Getting Ready for Another Cross Country Trip

 The first week of September I'm heading out on another cross-country trip. I'm going to try the trip I took in the Spring, except I'll take the northern route out to New York and Georgia and come home the southern route.  I'm just driving 3 to 5 hours per day (due to my shoulder/neck injury). 

In April I was chased home by tornadoes and didn't get to see many of the Oregon Trail and LDS sites I wanted to see...

This time it's supposed to be HOT so I'm planning ahead for that. I belong to the Elk's club. It costs me $140 a year to belong to Elks and I get that back in parking fees.

After checking temperatures, anywhere it is going to be hot on my trip, I've booked a spot to sleep at the Elk's.  I got spots with electricity and I have a converter for 30 amp so I can plug in a heavy duty extension cord and plug my electric items into that.

This week, I bought several items from Amazon to test out. Let me tell you about them and why they did or did not work for me.

1. First was this cooling blanket (I also bought the pillowcases). Seemed like a brilliant idea. I tried it out in my bedroom (which was warm.). As soon as the fabric touches your skin it feels COLD which I thought was pretty interesting. But sleeping with it, for me, didn't work. It just felt weird cool, like clammy. And the pillowcase had a chemical smell. So I sent it back. 

2. Everpolar Portable Air Conditioner. I really had hopes for this! But after using it in my bedroom, I decided it just wasn't worth the cash. It made my bedroom very humid, but not very cool unless it was blowing directly on me. It WAS powerful but I woke up about 2 am and the water reservoir was already half empty so I'm afraid it would run dry before morning and for me it was a fire concern. So I sent it back!

3. Next I bought this Lasko Utility Fan. I'd read a trucker's review about how it kept his cab cool when he mounted it in his open window. I guess my brain didn't kick in and I didn't think about the difference in an 18 Wheeler's windows and mine. It was so heavy I didn't even bother unpacking it. Back to Amazon it went. 

4. Then I read the reviews on this little Reenjo Portable Fan. This thing ROCKS!  It holds a charge for a long time. Overnight it ran with no problems and kept me cool. You can hang it up. I have several ways to charge it. I have a solar charger that will charge it directly, as well as a Jackery. So I'm keeping this little guy! It is POWERFUL!

5. Every year or so I purchase window film for the left side and back windows of my van. I use my mirrors to drive so it's not an issue having the window covered. I love this window film because not only does it give me privacy but it reflects the sunlight so the van stays cooler. I'd purchased BLACK last season because I spent time camping under a streetlight at the coast but this year I purchased a rainbow pattern that I'd used in my house. It goes on with water (don't forget to peel off the backing!) and is easy to take off. If I don't want to use it I just store it flat under my mattress with the reflectix I use on my two front windows. NOTE:  Be sure to measure your windows and get it the right width!

What I like about this particular design is I can see OUT but people really can't see in. In the dark if I have a light on, they can see that someone is inside, but even with their nose up to the window (which I would see) they can't see me clearly enough to know if I'm male or female.  Here's what it looks like from inside the van:

And from the outside, they just see their own reflection
 (my windows are tinted:)

5. The last thing I bought for this trip concerned water. Lately, the water bottles I have bought from the market aren't reusable for long. They leak after a week or two. So I had picked up a couple of 5 gallon bottles at a yard sale.  But where would I put one? 

Well, I used to take a 5 gallon propane tank and set it up under a table with my Coleman stove on top. But lately people are stealing everything that isn't tied down, so this trip I won't be using my propane tank, so put the 5 gallon bottle where the propane used to go in my kitchen, and had Joe cut a keyhole for this new chargeable pump that I bought. When I'm traveling, the cap goes on the bottle and the pump rides in its box. When I arrive, the pump just sits on top of the bottle - it doesn't screw or snap on - and it works like a dream! I'm in love with this. 

I usually carry 8 gallons of water, but with this 5 gallon bottle, I can easily refill it at Elks clubs - just need to take a short hose. 

5 gallon water bottle with chargeable pump on top

Kitchen in my 2000 Toyota Sienna

This is a keeper!

So, that's it so far.  I'll type up my itinerary on another blog post because this one is getting long. 

Happy Trails!

Annie