Update

My van is still getting worked on, but I'm just thrilled that Doug has been fixing so much. He's still checking out a leak and my fridge, but then I can go pick her up. My van will finally start right up, every single time, and I won't have to keep dumping in coolant or power steering fluid. What a sense of peace you can get from a smart and honest mechanic. If you've got any import vehicle in northern Michigan, I HIGHLY recommend Doug's Import Service. He doesn't do much online, but he sure has got a ton of VW connections and friendly, personalized, small-town service.

Recent replacements so far, totalling $1,155: new power steering lines, new power steering rack & adjusted alignment, 3 new belts, a new starter, a new battery, and a new coolant hose (I'm amazed he actually found one, considering it is an obsolete part). It is getting harder and harder to find certain parts for these VWs, but I'm hoping I can keep mine running forever.

Additional projects to do once I get my van back: Install stereo I bought off eBay, extend window cranks so they don't scrape my speakers anymore, oil change, install 2nd battery, and possibly replace propane tank.

Regardless of what I said previously, I'm seriously considering heading south to get a break for awhile and stretch my van's wheels again. If I say I am staying somewhere for awhile or leaving at a certain time, just take it with a grain of salt. I don't really know what I'm doing. All I know is that I'm itching to go somewhere again and I'll be sure to post when I do. I want to head to Alabama or Texas and visit some friends.

In the hands of a professional

After many months of troubleshooting attempts and becoming thoroughly frustrated with some re-occurring mechanical issues with my van, I drove further north early this morning to put my van in the care of a highly recommended VW repair man. Thank goodness for the VW Repair Shop listings/reviews on roadhaus.com, as I never would have found this shop otherwise. It wasn't an obvious VW repair place; it was way out in the middle of nowhere, with no sign out by the road. It was simply the eclectic mix of foreign vehicles that told me I had found the correct location.

With a lengthy hand-written essay in hand, filled with my van's problem history and my own opinions/questions, I dropped my van off at Doug's Import Auto, and let all my frustrations melt away.

Doug was so knowledgeable, extremely nice, and just so patient while I went through my long-list of concerns. He seems like an excellent troubleshooter who really knows his volkswagens, and I just feel so relieved.

Hopefully he can get all the quirks worked out and get my home running safe and sound.

The sun is shining, my van is going to get fixed, and I'm a happy camper.

Thru Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan... and Spring is in the Air!!

I'm back up north, and I brought the warm weather with me to where it needed to be the most! I'm finally back in my home counties of Northern Michigan, where I constantly drive from city to city, visiting my mom & friends that have endured an especially long, cold, and super-snowy winter. I didn't post while I was traveling back up, because they read my blog, and I wanted to surprise them all, which I did. It was very well worth the surprise :) I called my mom from outside her house, told her I wouldn't be home for another week, and then I rang the doorbell.

Mom: "Oh, the doorbell's ringing, do you want to hold on or have me call you back?"

Me: "I'll just wait, go ahead."

SURPRISE! It was a lot of fun. I also called my best friend about an hour before I got there, and it was SO WONDERFUL to see her and share some long-awaited girl time. The two of us went for a refreshing hike up the steep, snowy old state-hospital grounds, drank a little wine, broiled some mahi-mahi for dinner (from my favorite 24-hour Meijers), baked chocolate-chip cookies at midnight, painted our toenails, talked, talked, and talked some more. We had a lot of catching up to do, and I plan to visit her at least once a week while I remain in Michigan. I kept wanting to post on my blog, while I was heading back up and running around up here, but I just waited until I succesfully surprised everyone that I had wanted to. I just love surprises. They are always well worth the wait & the tight-lipped secrecy.

Our drive back up was wonderful. We basically drove straight back, only stopping for a few hours of shut-eye one night in Tennessee. I think we left Tampa on a Thursday and got to the top of the MI mitt around 2am Saturday. We took a strange route back, which probably took longer than normal, but it was a great drive, taking us both thru brand new territory & scenery (no I-75 route for us, no sir!).

