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Date:         Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:44:23 -0230
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Advice needed for cross-country trip
Comments: To: TJ Hannink <tjhannink@yahoo.com>, elleninoregon@HOTMAIL.COM
In-Reply-To:  <498551.64646.qm@web65414.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi Tim and Ellen,

Does your cell service include unlimited phone calls too? Are all phone calls local? I have Verizon cell, because when I first got a cellphone it was the only one where there was no local area, you could get the best nationwide access (no roaming at all), so it was the only option for fulltiming in the van.

Can you use it as a modem any place where you have cellphone service? Does it simply connect to the internet via wifi, or do you have to have an ISP to dial into? I have no interest in accessing the internet over a cellphone, but if it's a good connection to the internet via your computer, that's interesting. How fast is it?

And does it work in Canada at that price? I've just upgraded my verizon plan so it includes Canada - that's cheaper than getting a separate Canadian cellphone, and without the upgrade I would have been paying $0.69/minute for calls here in Canada. And Ellen - in my experience, I have hardly ever been anywhere that I couldn't find free wifi. Generally when I'm on the internet in one place, I google "free wifi" followed by the name of the next towns I expect to be in. That will often find you coffee houses with free wifi, libraries, restaurants, etc. It will also find hotels - sometimes you can freeload from their parking lot, though that's less reliable. There are some restaurant chains with free wifi - I'm quite partial to Panera, which is in the suburbs of many cities. Good coffee, sandwiches, & salads, nice atmosphere, and always a bunch of folks clicking away on their computers. It's a good idea to check the website for the local library of the upcoming town too, find out where it is - most of them have internet access these days. Of course this won't suffice if you need constant internet access, but if you just want to be able to check your email once a day, it's good.

And all laptops now come with wifi built in. So pick the laptop that suits you best. Any size laptop is fine, they all fit in your van just fine - get the size that meets your other needs. (Major issues there are how big a screen and keyboard you are comfortable with.)

As for GPS - it's your preference. Myself, I'm rather fond of maps, but obviously lots of folks like GPS.

Another point - re security. I full-timed in my van for two and a half years, all over North America. (See my website for endless details - www.joyhecht.net, and click on the link for "travels with Matilda.") Often people said "oh, aren't you afraid" - the implication being "oh, a woman traveling alone, surely this is dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!" I'm not sure what they thought I should be afraid of - I guess either breaking down (which Matilda did often) or getting raped. For breaking down - you need your sense of humor, your cellphone, your high-end AAA, your list of mechanics that work on vanagons, and your credit card. Unless you're a mechanic, which I'm definitely not - then you need your tools and your Bentley and your skills. For rape - well, maybe if I were a sexy young thing I'd have worried about it a little more.

I did exercise a few precautions. I did not have any bumper stickers making it clear that there was a woman in the van - no feminist manifestos, etc. I exercised prudence in deciding where to stealth camp. I did not camp any place with signs saying "no overnight parking" or "no camping." In cities, scope out neighborhoods in daylight, pick one where you won't stick out too much - mix of apartments and houses, reasonably good neighborhood but not so upscale that everyone knows everyone who parks there, stuff like that. University neighborhoods can be good. Then you can park on the street and go to sleep. I've done that in central St. Louis, Albuquerque, other cities. I spent most of a week camping that way in the streets of downtown Columbia, South Carolina. (Don't ask me why anyone would want to spend most of a week there!)

Do whatever requires light before you go to your chosen parking space - eating, cleaning up, etc. Then when you're ready to sleep, park your van and go to bed. If you want to read in bed, get one of those tiny book lights so passers-by can't see it through your curtains. Get a porta-potty or some lower-tech arrangement if you are likely to have to go in the night - otherwise you're limited to camping where there's toilets, like truck stops, which are dreary but busy all night and probably safe. I would not have dreamed of carrying a weapon, though some people do. Definitely not my thing.

I was only once hassled when parked and sleeping (aside from being moved on by the cops in a few places where I missed the no parking signs - and once by a cop concerned that my parking space might flood in the night, so she led me to another on higher ground). I was in a school parking lot in some tiny town in New Brunswick (Canada). In the middle of the night some kids thumped vigorously on the side of the van. I let out a bloodcurdling yell before I was even awake and they scampered. I was kind of freaked, but went back to bed. When I woke up I wondered if I'd dreamed it, but there were handprints in the dust on the van, so it really happened. I suspect drunk teen-agers, not rapists or axe-murderers.

And have fun! Oh, and stay in touch with the list - I found many of my best experiences came when visiting people from this list. Bev Beam, you have to find Bev outside of Portland, Oregon. She loves single female vanagonauts!

Joy

On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 6:13 PM, TJ Hannink <tjhannink@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I pay around $75 a month for cell service with unlimited internet access > through AT&T. My phone has a built-in web browser (Nokia E62) similar to a > Palm. I can access most websites with my phone including the list archives. > > I use a USB cable to connect it to my laptop; it serves as my wireless > modem and is my only connection at my home. There are some areas that you > can't get data (or voice) service, but overall I have been happy with the > coverage. Plus, you can still answer voice calls while you are online. > > My current phone has EDGE connect speed - 3 to 4 times dial up speed. I > will upgrade to a 3G phone when that service is available at my house; the > current coverage is about 11 miles away. > > You could probably get away with a "smartphone" and an upgrade to your > wireless service. Make sure you get a phone with a full keyboard. Most will > have some type of GPS option, but with data access, you can use Google!Earth > or Mapquest. > > Good luck, > > Tim > > Ellen <elleninoregon@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote: > The short story is this: I'm planning on quitting my job the first part of > October, and embarking on a cross-country trip to see all my relatives. This > trip will take me from Oregon to Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, > California, then back home to Oregon. About 6000 miles in all. I don't have > any particular time schedule. I have a pension, and will look for more > satisfying work when I get back home. Lola (with just under 53,000 original > miles) will make the trip. I have AAA plus and sufficient funds should > anything go wrong on the road. I guess my question is logistics. I don't > have a laptop currently, but I see the need for one. A wireless internet > service? GPS? What else do I need to know? This is all new ground for me. > Anyone who has done this, please let me know what worked, what didn't work, > what you wish you had known. > > TIA, > > Ellen & Lola, '85 Vanagon ASI Don't wait for a light to appear at the end > of the tunnel; stride down there.....and light the bloody thing yourself.' > ~Dara Henderson > _________________________________________________________________ > Get Windows Live and get whatever you need, wherever you are. Start here. > http://www.windowslive.com/default.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Home_082008 > > > TJ Hannink > Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition > 1981 Bluebird Wanderlodge, FC-33SB > Des Allemands, Louisiana > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FC_wanderlodge >

-- ******************************************************************* Dr. Joy E. Hecht Consultant on Environmental Policy and Information

Email: jhecht@alum.mit.edu Phone: 1-202-494-1162 URL: http://www.joyhecht.net

*******************************************************************


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