Living off the Grid

So, we're settling in here in Leeds, staying on a friend's property. He lives off grid and, so, we are too! This is an eye-opener for sure. It gives us a chance to reflect on how folks lived in the past. It's quiet here. There is no running water on the property, so we need to bring it in in buckets. There is no electricity, so our generator and the new solar panels we added are being put to work. There is an outhouse, and our friend has his garden planted. He'll be getting some chickens soon, so this will be a learning experience for us.

I have a lead on a full-time temp job. Scott is looking for work, and he and our friend will be doing repairs to the rig (which we named Marabelle) later this summer.

Tails is very happy here as he gets to go outside. He's had to make friends with the cats who live here, but it was a small concession for his freedom. He's back to his old self, full of life, very talkative, and very happy.

Back in Maine

So, we are back in Maine, presumably for the summer. It is certainly cooler here. Feels like January in Texas. It was a rough trip home.

First we noticed the license plate was missing off the tow dolly. Then the fender was missing. Next part of the a/c cover was gone off the top of the rig. (She has a name now. We call her Marabelle.) Still, we pressed on. We did have a nice visit with Scott's son in Maryland. We stayed again at Greenbelt Park where we stayed last fall. The ticks were out in force and we had to check carefully to make sure they weren't tagging along.

The house battery wasn't holding a charge as long as it had been, but we were sure that was just due to being parked with no hookup and it wasn't getting enough run time to fully charge. We started the last leg of the journey home late Sunday night, but ran into very heavy traffic in Baltimore. When we stopped in Pennsylvania for a rest, we decided to get some sleep. The house battery lasted 6 hours, which reinforced our theory about run time, and we slept until it's alarm when off and got back on the road.

We were headed to Connecticut to see my brother, but Marabelle simply did not want to go back to Maine. She broke an alternator belt. Now, Scott had gone through her engine last fall and changed all the belts. The alternator belt was pretty chewed up, but he saved all the old belts "just in case". He was able to put the old belt back on and get us to a nearby parts store where we could buy a new one. We were hoping to buy a new spare one as well, but they only had one. (So, yes, Scott saved the old, chewed up one once again "just in case").

Marabelle's protests were not over. Coming across Pennsylvania and New York on I-84, there was a lot of construction, and in one place we hit some pretty nasty bumps and dips and our cabover took quite a jolt. It will need to be rebuilt.

 

So, our plans have changed. We will not be camp hosting in Scarborough. We will be camping out at a friend's house where we can both find employment and also work on putting Marabelle back together.

We are still planning on going to Florida in the Fall and staying on a more permanent basis (1-3 years). Until next time.... Not all who wander are lost!