A Mini Tour of the Van

In this photo you can see the new stereo deck Kyle installed as well as the upgraded lighter jack that we can now use to charge our phones (it previously had the old school lighter coil).

This is the upgraded rear view mirrors that Kyle installed.

The back of the van inside... You can see the cabinet in the far back corner the table that pulls out and cubbords below it, the fridge is in front of that near the floor, above the fridge is the stove and sink (covered in this picture by the top), in the forefront of the photo you can see the utensil drawer, & the bench seat in back has storage under it as well as it folds out to a bed!

This shot just turned out cool... Driving up 101 about King City... Great lighting.

LA Confidential

Jen:
I wouldn't call it a true trial run, because technically we weren't camping, but we did successfully drive the van down to LA and back without any hiccups & Kyle DID sleep in the van in the drive way at John and Amy's house (that sort of counts, right?). We went to LA to visit the newest edition to the Truesdell family (although technically she's a Maynard), our new born niece Hadley. We drove down Friday night, and were even able to make it to Go Westy in time before they closed and picked up a key to our glove box. We were hoping to get a key to our water tank (the guy we bought it from had neither), but they didn't have one that matched our lock. Needless to say we made it to John and Amy's house in one piece! Baby Hadley is adorable! She's got a Truesdell nose and dark hair. Big-sister Finley amazed me time and time again with all that she knows... from naming letters out of context to counting in Spanish, knowing directions to her house and going to the bathroom in a potty already at two and a half! I am sure I am biast, but she is amazingly smart! Finley and I bonded over coloring books and play dough and I really had the best time yet with her! She loved play driving in "Uncle Kyle's new van" and we took the opportunity for a photo op. It took us about 7 hours each way, which is a bit longer than usual, but the MCU doesn't go fast, espcially up grades... we're talking 40 miles/hour up big hills... but I keep thinking that is part of the essence of it - not being in a hurry. So I just kick back and enjoy the scenery, and what a beautiful drive it was up 101 along the coast it was an unusually hot November afternoon.

Maiden Voyage Adventure

Jen:
We knew we had an adventure ahead of us, however this was not quite what we had envisioned. Calling AAA from the Ralph's parking lot in Los Osos was not what I expected to be doing at 9:00 on Friday night, but as we keep saying, it could have been worse. For example, a super nice guy rolled up on us as Kyle was jacking up the car and removing the wheel, and not only called Auto Zone in Morro Bay, but he gave us a ride there once they confirmed they had what we needed! What are the odds of that? He had his 2 daughters with him and he had lots of stories of places he had surfed before. I think he could empathize with our situation and maybe had been there before once or twice. He definitely gave us a breath of hope in a shitty evening. He even gave us his cell number and told us to call if we needed more trouble. Big shout out to Mark in Los Osos and his two daughters, that was a super random act of kindness. Unfortunately once we got back to the car the drum had siezed to the spindle and it was impossible to remove. So we were forced to call AAA for a tow. Fortunately Jill was home and a total lifesaver! We had the MCU towed to Jill's and it was nice to end the evening on a good note with friends in a nice warm home. Today Kyle spent the better part of the day running around San Luis County getting parts for a mechanic who was open on a Saturday. In the end we got it fixed, but talk about a turn of events. We didn't get to try anything out... not the stove, the sink or the pop top bed. But we stayed in the moment and realized it for the adventure it was and felt thankful that we got it fixed in one day and didn't have to wait until Tuesday for the parts, like they originally told us. Also spending time with Jill and Robert was definitely a plus. I got to bond with Robert's dog, Killer and Jill's cat Rubie, who happens to be our cat, Jerry's sister... so I am technically her aunt... Ok, I am a crazy cat lady. I admit it. :) That's all for now... I hope to post a video of the adventure if I can figure out how to do it.

Maiden Voyage

Jen:
Today marks the maiden voyage of the MCU. Sure, we've cruised it to Capitola and back and taken a joy ride up to Fremont Peak... but this time we actually get to camp in it! So what if it's only for one night. Start small right? A short voyage to Where It All Started, aka, San Luis Obispo, CA, aka, SLO. We'll actually be camping at Montana de Oro in Los Osos, but that's close enough. Hopefully the weather will hold out for the one night we camp. Stay tuned for a full tour of the MCU & our first video footage in it.

Our New Van!

Jen:
On October 20, 2010 Kyle and I purchased a 1985 Vanagon Westfalia from a guy who had it listed on Craigslist who lives at the Yoga Retreat Center at Mount Madonna in Gilroy. He was the 2nd owner and owned it for 2 years. The first and original owner basically parked it in his garage for 20 years... so needless to say the van is in great condition! We took an already nice van and have made some really awesome upgrades. Some of the things we've done to it are: New 15 in wheels, new all weather tires, new shocks & springs, new breaks, new back bumper, new side mirrors, tinted windows, heavy duty floor mats for the whole thing, yakima racks, a lift assist kit for the pop top, a new radio deck, xm radio, new rear speakers, bluetooth, and a few other things that I cannot thing of right now... it's looking GREAT.

The Van!

Kyle:
We have put a lot of time into this bad ass machine aka The Van , Mobile Command Unit (MCU), Freedom, Escape Pod....

I love this Westy!

I have never posted a blog before. It is weird and I am sure no one is ever going to read this.