Something like three weeks, really, two and-a-half. That’s all that stands between me and the road, freedom. During the workday, I tie up loose ends. Evenings, visit Grandpa Norman in the hospital — his health declining, the end approaching. He jokes and cries. It’s hard, but not overwhelming — so far.
I was able to find some free time on Sunday to work on Pam.
She got out of the shop last Thursday — fresh breaks, news hoses and belts, new electrical in the dash. When I took it in to the mechanic, I asked him to do a pressure check and take a look at the transmission. When I went to pick it up, he had done all sorts of little things that I wasn’t going to worry too much about, like the dash electrical, which worked but was fussy. He said he was having so much fun working on it, he just kept going, at no cost.
This is something that seems to happen with Pam. The tire guy just called, in fact. He said the alignment looked fine, but that he was going to play with it because he never gets to work on VWs in that good of shape. No cost for the alignment, too much fun, he said. I understand completely.
So on Sunday, I was able to get to REI to pick up a few camping goodies.
I saw this first addition on another VW blog, and it works great. Above, you can see a standard bike light attached to the pop-tops support bar. This way, I have battery-powered LED light and I don’t have to worry about draining my main or secondary van battery to see or read at night. Also, with the bike light’s secondary flashy setting, I can have dance parties.
I spent most of the day cleaning and packing. That’s right, I’m at the packing stage, which is super exciting, obviously. One you start packing, that means you’re going, right?
Anyway, there was upholstery scrubbing — evil toxic stuff. Plus I got bathroom stuff, art supplies and kitchen stuff all sorted and put away.
At REI, I picked up my Road Atlas! This is one of the most exciting things for me. I love maps and this particular atlas is made for RV/Van camping, so it has a list of every national, state and county park, their camping setups and other such camping related goodness.
And, of course, I had to have the dash compass. I had to.
Ellyn gets in on Wednesday. We will be doing some wedding site shopping. Then, my last full week at work. Holy molé (the chocolate burrito sauce).
Who wants a visitor?
Gjurg and Sarah want a visitor.
A visitor with a beard.
Where are you? Are you on the road? Are you taking on adventures?
Transmit your coordinates, sailor!
We wonder about our Nealon!