Blog six-On the road again.

In reading over what I last posted to you, I see that the words are somewhat negative. My outlook for myself, Tina, the world and you is in a good light. For future posts I will attempt to always be on more of an optimistic note.

Experiences vs. Things—When you are living in this van and holding a minimalist lifestyle, it can help you prioritize what is truly important in life, and let go of what is not. It can help you choose experiences instead of things, so that you can do more of what you love, and less of what you don’t. You see, experiences are what life is all about.

With less in life, you can focus on making all the things that you have and do aimed toward excellent. I have seen so many people who have too much, and/or do too much, and they are constantly stressed and often aggravated.

When you are minimalist, you can make sure that every detail is something that you want.

Life is better.

Living in this way is very inexpensive, so you have more to give away, and/or, not have to worry so much about expenses. Life gets easier and grander. Being rich, to me, is having enough money to live the lifestyle that you want. So, in aiming toward the minimalist life, if that’s what you want, you are rich.

“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”– Paulo Coelho

In my life I have discovered that is not what you have or do that makes a good life, it is the experiences you go through and the love you generate that makes a good life. As you might know, I have traveled much and been through some life-changing accidents, yet I continue to pursue the good and help as many people as I can to live a better life.

The smaller you get the easier life is.

Joy and meaning—Every day you have “moments.” You must cherish these moments. When you have and deal with less you can often perceive these moments more clearly. All these “moments” added up can live you with a spectacular life in the long run.

Appreciate that this is all you have.

I have a challenge for you. Make a list of your things you have; one list are the things you need, another list are things you “may” not need. You will see that you have many things that aren’t necessarily necessary that you own.
It’s a trade off; I believe minimalism will always win.

Right now Tina and I are sitting on the grass in yet a different park. We just put together a delicious salad and I am practicing my juggling while Tina is taking a nap (ok, you caught me, I can’t practice my juggling while I type these words—or do I have a special skill?)

I have been juggling daily and the juggling is coming back, makes me feel good.

5:36am on June 23, 2015, awake early again. Last night we slept on the lawn at the house where Tina grew up. Her mom has a cat and with my allergies I would not have slept. So, instead of sleeping in the van, we choose something different.

Two days ago we decided to take a jaunt in the van, this time to Atlantic City. Half way there we stopped at a very large park area. We were to only ones there and resolved to spend the night in this beautiful place. Very quiet, very dark, perfect for sleeping, so, off to slumber we went in our comfort.

At 1:30am we were awoken by a state police officer who basically told us we had to leave the park. I guess they comb the park every night, and to me, what a waste of time and money for them, and this money is from us, the tax payers.

I said to him, “What harm are we causing in our being here?” He basically said, “It’s a regulation.” I knew he was simply “doing his job”, but I hate it when people do not think and just “do their job”. Knowing it was the middle of the night and that we would not cause any harm, he could have simply said, “Well, stay the rest of the night and please don’t repeat this.

I was about to ask him to state the exact regulation that we were doing against, trying to make him think, but with Tina there I just packed up with her and we moved on. I hate it when people don’t think and just “follow the rules.”

June 24, 2015, Last night we met up with Jai, who Tina discovered though a search for computer help some time ago. Just about to turn twenty years old, this young man will go far. He has intelligence, skills and wants to help people. Tina thought she had deleted all her photos, but right away Jai found where they were and organized them better.

Yes, Jai can work remotely. If you are in need of any computer help, he can assist. Write to Jai at — jai95smith@gmail.com.

June 26, last night we had a splendid evening with some of Tina’s friends, and her daughter, at an Italian restaurant. What a great time everyone had, yet, I believe, that group of people will never be together again as it was. Only the memory will live on. That occurs so often as we go through life, instances that will never come again. We are the memories we make and we must remember all the good.

We have not left yet because Tina has a few more things to clear up, appointments and such. Sunday looks to be the day; I will let you know, of course.

Have you seen? Here is Tina – tinamiller.com

June 28—We got together with 4 or Tina’s 6 kids, kind of a going away party. I am excited to say that departure time will be tomorrow.

