Sunday Summary #134

Black Friday Deals and the van is starting to look like a Home 🏠

Hi there,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 134th Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written in northeast Florida.

Black Friday Sales

All of the products in our Scho and Jo Shop are between 25-50% off from now until December 2nd.

• Great Loop Budget Calculator

• Great Loop Locks

• Looper’s Guide to Your Electrical System

• Great Loop Anchorages and Free Docks

• Anchoring and Loving It Course

• PIVOT Sticker Pack

We know this season is full of emails with brands promoting various products, which can be overwhelming. As much as we try not to be consumeristic and like to keep life simple, we also love a good deal. We’ve compiled some of the best deals from brands we love to help make your Black Friday shopping easier!

• Mantus Marine has a sale of up to 20% off until December 6th. We loved our Mantus M1 anchor and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new anchor.

• Nebo is having a 25% off sale on their Nebo Link until December 2nd. Use the discount code BF25 at checkout.

• Battle Born Batteries has over 25% off their Game Changer Batteries! An electrical system is a huge part to any van or boat, so getting batteries while they’re on sale is huge.

• Campervan HQ is having a sale up to $2,500 off Gen 1 EcoFlow Power Kits, 20% off storage solutions, and huge markdowns on top campervan gear. We bought our windows, Lonseal flooring, Thinsulate insulation, marathon plus fabric, wanter tanks, Nova Kool Refrigerator, Guzzle H2O water filter, and so much more from Campervan HQ.

• Orion Van Gear is having a sale from now until December 2 or until inventory is sold out. The roof rack and ladder we bought is several hundred dollars off.

• Lowe’s has a ton of tools on sale! Wether it’s a basic tool set to have on board or you’re starting your tool collection tackling a van build, now is a great time to score some great deals on tools!

• The composting toilet we selected for our van, OGO, is on sale for $850, which is 13% off. It has a great, sleek, simple design, with a large tank.

• Heatso is having a sale, and the 12v Espar diesel heater we installed is $150 off!

• The Swivel Shop has a great sale for anyone looking to expand the space in their front cab by installing a swivel seat. Use code BF24SWIVEL for $100 off swivels.

• The Bug Wall has 20% off bug screens, which is great for anyone in a campervan, especially those traveling to Alaska! We’ve heard the mosquitos are terrible. This is their only sale of the year.

• The Wanderful is has 15% off sitewide and 30% off orders of $600 or more. We’re using The Wanderful for window covers, but they also have bug screens and they just released their brand new StealthShade Privacy Curtain.

Although our van build is coming to an end, here are some of the deals we scored during this Black Friday:

• AllTrails+ is 50% off! We hope to incorporate a lot more activity in our daily lives with our van and hope to do that as we explore many hikes across the US.

• REI is having a great sale until December 2nd. We bought the Garmin InReach Mini 2 for 25% off, saving us $100. We’ll be taking it on all of our hikes to stay safe on the trails.

• Amazon has several deals. We bought this projector for our van; however, this similar compact projector is on sale for over 25% off.

Last Week.

In our last Sunday summary, we shared that our good friends, Andy, Gwen, and Aiden from Abroad Reach Travel, were visiting us in their new van. We had a wonderful few days with them, loved seeing their new van (named Penny, short for Penobscot as all of their homes have been inspired by Maine). Andy and Gwen were a huge help as they cut, painted, and installed our upper cabinet doors. I don’t know how we got so lucky to have such great friends like Gwen and Andy!

Since Andy, Gwen, and Aiden left, we’ve been busy installing our banquette seating, spending late nights painting, installing our entire plumbing system, and our butcher block kitchen countertop. We are beyond excited for how the van build is coming together! Elliot tackling plumbing for the very first time was nerve-wracking but really invigorating when we turned on the water pump for the first time. We christened our plumbing system by giving Ollie a bath. She did not approve.

Lastly, we installed our butcher block countertop, which required Elliot to learn how to use the router tool, seal it with polyurethane, and attach our undermount sink. It’s so exciting seeing the van build come together! It’s really starting to look like a home now that we have our kitchen counter, sink, and stovetop installed.

This Week.

It’s official; we’re at the final countdown of our campervan build! I don’t know who’s more excited, you or me? We’re trying to finish our build by Jen’s birthday next weekend, which means we’re in hustle mode. We’ve been working off a sticky note wall for the past few weeks, and let’s just say we have quite the week ahead of us based on the sticky notes left. Wish us luck! 🍀

Videos.

Since our last newsletter, we published two videos on YouTube. We hope you enjoy watching the van come together. 😊

Blogs.

We’ve been writing many new articles on our website that are great FREE resources for anyone traveling by water or land. We include a Boater's Guide in our travel guides that compiles pertinent resources for people traveling on the water, from marinas, anchorages, provisioning, and more!

Currently on the Great Loop?

We wrote a few articles on our website that are great resources for anyone traveling down the Midwest rivers or preparing for the Gulf Crossing this time of year on the Great Loop.

• Tennessee River Cruising Guide (Chattanooga Side Trip)

• Muscle Shoals, Alabama Guide

• Big Bend vs. Gulf Crossing

• Big Bend Cruising Guide

• Okeechobee Waterway Cruising Guide

From the Eyes of Ollie.

I love going to my grandma’s house. She makes sure I never leave hungry, and this last visit was no exception. I got a lot of turkey in my bowl, and it was delicious!

Gratitudes

This time of year always makes us reflect on the countless things to be grateful for, from good health to family and friends. We hope this time of year brings gratitude and joy to your heart.

See you next Sunday!

Peace and love,

Jen + Elliot