Thanks to recommendations from Jonathan, Westyman, and Angus, I changed my fuel filter in Tampa before I left, which did stop my fuel pump from making that awful noise. I was able to return the expensive fuel pump, which was a huge relief, and I was also able to have "John's Import Auto," (in Tampa), clean up some connections & wiring on my van before I left. After all that, my van started up just great, didn't make anymore weird noises, and we drove all the way back up to Michigan with zero problems. That means I've still got 2 AAA tows left to use this year. Knock on wood :) Even though the guys at "John's Import Auto" don't have a website, they were SO TERRIFIC that I feel I need to share their contact info in case anyone ever needs VW (or any other import vehicle) service in the Tampa, Florida area:

John's Import Auto Service, Inc.

5507 N. Nebraska Ave.

Tampa, FL 33604

(813) 237-3993

Once my van got all fixed up with a new starter, a new fuel filter, and some clean connections, I sure felt free as a bird. Free to fly my van on the wings of a whim to head wherever. It is an awful feeling when your vehicle just won't work, just as it is an amazingly wonderful feeling when your vehicle starts right up and carries you elsewhere. We filled up a big box of tangerines for the road, started my van right up, and left Florida! I do love Florida, but it was SO comforting to be heading home to familiar faces, familiar territory, and a little more space for Dan & I.

I know that most snowbirds (like myself, for this year) travel by I-75 since it is the straight shot, just one road, leading all the way from MI to FL. We, however, felt like going elsewhere, so after taking I-75 up to Tifton, Georgia, we headed west on 82, which took us through western Georgia. I didn't really notice anything too special about western Georgia, other than the fact that it was still really warm there, and the countryside got unusually green and healthy looking once we were west of Dawson. We went thru lots of tiny, tiny Georgia towns, and several of them had pretty strange names. Sasser and Ty Ty are two that come to mind.

It was pretty neat when we finally got to the GA/AL border, since Georgia and Alabama are separated by the Chattahoochee River. Georgetown was on the Georgia side of the river, but I liked Eufaula (on the Alabama side) much better. Not sure why. It just had a nice feel to it, a town of old-wealth perhaps?, right along the water, nestled way out in the middle of nowhere. I had never been to Alabama before, and Eufaula was pretty much the only town I got to see in daylight, since it was dark when we got to Montgomery and headed north on I-65. We drove thru the Alabama darkness and eventually got some shut eye at the first rest area we came to after crossing over the Tennessee border. I didn't mind driving thru Alabama at night, but I love the Tennessee countryside, so I wanted to drive thru it in the daylight. I find it so intriguing that immediately after crossing the TN border, there are already beautiful rolling hills... Tennessee is a beautiful state, and there was actually a dusting of snow there! It was the first snow that we came upon on our drive north, although there definitely wasn't much.

I had never been to Nashville before, and I really enjoyed going through it. Dan was driving, and the timing was pretty close to the morning work-rush, but the traffic really wasn't too bad at all. I'm glad he was driving, because my eyes were glued to the magnificent expanse of hills that were covered with tiny buildings, far above us, far into the distance. We drove thru a valley, bordered by the Tennessee hills on both sides, and I loved every moment of it. Approximately one in every three cars that we passed had snow on its hood, from heading down into Nashville from the hills up above. Nashville is such a neat, old town, filled with unique architecture that is just so different from the suburban sprawl of places like Tampa. We didn't stop in Nashville, we just drove thru - but it sure was an enjoyable sight to see. I would like to check it out some more, some day.

We headed more west after Nashville, taking 41 into Kentucky. The snow was gone by then, and it was very green, although we soon became very much aware of the extreme damage that was caused to Kentucky by the massive ice storm that hit around the time of the 2009 Superbowl. I actually hadn't heard about the true extent of the disaster, but after seeing all the miles and miles and miles of broken trees, we did an Internet search for "Kentucky Ice Storm." The photos were just incredible. I can't even imagine how horrible it must have been for MOST of the state to be out of power and heat and communication for so long. After reading about the lines of vehicles frozen in place, the high number of counties that declared a state of emergency, and browsing thru several different personal stories, I was shocked. Driving thru Kentucky, I guess we just witnessed the aftermath, where there were still crews cleaning up debris, fallen trees, and branches. I'm sure it will take quite a while to clean up the mess, but I hope that things are finally more back to normal for the residents of Kentucky.

