travelswithcoco

[travelswithcoco]

Your packages have arrived

In the fall of 2019 I flew to West Covina California to purchase a 1989 Toyota Sunrader camper sight unseen from a nice man named Sam.

She wasn't new by any any means, and her interior definately came of age at a time when shag carpeting must have been very exciting... because she's got it on everything.

But still, I grew to love her on the long drive home to New Orleans. My adventurous (and kind, and very gracious) roomie Maayan helped me get her home. We christened her Squeaky CoCo (CoCo - shorthand for Covina, where she originated, and Squeaky - for obvious reasons) en route.

When I bought her I dreamed of traveling in her with my partner Natasha. Tasha loved Steinbeck. That's part of the reason I've decided to call this blog "Travels with Coco"; "Travels with Charlie" is not a direct inspiration, but certainly comes to mind.

Natasha and I once spent a very hot and lazy afternoon in New Iberia Louisiana reading passages from Grapes of Wrath while swinging in a shared hammock, and we enjoyed ourselves more than the humidity or the timbre of the book probably merited.

Natasha died tragically on March 20th, 2020. She will always be in my heart. After a lot of crying and heaping helpings of kindness from friends and family near and far, my thoughts returned to Squeaky Coco.

Loss turns love into a minefield; treasured memories glitter like unexploded ordinance in the long long moments before sleep comes. In the immediate aftermath of tragedy the pain feels precious, like a crucible that will crystalize and preserve your love.

But there soon comes a time when the heavy weight of your own tears begins to feel like a burden you might want to put down occasionally. When that time comes you find yourself looking for things to think about that honor your love without triggering your loss.

For me, for whatever reason, Coco was a safe haven for my thoughts. And so I began to dream of renovating her, and traveling in her. I know Tasha will very much be a part of those journeys, and I hope and expect others will be too.

Now I commit all this to to the digital aesther because the time for planning is over. I have spent so many hours researching Solar builds, and battery chemistry, and galvanic corrosion, and fiberglass repair. I have danced around my grief while compulsively reading amazon reviews for DC powered fans and folding camping chairs. I have ordered all-the-things, and they have all arrived.

It is now Saturday, June 13th. I'd like to be on the road by the 4th of July for an inaugural trip. I've got a very fly travel-buddy lined up, and some lovely destinations in mind.

But I've also, frankly, got a shit-ton to-do before hand, which brings us to the list. By the 4th of July (20 days from now!) I'd like to do the following:

Raise and reinforce the roof

Replace the blinds

Paint the interior walls and ceiling

Get rid of the shag carpeting on the floor, and hopefully some of the stuff on the walls too.

Install 200 watts of solar, along with a custom extruded aluminum roof rack to mount it to, and a luggage box as a cherry on top

Install an invertor/MPPT solar charge controller and new lithium coach battery

Install a redesigned custom sofa bed

Install a new radio/GPS, a rearview camera monitor, two backup cameras, and front facing camera. Why two backup cameras? I have no idea - but they've already been purchased, so it's happening.

Repair and patch fiberglass

Install a telesoping antenna mast / cell phone booster for off-the- grid internet

Install a new showerhead and handleset

Repair the cabin cigarette lighter

Install so-many-peices of flair (mirrors, custom cabinet knobs, cork boards, oh my!)

Please help me, friends. Keep me honest. Keep me moving. And please answer my emails when I desperately email you circuit diagrams or color swatches at 2 in the morning.