You may know, I have driven round trip across the country 19 times, usually by myself. I am happy it is not a solo trip this time;
Tina and I will have fun.

Wanting to get these words to you, I will be posting now, another will come soon.

Miss you>>>>>>>>>>>Kit

When I sit down to write a new set of words for you, I think for a moment—what I will write that will interest anyone? Once I do start, my mind clicks on and words flow. Here are more words for you to comprehend and ponder.

June 19, 2015, Tina and I spent the night last night at another Walmart, many others were spending the night there too, I could tell, in their sleeping vehicles. As usual, I woke before Tina (3:30am this time) and I knew that Walmart provided free wifi, so in I went.

I must say, people are starting to bug me–much. When inside Walmart to use their free wifi, once again I passed many people–all in their own little world, not looking up, not smiling, and not saying “hi”.

Then we took a long walk in a short park, http://www.allentownpa.gov/Portals/0/files/Parks_Recreation/maps/TrexlerPark.pdf.

Even in this nice park setting, only one person acknowledged us in a friendly way. We did see two squirrels and two rabbit babies. Also, there was a fawn running around looking for his mother. He got within ten feet of us, crying a fawn cry, it was sad. There are roads all around the park and I hope he does not get hit before mom finds him.

Am I invisible?

Next we went to Wegmans to use their free wifi and sit in the air conditioning (starting to get hot out there.) I would think that a healthy place like Wegmans would have friendly people who might say hi, only two did out of many.

I do not understand.

To me, friendliness and joy are much more important than “things”, or my personal goings on. Seems that so very many people in this world are very self-contained and are not open to others, which will make life so much harder for many.

I hope you are not one of these unfriendly people.

On a different matter, I’ve been watching videos on YouTube about Jade Helm 15 and the massive buildup of military throughout the country. Look up videos on YouTube from Dahboo 7, he has some very well researched words and communicates them quite well.

Upcoming sounds like it could be a massive kill-off and/or imprisonment of many thousands (millions?) of people—be careful out there. That is one of the reasons I wanted us to own and van and travel. Not running away, but being able to travel to where it is currently safe.

There is change coming up in this world, we must ALL be careful.

Do not go along with the tyranny, with the government. We are told that there are terrorists all around the world who are against the US, but, it is the US who is the biggest terrorist in the world.

Yet, I am not completely educated on the upcoming changes in the world. You much study and learn for yourself, as I continue to. Be careful, my friend, I love you and want the best for you.

A short blog is this one, more later. Make your life good, bye for now.

I care about you>>>>>>>>>>>>Kit

Trying at type something daily in this for your read, but I will be posting my words just once or twice a week, not wanting to inundate you.

With these words I want to inspire you, to help you to live a better life. When you want to read past blog entrees, remember you can always go to:    https://kitsummers.com/blog/

What a wonderful trip is ahead. I am enjoying writing to you, yet, if you no longer want to receive, let me know and I will take you off the list.

Walmart provides free parking for campers and people who want to stay somewhere for the night in their vehicle. This is a scary corporation, but nice of them to allow people to stay the night in their parking lot.

We have stayed at a couple Walmarts so far.

The employees and people who frequent the store are a “different” set. But, we have all been customers at Walmart at one time or another. When I walk through the store I pass many people. Very few make eye contact, say “hi”, or are friendly.

People are so self-contained, it’s scary. As I walk around the store everyone is in their own little world, not friendly with anyone. I am just not seeing that in others in this store and much in the public, too. I am just not sensing any friendliness in so many people.

I try to be friendly and connect with everyone I can in a sociable way. I think that if everyone did this the world will be a better place. How about you? Which side are you on?

I do hope you are not one of these Walmart—people.

At least it is somewhere to park for the night, yes? But, I must say, I mentioned before that Tina gave her notice to quit and is finishing up this week before we start on the road. Get this, she works at—yes—Walmart!  She works in the back doing the accounting and control of merchandise. She likes what she does, but says that the political structure of this company is awful and higher ups are often unpleasant people. A few nights ago we stayed at a Walmart that had free wifi, a good thing.