We crossed the Ohio River as we left Kentucky and entered Indiana, and then we stopped in Evansville, Indiana to pick up some Liberty Dollars (Inflation-Proof Currency) at the main headquarters of "The Liberty Dollar." It is the entire reason we actually drove that alternate route back to Michigan. Here is an excerpt from the main page of the Libery Dollar site. Please really take a little time to read thru it and Check it out! :

"Welcome to the Liberty Dollar: Remember when gas was only 25-cents a gallon? You could take a dollar down to the gas station and buy four gallons for a buck! At that time our dollar was backed by silver - real money. Guess what? That same amount of silver still buys four gallons of gas today! That just proves that real money like gold and silver holds its value and it is the US dollar that buys less and less. As a matter of fact, when you think about it, you realize that gas, food, and almost everything else has NOT gotten more expensive. It only seems that way because the value of the US dollar is worth less and less so it takes more and more of them to buy the same goods and services. Most people think prices have gone up, but actually: it is the value of the US dollar that has gone down. Luckily, there is a simple and profitable solution to higher inflation - good old-fashioned, gold and silver Liberty Dollars, just as our Founding Fathers intended. "

After picking up some shiny, silver, Inflation-Proof currency, we drove pretty much straight north on the peaceful highway 41 that meandered thru an infinite arrangement of tiny, western Indiana towns. We drove thru an area that was overwhelming covered with windmills! They were lined up as far as the eye could see! It was wonderful (I love windmills), so I took snapshot after snapshot. My camera batteries kept dying, but I still managed to get some pictures. I had never seen so many windmills in one place.

Eventually we ended up near Chicago and headed east until we were able to drive north into Michigan. We crossed the MI border in the daylight (still light out at 8:00!), felt the crisp, fresh spring air of our home state, and enjoyed the company of several singing Robin's that were hopping around at the Welcome Center. It was quite surprising that we didn't see any snow for hours as we drove up thru the state. But once we spotted the first snow-covered ground in Cadillac, the snow-banks got progressively bigger and bigger. I'm glad that we missed the brutal cold and mile-high banks of snow this year, but ever since we've been back, the weather has been nothing but sunny and crisp. The snow is melting a little more every day, the roads are dry, and I'm ever so happy to be "home." I am going to travel west in a few months, probably up thru Canada, down south along the Pacific Coast, visit the Slabs, and do some more exploring - But ultimately, however, I believe that my heart will always want to reside in Michigan. If I can just figure out how to make money during the winter months, stay warm, and grow some food in a greenhouse (Dan just started building one!), then maybe I will be able to stay up here someday into the cold-season. Who knows. It just feels so nice to be back for a little while before taking off for somewhere else again. I do want to thank everyone, however, for all the great email suggestions on places to visit, many of which I still would like to head to in Florida & the surrounding southern states. I will check them out on my next drive south, but for right now, I really was homesick for some cooler Michigan air. And I hate to say it, but, I missed the snow! I really did. I'm glad there is still a little bit for me to play in before it melts.

Not only have I been rushing around visiting some of my most favorite people in this world, but I have also been extremely productive. You wouldn't know it, because if you have sent me an email in the past month, I haven't replied yet (I will soon, PROMISE!), but I filled out both my Federal & MI taxes, took my mom out to eat, paid my AAA van insurance bill, read all my snail-mail that had piled up over 4 months, delivered some Florida-Fresh tangerines to a few folks here and there, helped Dan move his belongings from my van to his mom's basement, etc. etc. etc. OH!! I also cut my own hair! I gave myself that layered cut that I gave a link to in a previous post, and it was so easy! It looks great, too, in fact I showed my best friend how to do it, and she was just as thrilled as I was. I'm now forever going to trim my own hair.

I feel as though I've still got much to catch up on now that I'm back up here, especially when it comes to the Internet, but I'm back and at it, finally, with excellent Internet access and a breath of fresh spring air. Dan & I are still kind of sharing the van because his car is actually still buried in the snow, but I'm sure that it will all melt eventually.

