CHILLIN

It seems the latest topic on everyone's mind has been the weather. It's not raining, snowing, ice, or any of those usually nasty things. It's just cold! And this was when Thomas and I decided to take off on our trip.

Well, the plan was to get in a warmer climate. Don't snowbirds usually go south for the winter?

We were planning to meet up with similar 'birds in Quartzsite, Yuma, or The Slabs. For the uninformed, those are meetups for people who want to travel out of cold weather. They can become overnight cities with tens of thousands of people all there for the same purpose-to be warm and meet with friends. Now, I have not been to any of them yet, but I have read alot about them. They seem like a lot of fun; the weather is nice; but like any city, you still have to exercise caution. They have even had people take walks in the desert and not come back. But the same thing happens on cruises, and people don't quit taking cruises.

But, I digress. Living in a van has many advantages, but also several disadvantages. The biggest one I would say is the weather. In hot weather, you can open the doors and allow a breeze to blow through. The top of the van even provides shade. It is like sitting on your covered porch. But in the winter, you either need some type of added heater (such as a trucker's heater), or you can wind up spending your travel money on heating your van. I will usually wait to run mine. That's what blankets and sleeping bags are for.

We did very well last winter in the Windstar. But we ran the engine alot to heat the van. This van seems to hold the heat better. And with the sun shining in, we have not had to run the van today, even though it is in the 20s. Keep warm!