You are wondering about connecting to the internet while traveling, yes? All McDonald’s have free wifi, as well and numerous locations all around the US (US—those letters remind me of something I just read. Many people call the United States “America”, but it is not. There is South America and Central America, too, don’t forget they are “America” as well. Or, as Dorothy calls our country, Amerikka, this dangerous country we reside in.) And, right now we are eating dinner at a place called “Wingman”, free wifi here. Starting to be more and more places everywhere with free wifi, a good thing.

Today I am off to Planet Fitness for a workout and a shower. Yes, that is just one way we keep from smelling too human. With my insurance the cost is only $10 a month and I can bring a guest (Tina!) each time for free. Nice to get a good workout in while on the road and a good shower at PF for only $5 each a month. There are PF gyms all around the US and most are open 24/7, so we can always be in shape and showered (how about you, are you in shape and showered?)

Also for showering, Tina sent away and we received a showerhead and hose that hooks up to any sink. So, we can also shower in the family/handicap single person restroom anywhere.  Eventually I will have a water container, water pump and shower head to use in the back of the van with the doors open. So, there is that way, too.

After a night at that Walmart, the next day was spent at another park. Nature is so fantastic; I like to spend as much time in nature as I can. You will read many more words of our wilderness experiences. More and more to the out of doors we go.

Let me tell you of some aspects of the van we live and travel in. I built a seat that is six feet in length. The top lifts by way of hinges and there is storage under. On the other side is a shorter version of the same, and I put in a mechanism that makes it into a tabletop that lifts so that we can sit on the other side and work or have meals on the tabletop.

The back rest for the seat lifts out to be placed between the seating/table area to make a full size bed. We have a memory foam mattress that is used for seating/backrest, and then this is then laid out to turn into our bed. This memory foam is very comfortable as a seat or a bed; we sleep well.

The kitchen area is in the back of the van. This can be accessed from the inside or the outside with the doors open wide (when you are using it from the outside.) As the doors are open, I installed a tabletop on each door that folds down to use in cooking. Cooking utensils and cookware are mounted on the doors and backside of the van. I had mentioned about having a water tank and pump for the shower water, this same nozzle will be used at the sink in the back for kitchen water.

You can walk from the front driving/seating area to the back easily. There is storage in each bed, and also in overhead cupboards that came with the van. Being a conversion van, it is a little wider than most vans. There is a skylight on each side, under the skylight I built a shelf that holds a one foot long planter, secured down; there are three.

In these planters we are growing much lettuce, spinach and cilantro. So, a moving vegetable garden travels with us. In the future we will be growing more and other things (the banana tree will look fabulous growing out of the top of the van.)

Solar power will be upcoming, along with a refrigerator and TV. So, all the comforts of any home I can think of. In fact, we are already more comfortable in this than any home we remember. The smaller you can make the “things” in your life, the better life will be, I have found.

I cut covers for each window out of Reflectix. Then, on the other side of each I used spray glue and glued on black cloth on each. The Reflectix reflects sun and heat, so when it is sunny hot that side goes out. Black attracts heat, so in cooler environments we put the black out. When these are on they totally block any light from coming into or going out of the van.

Last evening we were in another park environment, his time with a big salad and bottle of wine to share. By the end of the evening we were both quite happy and feeling good.

Through this I am seeing that each of us can change our life, anytime, into something that we like much better. As you might know, through my life I have had to change my life much, through accidents and various circumstances. If you do not like your life—make a change—make things better for yourself.

Tomorrow is Tina’s last day of work, and then we start our life together on the road. Today, once again, I was at a nice park, doing some more work on improving the van. I do hope we pass near you; I would love to see you and let you see our home on wheels. After the park I went to Planet Fitness to put in a good workout. Then I took a shower and I feel quite clean and refreshed right now.

Right now back at a McDonalds using their free wifi. Air conditioned, not many people, quite pleasant. Along with connecting to the internet, I can plug in a charge my electric things.

I am sure you have heard of how scary McDonald’s food is. We seldom partake. But, not fair of us, we do get a salad or something at times.