There is something utterly refreshing and happy about actually feeling the dramatic change of the seasons. Florida just felt like it was summer, heading on into summer. Here there is a definite winter heading into spring thing going on, and I love every second of it, until the point at which I am forced to drive on icy, slush-covered roads. I have truly lucked out, though, since I've been getting to enjoy the fresh winter air and sparkling snow, perfectly accompanied by cheery sunshine and safe, dry roads.

This post will probably take forever to load (PHOTOS!!)

We have successfully made it back up to Tampa for our remaining couple of days in the Sunshine State, although I did somehow manage to let my van run out of gas yesterday at an extremely busy intersection along Hwy 41/Tamiami Trail. That wasn't fun, but hey, now I have my very own, brand new gas can :) Thankfully we happened to run out of gas near a Marathon station, and we had just gotten off the freeway, so I think my angels were looking out for me yet again.

We are parked back in that very familiar spot of our friend's driveway, and it feels really nice to be here because I've once again got powerful access to the neighbor's secure wi-fi connection :) He is so good to us. He already wandered over to say hi, offered to let us borrow dvds, and told us to pick tangerines to our heart's content (off the tree in his backyard). My van is also plugged into an outlet outside our friend's garage, so I'm excited that I will be able to type a long post & finally upload a bunch of photos without my laptop running out of juice. Hip hip hooray!

First, here are a few more photos from the Everglades Challenge small boat race that took off from Fort De Soto on Saturday, March 7th, just south of St. Petersburg... All the boats were powered either by sailing or rowing only - no motor power allowed. I thought that was so cool.

After checking out all the neat boats up at the park, we drove down to Ft. Myers and visited 2 friends of ours that just moved into this amazing apartment complex for only 500 bucks a month (250 each). It was a safe gated-community that required key-cards to enter, although I was able to keep driving in thru the exit gate because it was always open... Nobody seemed to care, so I just kept doing it. I don't want to live in an apartment again, but if I did, I would want to live in one like their's because it had access to a tennis court, fitness center, pool tables, library, swimming pool, really nice showers, and a hot-tub. It was a little slice of heaven for the few days that we were there, especially on the 84 degree days that were spent inside the pool :) A key-card was also required to get into the pool area, but I just walked up to the gate in my bathing suit and asked a guy thru the gate to open the door for me because I "forgot my key." It worked like a charm while our friends were at work so that Dan & I could still do a little swimming & take showers. Even the pool area artwork was pretty cool - it almost could have passed for a real beach scene.

Alright, now onto the most exciting thing that we've done recently, which I mentioned in my previous post - We drove down to the Everglades National Park and did a bit of sailing around the "Ten Thousand Islands." I tried to count as many islands as I could, but eventually I just gave up. What is truly classified as an "Island," anyway? Some of the little mangroves looked like mini-islands, but they could have been small enough to completely disappear once the tide came in. We really had to pay attention to the high and low tide times because the water near the shore was quite murky, and the tide really made a difference on trying to get in and out with the boat. It was a small sailboat, only 12 feet long, so we were able to carry it down to the canoe-launch at the visitor center and row it out for a little ways before putting up the sail.

Al's boat is just awesome. Al and Dan both built it together, and Al made the mast out of his last Christmas tree :) It sails beautifully and took us on an exciting small sea adventure on the outskirts of the Everglades. We went around different islands and stopped at a couple of them to walk around and explore. We ate a little lunch on our very own private sandy beach and then sailed off to another one on which we discovered a porta-potty! :) That island ended up being called "Picnic Key," and a lot of people were camping at that one, so we got back on the boat and continued to sail around, just enjoying the breeze, the wildlife, and sounds of the water.

At one point, we even had 5 dolphins swimming around the boat! Dolphins are such graceful and wonderful creatures ~ I was thrilled because I think it was actually the first time I had ever seen them in person. After hanging out with the dolphins near Everglade City, since I'm on the topic of wildlife, we also ended up admiring the many pelicans over near Chokoloskee.

