Van envy, cats, dogs, and a minimalist materialist

It's been a very active week in my driveway!

Three boondockers have been my guests.

Here they are!

I met David at "The Slabs" in California last year. He's a retired potter, gardener and martial arts teacher. 

If you don't know what the Slabs are, check the link out below. It's a truly wild place. 

While I was boondocking at the Slabs, David wandered over to me at dusk as I was struggling with a sandstorm, high winds and my solar panel that was taking a beating. He offered me some stew that he had cooked in his car. I'm like ---

"WHAT?? I'm busy here!!" I didn't actually say that but I thought it and I said "no thank you." And who is this weirdo anyway offering me food? 

Then I thought that was not very neighborly.......... and........... I'm just as much of a weirdo..............so I wandered over and sure enough, he was cooking stew in his car. And it turned out it was very good.

David came to stay for a few days in Norwalk this past week while visiting his daughter in the city. And he stayed in my driveway in his Prius.

David's Prius

David's "kitchen"

David is a self proclaimed "minimalist materialist". He loves his toys. He has a motorized folding bike and a pizza oven that all live inside of his car with him. Which by the way is also the ONLY place he lives, sleeps and yes, cooks. 

Needless to say David gets some attention when he drags these gadgets out.

AND it just so happened that journalist Jessica Bruder, author of the new book "Nomadland" came to speak at the Westport CT Library, my home town and residence to some of the wealthiest people in America.  And "Nomadland" is about folks who take to the road to make ends meet. 

David was mentioned in her book, and was there in the audience.

Putting two and two together,  she invited 50 Westport people to come out of their lovely library and take at look at his car and his toys in the parking lot. 

It was a bizarre moment............Westport elite ........car dwelling, uh..........

People seemed interested, intrigued and also turned completely off. "Not my cup of tea" I heard in a thick New York accent. Probably not most of their cups of tea.

David mused "I think I'm kind of materialistic."  So I'm dubbing him a minimalist materialist. He has to get rid of one thing to have another. He can't "collect" stuff. But he likes gadgets that serve his lifestyle and have a cool factor.

David's folding motorized bicycle. This is his sleeping companion. Not terribly cuddly.

David setting up his wood fired pizza oven that he can make cauliflower crust pizza in for his guests.

The next guest was Rachael who showed up in what was once my true love, a RIALTA van camper that I coveted back in the 1990's. It has a Volkswagon engine and got really good gas mileage for the time (about 23 MPG). Now a days, vans can get close to 20 with the newer technology, but back then that was about double what you' d expect a camper to get. 

Rachael is a part timer who lives in Cincinnati, was returning from a Rialta rally, an travels with not one cat, but TWO cats AND TWO DOGS in a 17 foot van!

She cooked us Cincinnati Chili (which has something to do with spaghetti, beans, cheese and other options) for dinner. 

No one thinks they can travel like this with cats. She says "they love it." Well, maybe they don't hate it.  In any case cause they looked pretty chill!

The downside of having so many pets with you is that you really can't leave them for extended periods of time in the vehicle for obvious reasons. But the upside is that you have your pets with you!

Then Rod showed up while Rachael was still my guest with what I considered to be my current van crush, a new Dodge Ram Promaster hightop that was his own custom design and build. How could I say no. This thing was cool.

It was like my first boyfriend meeting my current boyfriend. 

Rod is also a mid-Westerner from Michigan who downsized from a 42 foot 5th wheel with five slide outs to the Promaster van after his wife of many years passed away from cancer a year ago. 

Rod plays guitar and so after our Cincinnati Chili, we had a nice jam! I had to leave on my own trip early the next day, so I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked to play music with my guest. Maybe we'll meet again!

Rod and Laura 

Choochi checking out the action in the driveway

To read more about 

The Slabs click here

 Thanks for reading!! You make this so much fun!!

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Happy trails!