ve noticed is that people sleep in libraries quite often. We’ve heard a couple of snorers but fortunately nothing too distracting. We usually find a private table with a power strip so we can charge our laptops and phones while we work. Shelby likes to get a table in the sun if possible to stay warm. I think all the libraries we’ve been to have had free wifi.
We use free wifi when available, but with our unlimited mobile data plans that may not be necessary. I’ve now used 35 GB of mobile data and an additional 30 GB of hotspot data. So far we have not had any problems with connectivity. That said, we’ve mostly been in large cities along the I95 corridor in the northeast, so I would expect good coverage. We’ll see how it goes later this week when we go further out into Maine. As we go I’ve been saving large offline maps just in case we do lose coverage.
For driving, we exclusively use Google maps. Google has always been my go-to for navigation and I feel quite proficient at using it effectively. We also paid about $30 for a year-long subscription to Gaia GPS. This service provides offline maps and tracking for hiking. They have a huge library of walking and hiking trails with reviews and tips which is perfect for us. We haven’t needed it yet but I’ve been saving offline maps from Gaia for the few walks we’ve already done just in case we get lost. I’ve also been checking the iOverlander app and freecampsites.net for places to park and sleep for a night. All in all we mostly just stick with Google Maps. It’s great for finding libraries, parks, laundromats, cheap gas stations, you name it. I’m also really enjoying how the Google Maps audio talks over any music playing from the same phone through the car’s Bluetooth audio while driving.
Speaking of tunes we’re actually using Apple Music for this trip. Neither of us are Apple fans but an Apple Music subscription came free with our phone plan so we figured we would give it a shot. It has worked fine so far and the ability to download playlists for offline listening is certainly a plus. We also got a premium Disney+ subscription free from Verizon. This will be great for downloading full movies or TV shows prior to camping or traveling out of coverage.
We’ve been super busy so far and haven’t had much time to relax. But eventually when we need a do-nothing day we have some options. We can always watch shows from our phones or tablet computers. A couple of times now we had a yankee game playing on my computer while we were planning excursions on our phones. We also brought Bluetooth controllers for playing games on our phones or computers. And on workdays we often stream an episode of some TV show while eating lunch in the car.
The car has performed admirably thus far. I was very curious how the fuel economy would hold up since on the one hand we are doing a lot of ideal long drives but on the other we are also idling a lot. It was certainly worth it to leave the car running for heat on those initial cold nights, but it did not get us off to a good start for fuel economy. Overall, I’m happy with the average 38 MPG we are currently sitting around.
Besides the emergency brake issue we haven’t had any other car problems. And we’re staying away from using the parking break anymore. There was some concern about all the weight in the back of the car, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. With the rear seats and spare tire removed I think the added weight isn’t too bad.
Three of the heaviest additions, the battery, fridge, and microwave, have all been excellent. I’m so glad we got an all-in-one power station instead of trying to hook up a secondary car battery and wire in an inverter like some people do. The risk of fire or a dead car would have been too much to worry about. And with our battery centrally located it is so easy to simply plug something in for a quick charge. It’s great that the battery charges whenever the car is on. The charge on the battery has not been an issue. The lowest it’s been was around %55 after three days of working with very little driving and lots of microwaving.
We have used the microwave more than I was expecting. I envisioned more dry and “cold” meals like sandwiches, and raw fruits and vegetables. But since the microwave is so easy to use we have already had hot canned soups and pasta packets for several meals. We’ve even had oatmeal in the morning a few times. Food, in general, has been interesting. It can be awkward eating in a parking lot with cars driving by and looking in. We often try to find a park for some more privacy, especially if we are using the microwave. We have only used the propane camp stove once since it can be a long process to set it all up. Cleaning dishes has been particularly annoying and difficult. With no running water, we’ve mostly been using damp paper towels and wet wipes.
Another thing that surprised me was the fridge noise. Test running the fridge in our apartment had me worried that it would be way too loud turning on and off again through the night. But that didn’t turn out to be the case at all. In fact, it’s so quiet I usually don’t even notice it while awake. Perhaps because it is buried behind the seat and under some food. And that’s the only annoying thing about the fridge, in order to get into it we have to move a couple of bins of food first.
The bed platform has held up great. We are slowly getting better at storing everything in the most efficient spots. It can be fairly annoying having to shuffle things around just to get to one little thing in the middle. When initially building the bed I was concerned about how much it swayed back and forth at the top, but after screwing in the bottom plywood for the first time before leaving everything has been plenty sturdy. We’ve been pretty rough on it climbing in and out from all sides and it is staying together fine so that’s good.
At first we were thinking we would remove the window screen socks while driving but that didn’t last long. Now they just stay on all the time and make a little noise flapping at highway speeds. The rain guards, socks, and weather tech window covers have been great for airflow and privacy at night. Unfortunately on windless nights I’m not convinced we are getting enough air in the back. We have not had an issue with condensation but I’m worried that the general stuffiness is not ideal for sleeping. We do have a small fan but it doesn’t help much.
For sleeping we have mostly been in Planet Fitness parking lots. This seems like the best option since we are always at Planet Fitness for the bathrooms and showers. Most but not all locations are open 24 hours which keeps us from looking suspicious in an empty parking lot. I think we sleep well. Usually 8 hours from 10pm to 6am or more. Sometimes I wake up if a loud car drives by. I never knew that most shopping center parking lots have noisy street cleaners that go through each night. Those can be a little annoying. I’m hoping that eventually we can stay in spots that are quiet camping/parking areas on public land. I expect we’ll see more of that as we move west.
This morning we had our first “nock” incident. We decided to park and sleep on the side lot of a Hannaford grocery store next to Planet Fitness. It was quieter and more secluded there. Unfortunately, we must have stood out because a gentleman woke us up at 5 am and politely told us we were not allowed to stay overnight. We offered to move but he said we could stay for the rest of the morning.
Planet Fitness itself has been good. They are all very similar but the newer ones are definitely better. We have not actually worked out at any of the gyms yet but we might eventually. No employees have said anything about us just using the showers. I assume they haven’t noticed and probably don’t care anyway.
Some people have asked if we forgot anything or wished we had done something different with the setup. I’m not sure what I was planning on doing for dirty laundry but it hasn’t worked out. I should have brought a small bag like Shelby did to at least keep clean and dirty clothes separate. Shelby decided at the last minute to bring a different pillow than what she had been using at the apartment. Unfortunately, she says it’s not the most comfortable for sleeping. Other than that I think we’ve been all set. We did a great job planning everything and taking test days to make sure we had everything. Fortunately, we are in a situation where if we do need anything we should be able to just run to the store and buy it.
Shelby has done a great job keeping track of stuff. I on the other hand have already left a shower hook at one Planet Fitness, a small bottle of shampoo at another, and a pair of sunglasses who knows where. And I thought I lost a pair of headphones but thankfully they were just buried in the car. Hopefully, I’ll get better as the trip progresses.
I think overall we’re having a good time. I’m really glad that our jobs have worked out and it’s certainly nice to only work three days a week. Sleeping in the car is definitely tight but it works well enough. Our troubles with sickness and allergies will hopefully get better soon. Tomorrow we’re off to our first national park so that should be good. Feel free to leave a question in the comments if there is anything else you’d like to know.
2 responses to “Initial Reflection”
How do you handle work calls when working in a library?
We usually work from a table where light conversation is allowed. Most libraries have a designated quiet area that we avoid. Headphones are important too. We’ve both done a video call for work with no issues. We’ve seen other people talking on phones too. I think as long as it’s not a huge disturbance you’re fine. Some libraries have study rooms you can reserve, we could utilize those if needed.