After our adventurous time spent sailing & sea exploring, we headed back out to Tamiami Trail and did a bit of van-camping at a cozy little National Park Campground called "Monument Lake." On the way there, we turned off onto a random little sideroad and stumbled upon an alligator that was running down the side of the road, hissing, and thrashing his tail around towards my van. We were still feeling a little adventurous, I guess, because we stopped the van right around the corner and headed down into the woods to collect a bunch of firewood... Even though we had a machete & a hatchet, it was pretty spooky being down in the woods near where we spotted the frisky gator. While gathering the wood, we made lots of noise, kept our eyes peeled for movement, and then discovered this little clearing with a murky pond that just screamed "gator territory." It was a cool pond, and very quiet. Almost too quiet. It kind of reminded me of "Jurassic Park" in the sense that big creatures might suddenly come of nowhere and decide to eat me. That is when we decided that we had gathered enough wood and we got the heck out of there.

Also, it isn't every day that you end up camping right down the road from the smallest post office in the U.S.! The "Ochopee Post Office," which is located way down in the Everglades, is seriously considered to be the smallest post office in the United States. It said so right on the sign. I didn't realize that it was a real post office until I stopped to take a picture and there was a lady actually inside at a tiny counter. She sold me three postcards for 1.00, so I filled them right out and handed them back to her. She didn't even have room for a bathroom in there, so I figure that she must have had a little pit toilet dug out back.

Speeding on ahead now upto this current day in Tampa, here is a photo of my van amidst the beautiful array of pink flowers that are blooming in our friend's yard and covered with bees.

Sorry if this is getting a bit scattered, I'm getting tired and I really just wanted to upload a whole bunch of photos that I had been wanting to share. A final note for today is regarding maintenance with my van. Dan & I worked together today in Tampa to finally put a new starter on it :) It was a real PAIN to get the old starter off because of this really long 8mm hex bolt that was way up high on the top of the starter. There was a stupid 17mm nut on the back of the 8mm bolt that was extremely hard to get to because it was hidden up behind the throttle body. It took us quite a while, with him holding a rod against the starter and me hammering on it, and also with me holding a wrench up top and him ratcheting underneath... but eventually we did it, and now my van starts right up great. The only problem is that now I'm leaking power steering fluid (I need new lines under the van.. eventually) AND my fuel pump is making an awful noise, so I had to order a new one of those today here in Tampa for 235.00. I guess, though, that even though I've got all these repair expenses now, at least I will have new parts on my van that will last for quite a long time. Vehicle repairs are just my own form of rent, I guess, or at least my own form of "house maintenance." Here, check out a pic of my old starter. It seriously looked ANCIENT. I bet it was original!

After we get the new fuel pump put on the van, we will be driving north, which should only be a couple days from now! Stay tuned for some upcoming posts containing new van-dwelling tips and information, since I've got several topics that I've been meaning to write about.

One person in particular asked if I would write a post regarding tips on living with someone else in a vehicle, so I'm planning to answer that one as soon as I get back up north. By that time, Dan and I will have survived an entire 4 months of living together in a very tiny space without killing eachother, but coming close :-)

In a Motel, In New Smyrna Beach!!

Today I am just thanking my lucky stars that we didn't drive back out to the Ocala Rainbow Gathering yet. We would have been stranded way out in the middle of nowhere, miles away from cell-phone reception, and miles away from any vehicle repair shops.

This has been quite a day. We were going to head back out to the Ocala Rainbow Gathering this morning, but instead we decided to keep driving east and check out Daytona Beach for a few days since neither of us have ever been there. It was spontaneous, one of those spur-of-the-moment things, although we are still planning to go back to the gathering.

On the way, we stopped at a tiny little Atlantic Ocean beach-access on A1A so that we could use the restrooms and give our legs a little stretch. When we were finally ready to continue driving south towards Daytona Beach, my van just wouldn't start back up. No cranking, no nothing. We tried to get it to start for over an hour, but no luck. We'd been having some random starting issues over the past couple of months, but all of our Vanagon "no-cranking checks" from the GoWesty tech library had left us totally stumped. Now this is going to sound pretty nuts, but I'm so happy that my van broke down today. Believe it or not, it ended up being really nice that I had to get towed (my 2nd tow in a 3 month period). Thanks to this little "change of plans," our evening has turned out wonderfully relaxing.

