Walter Workdays

The long workdays on Walter have begun! Since he is 27 years old that means some of his parts are on the end of their life. Joshua has been constantly googling, researching, and watching videos on which parts to fix and how. We have very large boxes of pipes taller than me taking over our apartment. 2 weekends ago we had our first Saturday workday. We rolled into start at 11am and didn't leave until - - - 7 am the next morning! He was replacing the cooling system which required a lot of hose replacement, lowering the fuel tank, and much much more. We got pizza somewhere in the middle and at one point his face was so black he looked like he'd stepped out of a coal mine. I was busy working on my leather stuff for most of the night and gave up around 1am and took a nap in the front seat. But at 7am it was driveable again and he got us home!

The next Walter Workday was yesterday. We first had a stop at Home Depot, which took way longer than intended, then we ate Pizza hut in the parking lot and got to work around 3pm. I was there to build our bed and Joshua was putting in a new radiator and a few various other things. This time I got to help him a bit and he helped me a bit so that was quite fun. We drove out around midnight and got burgers and milkshakes on the way home. 

I know the center supports for the bed are missing. We are adding them I promise.

Sadly I got our wood cut to the wrong length so we'll have to add them next time.

 It has been really fun and fulfilling to get our hands dirty. I've had side projects that I've been working on the last few times but the next time Walter won't have to be lifted and I plan on getting into the interior of the van and making some changes while Joshua does the dirty work in the back. Although I did already put up hooks so we can hang our string lights in the back. I considered it a top priority! Also as Joshua is starting to get more familiar with the van I plan on jumping in with him so I can learn some, I've heard these vehicles need repair while on the road a bit and I want to learn to be more helpful.

Walter the Westy's first adventure

We've been looking into Vanagon's for awhile now. As in Joshua finds them and I offer comments. Recently he found one in Sacramento, CA and was like this is the one. So we did it- we bought tickets, flew to California with only sleeping  bags, drove around in a van and then bought it! The man we bought it from was so kind and took such good care of the van. Also turns out buying a car and spending lots of money is a fast process so before you knew it the van was ours and we were driving it back to Seattle.

The first little town we came upon happened to be called YOLO which we found very amusing as this was the most YOLOey thing we've ever done. So we searched for a sign to get our van a selfie with. :) We grabbed some typical California In n Out burger and we were on our way. 

I think Joshua had a smile on his face the whole time he was driving the van. It felt like ours, it felt like home. We made lots of little pit stops, dreamt of adventures we wanted to go on, and discussed names for the van. Stopped at a little state park for the night where we got to pop the top and sleep in him! The previous owner gave us the foam mattress topper and it was amazing. We both woke up very giddy.

Then it was to the Redwood Forest NP. Figured since it was mostly on the way we didn't want to waste the drive or Walter's first adventure. We got passes to do the Tall Trees Grove which was filled with some very very tall redwoods. We got there early and had the trail to ourselves. It was quite magical to walk around among these beasts by ourselves.

Then I remembered a café and had him backtrack to snag some diner breakfast, worth it! Drove out to do the Fern Canyon hike, as featured in Jurassic Park. You walk up a creek, never been more thankful for waterproof boots, that is walled in by these 50 ft lush green fern walls. They are magical, that much texture on the walls towering over you was quite a sight. We also met another Westy friend in the parking lot. It appears we may have joined some kind of culture cult. I think Walter will equal many random friends, which we look forward to.

Then we still had about 6 hours to drive home. It was a haul and we rolled in at 2am Sunday night but decided it was still totally worth it to sneak in the hikes in the Redwoods. Monday was a little rough though.

Now to fix up Walter, Joshua the mechanical/electrical parts, me the inside fun parts. Can't wait to share his adventures!!!