[GTALUG] Linux on Chromebook

I am hoping to tap the wisdom of the list. I'm going traveling and I don't want to lug around my 5.2 pound T420. Not on this trip. If I buy a cheap refurb Chromebook from Best Buy or Canada Computers: - Will I have luck wiping ChromeOS and installing Debian? Can I still encrypt the disk? - If instead I just run Linux on Chromebook, can I run a wireguard VPN? - Can anyone recommend a minimum spec level for the machine? -- Thanks, Michael Galea