I'm so thankful that...

a. I had a printout of the "Vanagon Rescue Squad" list handy inside my van, because a super nice guy named Jerry was able to direct me to an excellent VW-only repair shop that just happened to be only 19 miles away ("Park Avenue Motors")! :-)

b. I have AAA!!! One AAA guy arrived literally within 10 minutes of my call to see if he could diagnose my starting problem. A separate tow truck arrived about one minute later & towed us to the nearby VW repair shop. Talk about FAST service.

c. There was a cheap little mom & pop's style motel within biking distance from the repair shop.

d. There was an excellent little pizza place within walking distance from the motel.

e. AAA's "trip interruption" member-service will reimburse me for the total cost of the motel and our meal at the pizza place. Seriously, is that not the most awesome thing ever?

f. The VW repair shop guys already fixed my van! They worked right up until 9:30 pm (2 hours ago), and they called to tell me that I can pick it up at 9am tomorrow for 140.00. Apparently it had a bad "neutral safety switch" and also a bad connection. I can't believe that they worked so late and fixed it so quickly.

This day couldn't have worked out any better. I was in the right place at the right time for my van to finally quit starting, and it has been so incredibly luxurious to have a motel room for the evening. I can't remember the last time I actually stayed in a motel overnight. Probably over a year ago. And I don't even have to pay for it. Maybe it is just good karma.

Tonight I took the longest, hottest, most thorough shower that I've had in a long time. I even took the time to completely shave my legs, which I hadn't done in a very long time ... We turned on all the lights, turned up the heat, plugged in the little fridge, chilled our soy milk, filled the ice bucket, drank icy cold water, ate some pizza, charged my camera batteries, charged my laptop, charged my phone, and watched tv... all on AAA's tab (thank you, AAA!). Staying here for a night is totally spoiling us rotten. Too bad we've got to check out by 10am tomorrow, although I will be very happy to have my little home back, safe and sound.

You know, it is funny when you think about it. For most people, it is such an inconvenience to have your vehicle break down and have to stay in a motel while you are waiting to get it fixed. For me, it is fun, and I've got nothing better going on at the current time. Instead of being an interruption to a vacation, this is a little vacation for me. I'm now only a few blocks away from the Atlantic Ocean, in a neat little town I've never been to, and I get a private bathroom for the evening, plus power outlets, lights, heat, a running refrigerator, ice, etc. .... Since living in a vehicle, I've become more aware of (and appreciative of) many little things in life that I used to take for granted.

Anyhow, now that my van will be back up and running again, I might hang out here for a few more days & see what there is to see in this area. It is supposed to be warm and sunny all week, and I'm really loving the sound of the ocean. Hmm. Woods? or Ocean? I'm torn. I think I'll beach it for a couple days and return to the woods for the weekend. Dan & I both definitely want to go back to catch the end of the Ocala National Forest gathering, and this weekend is when it will get busy here, anyway, since Friday is the start of Bike Week in Daytona Beach.

More and more, I just adore having my home on wheels. I can end up wherever my will wanders, or wherever my wheels will allow (without breaking down). I love being in a motel for a night, but I love my van even more. I can't wait to pick it back up in the morning and continue on my way.

CV-Joint Maintenance on my Van

Ok, so I really don't know very much about vehicle maintenance or repairs. I do know how to do basic stuff like check fluid levels, jump start a car, and do an oil change, but that is about it. If I ever have a problem on the road, I either call people for input, call AAA, troubleshoot online (the Internet is such a valuable resource, it is the entire world at your fingertips!), or I browse thru my Do-It-Yourself Vehicle Fix-It books. In this particular situation, with my CV-Joint occasionally clunking, Dan is here with me, and he is kind enough to help me work on my van. He has been adjusting to an entirely new medication and is finally feeling much better.

Here are some pictures from yesterday while we were messing around with my van's CV-Joints. Apparently all vehicles are different, and my specific vehicle (a wonderful 1985 VW Vanagon) has 2 axles and 4 CV-Joints (2 cv-joints per axle). Both of the axles are underneath the back end of my van, and Dan started by backing the van up onto our friend's ramps, blocking the front tires, and taking off both of the axles. I didn't help while he unbolted the axles, except I did provide moral support :) My job description pretty much entailed taking photos and handing him some papertowel for his hands & a coffee can to prop his head up. I tried to be a good helper.

