Living in a 2008 Toyota Prius on the road in the United States during much of the 2020 and 2021 pandemic mandates was an unexpectedly rewarding growth experience. Here are the top five suggestions I have for living on the road out of your car during these times.
1. Be careful where you park when you sleep. The best locations to park for a night are highway rest stops, some Walmarts and at 24-hour gas stations.
2. Buy water by the gallon. Staying hydrated is top priority when living on the road. I like the Crystal Geyser brand spring water. Their quality to cost ratio is better than most brands and they put their spring sourcing on the side.
3. Avoid fast food and get a can opener. Staying healthy and saving money can go a long way when they are paired together. Top choices for road food with no cooking gear and can all be found at most Walmart locations. These include:
a.) Natural peanut butter.
b.) Gas station coffee maker for hot water with store-bought plain oatmeal and bananas.
c.) Small greens containers and avocados with a choice of canned beans and dressing.
d.) Beans by themselves as a cheap survival food. Garbanzos, black, and red kidney beans.
e.) Amy’s brand canned soups. Lentil, black bean, split pea, and many others. All ready to eat with convenient pop-up tops.
4. Buy body wipes. With no access to shower while living in your car, I recommend buying Seventh Generation brand body wipes. They are very convenient when you need to take care of full body personal hygiene.
5. Store cash in a portable safe. With what seems to be a cashless society on its way I feel it’s a smart move to store cash (while you still can) in a small lockable container to store in your car to keep your money safe with easy access.
Walking By Faith
Now I am led to share my Faith among all who journey and what I believe based on the Word of God (Holy Bible). No greater importance of survival is there than that of one’s eternal soul. Salvation is still essential in matters of what’s to come in this world.
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” – James 4:14
Salvation in Christ:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” – Romans 10:9
We are looking at the end times:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5
In careful review of social media, the influence, and traits of it look to that end times prophecy being displayed so directly by how people act on those hectic platforms.
Keeping all of the foregoing in mind, as there is no survival of the eternal soul after death without this knowledge of Salvation and knowing to look out for signs of the last days. Before us as of now in 2022 are several years of government oppression upon many nations to their own people. I speak on the experience I have in the United States during the initial transition to mandates that have never been seen before within its borders.
Refusing The Mask
A simple piece of cloth led me to live in my car with my wife because all jobs where I lived required them covering their mouth and nose for a paid position. God gave us the breath of life. I felt it to be our responsibility to put God even before our own needs. So, in short, I boycotted the pandemic mandates and took off into the unknown with my wife. We chose to also delete our social media profiles during this time, as we were looking to deepen our Faith in God and separating ourselves from the oppressive state our country was transitioning to.
From the countryside of Maine to Florida across to the West Coast through Colorado and the Nevada desert to Oregon down the shoreline of California through Arizona to Texas and directly back to New England. We learned a lot seeing 34 states coast to coast and back late 2020 into early 2021. Each state handled the sudden changes of the push for mandates differently. Most of the state on our journey complied with the Federal decrees. We did not. Neither did a lot of the population in the Southern states.
Winter Travel
his trip was a means of survival as we faced the cold of December 2020 and we were on the road until March of 2021. The tragedies and uncertainty we faced day by day led us to an understanding of how sheltered we were growing up as we fought to find any shelter available and avoid the new onset of face-covered culture. We faced the pain of it head on by Faith. We trusted God would give us strength and He sure did. We were always fed, hydrated, clothed and nourished by His peace. God’s people of the Old Testament in the Bible traveled much. And Jesus never stayed in one place for long. I rejoice in these afflictions as they humbled my walk with the sharpest sword to take on the evils of the world with which will always be the Word of God. Who we turn to for the survival of our souls.
WhereTo Stop and Sleep?
Being put to the many tests of living in the car I was pushed to fight for day-to-day sleeping situations. During this journey I came to learn quickly that if I am to live in my car, I need to have a place to park it at night to sleep. There are only so many places to do that. What stood out the most in places to park for hotel Prius was rest stops along highways and some Walmart parking lots. Before the onset of the pandemic mandates travelers could park their vehicles at Walmart locations to nod their heads for an overnight rest. The store chain being especially welcoming to RVs, campers and truck drivers.
Things are now different and I learned that of the 34 states I visited, many of the urban areas had new monitoring systems. These setups had very large camera poles with a wide range of surveillance coverage. And the ones in Florida even had security guards going around in designated parking lot patrol cars. What they were enforcing was “No Overnight Parking”. Which has also been posted on poles with signs of the same message. From research into this matter I found that even some rest stops that had once allowed overnight parking no longer have that opportunity because of the same “No Overnight Parking” signs posted. All of this happening amidst the face covering mandate.
Be Wary Of Deceitful Strangers
The other major exposure we witnessed across the majority of the United States was a more surprisingly dangerous threat. On more than one occasion we took on what seemed to be individuals coming up to us with luring promises that I can only presume to lead to human trafficking. I claim this bold accusation because after one such encounter I felt what I can only know to be the Lord guiding me to flee. This was in Florida where we had stayed overnight in our car and we were trying to stay warm and look into opportunities in the area to get on our feet. After we slept a night and were standing beside the car to organize and stretch we were approached by a man who seemed to be an effective liar. Saying he had just recently visited where my license plate was from, had a YouTube channel (which we later looked up and didn’t exist) and asked if he could find us there in that Walmart parking lot again to see if we wanted some of his what will soon be approved medical marijuana. He also claimed to have just moved there. All kinds of strange comments and the mentioned seeming lies.
We chose to leave that area and that’s where we set course toward the west coast where we also faced a similar situation in California. I leave it at that for those traumas. There is certainly something going on down in Florida though. We witnessed an arrest, just back in March of 2022 in the same area with ties to human trafficking. Including Disney employees. Their territory was right where we had that strange encounter. Grateful for what feels to be God’s anointed protection in those challenging moments.
In summary, when the rest of the country seemed to be submitting to the mask mandates and sudden oppression, my wife and I were traveling the country to avoid it. The journey deepened our Faith in the Lord and getting to know the King James Version Bible throughout our journey brought great comfort. I believe we are in the last days with prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes as mentioned in the verses in the book of Timothy above. Bringing this to a close, I know the path of following Christ is narrow. The words of Christ:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14
Seeing life’s challenges from a Biblical perspective provides peace, wisdom, assurance, encouragement, and true joy no matter a living situation.