, there are some things that help a lot in making the transition, and if you have the cash to get them ahead of time, it helps a lot. Some things really go without saying - you need a place to sleep, something to eat, something to wear, a place to take care of your elimination needs, and a way to keep your body and clothing clean. Those are pretty much universal requisites, and there are many ways Wanderers on Wheels satisfy those requirements. I'm sure we'll touch on most of them later on, but today I want to talk about devices that add value to the lifestyle.
A smart phone
is one thing I never thought I wanted, but then when I got one, I realized it can do so much more than I ever imagined. My smartphone is a Galaxy
Amp Prime which I bought in the Cricket Wireless store on sale for about $80. It is my lifeline at times. I use it for navigation, keeping up with my Facebook Friends and Family, using digital coupons when I shop, surfing the web, watching youtube videos, taking photos and recording videos, and there are even eBay and Amazon apps for buying and for selling. I'm sure there are even more things a smart phone does, but those are my biggies. Your mileage may vary. I probably use my phone for taking photos more than I use it for anything else. I was in a Lowe's here in Campbellsville, and just loved this Dragon blow up decoration
, so I whipped out the smart phone and snapped this photo. 
Something else I didn't realize I wanted or needed is a personal hot spot, but it's another item I really don't want to live without now. I bought the AT&T hot spot. Here's what it looks like.
I took it to my Cricket store and with the swap of a sim card and an additional phone line, I now have unlimited (within reason) internet access anywhere I have cell phone service for $70 a month. It's not a perfect plan, and it's more than I wanted to spend, but we have a somewhat unique situation, and for us this was an essential.
Next to my smart phone and internet access on the go, a laptop computer
is probably the next important thing. I don't have one at the moment, having gone with a desktop all in one computer
when we thought we'd be living in the apartment for more years. 
However, living in the 33 foot Argosy (pictured above) with 2 cats, my husband, and my adult son means we have to use the dinette as our "office" and so it is full of computers and the printer. My computer isn't closeable, and hubby's got my old laptop with a plug in USB keyboard
, so his isn't portable either. However, if you plan on using free wifi in places on the road, it's very helpful if you can carry your laptop inside and enjoy a cup of coffee or a snack while you work. I thought I would be using my galaxy tablet
more, but the battery is overheating and so until I address that issue, it's staying in the nice little carry case I thrifted awhile back. I still want another laptop, though, because I found I really need a keyboard, and I need a larger screen than is found on a tablet, and if you are going to carry something that big, you might just as well have the whole enchilada instead of an oversized cell phone that doesn't make phone calls and only uses wifi. Such a learning curve with electronics anymore. Mine has been steep and expensive. But I do love the camera on my phone. Yes, there are Christmas trees on sale in September. I have proof, thanks to my camera's date stamp.
Well, I just learned something new - I thought I was setting this up to post automatically, but apparently I misunderstood the scheduling portion of blogger. At least this portion of the learning curve, while steep, was not costly.
May your learning curves be flat and smooth and cost you nothing.
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