The driver's side axle (with a CV-Joint on each end):

The CV-Joint that had been clunking (the goop is some grease that he had been spraying inside it for temporary relief from the clunking):

The other CV-Joint on that axle (he hadn't sprayed that one with grease, so it was more dried out and gummy than the other one):

These are all the parts that Dan took off from one side of an axle (the inner & outer race of a CV-Joint, the boot, retaining clip, and bearings). At this point, he tried to clean the grease off the parts and inspect them, looking for any damage or wear. It was very messy:

We were originally just going to clean the CV-Joints are re-pack them with grease, because we found detailed instructions on the internet describing how to service them. It sounded time consuming and messy, but fairly easy to figure out. It also sounded like a normal thing to do every 50,000 miles.

Upon further inspection, however, it looked like my CV-Joints actually need to be completely replaced (not just serviced & re-greased). There are some little grooves and gashes that have worn into them, and they don't look as good as we had hoped. After all that time spent taking them off the van, we decided that we should just go ahead & completely replace them now, while we are in a good location to do it, since it will eventually have to be done at some point anyway. I'm sure my van could drive a little while longer without completely replacing the CV-Joints, but we definitely don't want them acting up while we are driving along Alligator Alley or out doing a little exploring in the middle of the Everglades!

We did a little research (I read on the Internet, and Dan called his very knowledgeable friend Jon), and we learned that rebuilt CV-Joints aren't as good as brand new ones, so I price-checked around a bit. GoWesty seemed to have a really decent price on one brand new CV-Joint & boot kit (60.00), but I discovered that they also sell an entirely new axle (with 2 brand new CV-joints & parts, already attached) for only 150.00. Very convenient, brand new, and alot easier! Dan placed an order today for 2 brand new (not re-built) axles (the left and the right), so we will just bolt them on as soon as they arrive here at our friend's house. He bought them for me for my Christmas/Birthday gift!! Plus, he is even putting them on for me. How sweet is that?

In the meantime, the van is up on ramps, and we won't be driving it around without the axles :) Hopefully I can find enough stuff to keep me busy until the parts arrive, although, I doubt I will have any problem with that. Maybe I can find a bus in Tampa that will take me back to Clearwater Beach again. There are also still some other places around here that I would like to explore before we head further south. I am going to check on Tampa transit possibilities, right after I take a short walk to Publix and buy some blackberries. Mmm. I love Tampa in the wintertime.

Hospital News, Tangerines, Naps, & Bleach

Almost $3,000 later, Dan was released from the hospital. Ugh. He doesn't have insurance, so this situation took almost all of his cash in just one night. Doctor's orders: no caffeine (coffee, energy drinks, dark chocolate...), no alcohol, no smoking, and no horror movies (seriously). Nothing that might send his heart into an abnormal rhythm. Additional orders: Get the surgery to freeze the bad nerve in his heart, as soon as he can afford it. He wanted them to go ahead and operate while he was already admitted, but they basically said, "How will you pay for it? You aren't a FL resident and you have no insurance. The operation costs over $10,000 easy, possibly tens of thousands once everything is figured in." Yikes. Dan is a handyman and works for himself, and this is considered a "pre-existing condition" for insurance purposes. We don't know what insurance company in MI can help him, but he needs to get it done soon so that doesn't happen again. :-( My heart goes out to him! If anyone wants to donate any money for his cause, please just use my tip jar and specify that it is for Dan's heart help fund. Every penny helps, so it doesn't hurt to ask. If I had any money, I would help him in a heartbeat.

We have been really taking it easy since Dan got released from the hospital. We have been parked in a friend's driveway, taking naps in the van, eating tangerines, and laying in a hammock underneath a huge grapefruit tree in his backyard. This is truly the ideal place to park, because we are able to plug in the van to charge our electronics and we can get water from a hose outside. There is even a single toilet out in the backyard, hidden among the foliage, fully hooked upto the sewer. It is just perfect and simple, everything you really need.