Had a mishap this evening. After picking up Tina from work to take her to an eye doctor appointment, which was soon after she got off. I was about to turn into the parking lot of the eye doc and watching cars coming toward me. I did not see there was a small island, which I drove over. Bounced the van pretty good, in fact, one of the planters with lettuce growing came down to the floor with a crash, yikes.

Tina knew of a carwash place that had a good vacuum, so off we went. It looked a mess, but the cleaning up went rather quickly. So, tomorrow I will replant and this time I will use a double secure system to hold things in so that will not happen again.

In my life, through various traumatic things, I have learned that recovery can be quick, and you can return to something even better than before. I have devised was in my mind to make the van better, and just see, once again, if something bad happens you can make it back—to an even better outlook on life.

I will write you soon again. How about you, will I hear from you?

Right now I am typing this in the early morning as I am looking out at a beautiful tranquil lake. There are many birds making their morning sounds and the smell in the air is a deep nature smell. There is a mist over parts of the lake as I feel invigorated for this new day. This picture of the lake I see is like from famous painting of lake settings.

Last night, on our way back from Delaware after getting my computer fixed, we went to Marsh Creek State Park to sleep over:

(http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/marshcreek/)

We stopped and picked up a hoagie to share. Sitting on a park bench and eating this simple meal with the view we had was a joy. As we were driving in we saw two deer in a field next to the road getting an evening meal themselves.

Driving to the lake area we passed many houses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps, millionaire estates? Yet, we got to park “our” home right next to the lake and had a brilliant night in a fantastic location with beauty all around. When you are living and traveling in a van you can park about anywhere to sleep, even at the beach in Malibu, perhaps.  So, your home is in fabulous places when and where you want.

Must be about five am and I just awoke from a pleasant sleep to this paradise we are experiencing. Tina is in the van getting some more slumber and I am sitting on a park bench about 30 feet away typing these words; a true–lap-top–with computer on my lap.

Last night when we arrived we were on the east side of the lake. Sunset as the sun was dropping into the lake was breathtaking. We took an evening drive around the lake and found a boat ramp area were we found a nice place to park for the night in the meadow and trees. This morning, being on the other side of the lake, we witnessed the sun arising over the lake, truly a lovely sight to see.

Yesterday was a special day. My daughter, April, graduated high school, with a big ceremony at Villanova University. They say there were upwards of 4,000 people there, many excited people seeing their kids finish high school.  Like my daughter Jasmine did and does, both excelled in school and learning. More than just learning facts of life, they learned how to use their mind to think correctly, something so many people do not do.

You can find April on Facebook (she is a beauty), search for April Summers in Media, PA.

Why, looky there, April got to carry the school flag and be on stage during the ceremony with just one other student (can you tell I am the proud daddy?) Of course, there were some boring speeches by school staff, but the two hour program went quickly.

A group of us went for lunch at a very nice restaurant after. For the ceremony, I was sitting between Tina and Mary Ellen (until about 7 years ago Mary Ellen and I had been married for 23 years before we ended things.) It did feel quite strange sitting between those two females that have been and are a big part of my life.

While we were in the mode of selling Tina’s very nice home, her daughter happened to need a place to live for her and her son, Eric. She was able to get a loan and moved into Tina’s home last week, as we are moving out. They are fitting in quite nicely.

This excursion out to Marsh Creek was a test drive to see how it is to go somewhere nice and sleep in the van; we are going to have a fabulous life on the road. Tina gave her notice to quit last week and her last day is June 18. So, all set to start this new life of living and traveling the US living in this spectacular van that I built into a home.

We are glad we are giving up our home. Just right now the trash collectors and coming by—at two bucks a visit, twice a week. The expenses of living in a home are much—rent or mortgage, taxes, utility bills, miscellaneous upkeep—just to name a few. In the van—the cost of gas to get places and keeping the engine up—and that is all. We have a chance to live a full life, as opposed to simply going to work on a daily basis to pay all the bills.

There will be a big bon voyage and Leah moving in party on June 28 and be off the next day toward Maine and parts unknown. You are welcome to join us; we would love to see you. Please contact me if you can make it.

Adios>>>>>>Kit, 610-400-3233, kitsummers@gmail.com

PS I will have photos soon, still learning.