Ah, I am SOOOO glad to hear about the tortilla press!

Now no one can laugh at me for traveling with an electric coffee grinder!
Maybe I'll have to look into a home roaster for my van, too?

Jennifer, are you reading this?  This is what I meant when I said
"necessities" are really what you want, not anyone's objective idea of what
you need!

(for those not on the full-timers list, that's a response to a panicked
"what to bring" query from Jennifer...)

Joy

****************************************************************
Joy Hecht
now living in a real house in northern Virginia
and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon
now living in the driveway and resting after two and a half years
lugging Joy and her stuff around...

For musings about life and the vanadventures:
http://www.joyhecht.net

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

:::-----Original Message-----
:::From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
:::Of BA
:::Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 10:56 PM
:::To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
:::Subject: Re: camping accessories?
:::
:::Hi,
:::
:::We're not buying one because we have a similar Century stove that
:::doens't yet need to be replaced.  But we have our eyes on this ...
:::
:::2 Burner Electronic Ignition Propane Grill Stove
:::Model No. 9922-750
:::
:::
:::Other helpful stuff that we carry:
:::
:::A tortilla press.  We snobbishly insist on corn tortillas, since flour
:::tortillas have neither fiber nor (much) nutrition and have non-trivial
:::amounts of fat.  We loathe the leather that's sold in stores as "corn
:::tortillas".  So we've found a source for (1) masa harina flour, or
:::even better (2) masa mix.  We have a griddle that rests on either the
:::Westy stove or our outdoor Coleman stove and plays the role of the
:::comal.  The resulting corn tortillas are waaaaaay better than anything
:::from a store.  Though, I'm certain that any self-respecting abuelita
:::would laugh at my poor gringo attempt at tortillas ...   (and our
:::Westy stove grill now has peeling chrome :-( )
:::
:::Closet organizer, for the Westy closet.
:::http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_1/602-2338301-
:::0763023?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0006ZP6LC
:::Natural Soft Canvas 6 Shelf Organizer
:::Makes it much easier to reach all the stuff that gets shoved into the
:::Westy closet.
:::
:::If we have an electric hook-up,  then our electric heater and our DVD
:::player.  And our 15-or-so-watt shop lite.  Something comparable to
:::Harbor Freight 46114-7VGA (if you don't have an electrical hookup,
:::then see the microColeman lamp lower down.(
:::
:::On trips into BajaCal, Mexico, satellite radio.
:::
:::My little table.  Google the exact phrase "Table Mate II".  It's
:::convenient to put outside between our camp chairs.  And when the wasps
:::chase us inside, it's convenient for me to eat dinner seated on my
:::throne (the front passenger seat, rotated 180 to face the living area
:::of the Westy).  (We stored our Westy-supplied tables for historical
:::purposes, but find them heavy and inconvenient for actual usage.)
:::
:::Model No. 3113A722 Micro-Coleman propane lamp.  It provides more than
:::ample light and doesn't annoy us and our fellow-campers as much do the
:::normal-size propane lanterns.  And it fits nicely along with our
:::campstove onto the propane tree that Greg mentioned.
:::
:::Our 12V bicycle-tire inflator.  Also works on vehicle tires (ask Simon
:::how he knows!)  $10 from Wal-Mart.
:::
:::Water connection Y-piece ... so that when we have a water hookup we
:::can have "city water" for the van and also have an outdoor tap.
:::
:::Simon's solar panel.  See:  http://www.oddstray.com/solar/
:::
:::Several and various battery chargers.
:::
:::GMRS radios (we don't use 'em often, but they're nice to have when the
:::occasion arises).
:::
:::Scrabble game.  And, very importantly, one of the official Scrabble
:::dictionaries to settle the inevitable challenges.
:::
:::Hats.  Since we live in SoCal, sun-protection hats are not optional.
:::So we make sure to have hats that "live" in the van.
:::
:::Electronic "tennis raquet" insect zapper.  Not terribly useful, but
:::makes a satisfying noise.  Ackshirly, it wos quite useful on our last
:::trip when a whole canvas-wall-ful of midges had snuck their way in
:::during the evening.  We paid too much for ours.  Have since seen them
:::as inexpensive as $2.99 at Harbor Freight.
:::
:::
:::B&S
:::'87 Westy 'Esmerelda Blanc'
:::SoCal
:::
:::
:::
:::On Wed, 4 Oct 2006 12:48:29 -0700, you wrote:
:::
:::>A Coleman camping supply outlet store just opened near us.  Verrrry
:::interesting.
:::>
:::>  What (besides sleeping/cooking basics, tools, & extreme AAA coverage)
:::do you bring along on camping trips that you find extra helpful for life
:::in a Westy?  I have checked the archives but would appreciate an updated
:::take on this.
:::>  Thanks,
:::>  Patricia