Hey have you ever had a payphone ring as you were walking by it? That happened to me the other day between between Clearwater Beach & St. Pete. The thought crossed my mind that if I answered it, it would be like in the movies. Someone would tell me what color shirt I was wearing, they were watching me from above, and I should leave my purse at the payphone and walk away. I ran to answer it, but nothing too exciting happened. It was just a foreign guy with a wrong number. After I told him it was a payphone, he said "Payphone? Payphone? This payphone?" I just hung up, semi-disappointed that it wasn't somehow for me. :)

Headed to Clearwater Beach from Tampa:

Suprisingly, I did manage to be a little productive today. I sent out a little mail, paid a couple bills online, and did a little "maintenance" in my poptop. I popped it open, put on my bathing suit (it was warm up there, today was 80 degrees in Tampa), climbed up there, and used a toothbrush to bleach more of the ceiling and sides up in there. There was still some mold up there that I hadn't gotten before. Took me a little while since I was just using a toothbrush, but it gave my arm a workout and now looks wonderful up there. Very worthwhile.

Laying in my van, just enjoying our own little disco ball, warm breeze, and beautiful palm trees:

Can you see the rips in the screen up in my poptop? A few days ago I ordered a VW Vanagon screen replacement kit from http://www.fanchers.com/, and it just arrived this afternoon. Tomorrow we are going to install it! (If it doesn't rain). I am so excited. I also got my CV-joint parts in the mail today, so we are going to work on that tomorrow, too.

I am currently getting wi-fi inside my friend's house, and the tv is on. I haven't watched tv in ages. "The Dave Ramsey Show" just came on, and I like listening to him on AM radio, so I'm going to watch it for a little bit here before heading back out to my van. TV isn't normally my thing, but I do like Dave Ramsey, and I would also like to catch up a little bit on what CNN is currently talking about. Goodnight!

Some Days Are Rockier Than Others

I had to use my first AAA tow the other night. All I can say is thank goodness for AAA, because they are always there to help you out when you need it. I HIGHLY recommend being a member of AAA and also having them for vehicle insurance. I gave them a call, they arrived in about 30 minutes, and they towed my wonderful little VW Vanagon up on a flatbed truck near Charlotte, North Carolina...

What do you do when your tiny home-on-wheels has to get towed somwhere? You just have to look on the bright side. I am very thankful that I wasn't stuck way up in the Appalachian Mountains when I had a problem. I had absolutely no cell-phone coverage while I was driving along up there. So my Friday started out better than it ended up, but it definitely could've been worse! I guess that day went something like this...

First off, I met up with Nick, a really nice guy, from http://myvanlife.blogspot.com/. He showed me how to balance & walk on a slack-line between 2 trees, and I got to check out the neat van that he is converting into his future home :) I love meeting other van-dwellers & new people along my way, so if you send me a message and I'm in the neighborhood, I might just swing on by. That is what I did to Nick, and it was just a lot of fun.

After that, Dan & I did a little metal detecting & gold panning near Little Meadow Creek & Reed's Gold Mine. After lots of tedious digging into the creek and coming up with nothing, we decided we aren't quite sure yet exactly what we're doing. lol. I guess we aren't sure exactly how deep to be digging in the stream or even which areas of the stream are best for panning. We did learn how to pan, but a little more knowledge would just be extremely handy. Also, metal detecting in the creek really gave me a new appreciation for metal detecting on the beach. The sand is just so much easier to work with, and it is really fun because you are always digging stuff up. It is REALLY HARD work trying to dig down through the big rocks and roots in a river. Don't get me wrong, I am still super excited to do it! I just don't want to waste my time exerting extreme amounts of energy if I'm not even looking in the correct location... Just need to learn a bit more before heading out into the woods.

After we tried our luck in the creek & then plucked some fresh cotton balls from a fluffy-white cotton field nearby, my rear driver's-side tire started making this awful clunking sound. It had made it earlier in the day, but it was really getting worse. It was making a loud thump with every rotation, and the sound got louder and faster as I started driving at higher speeds. I kept pulling over, because it was getting worse fast, and we both agreed that I shouldn't be driving on it anymore. We didn't want the tire to seize up or something awful like that. So I just parked along side the road and figured out my options. Where do you get towed when you are in an unknown location, after normal business hours, on the Friday of a Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend? What do you do?

Well, don't panic. I took the time to make us a couple Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches :) Then I got out my printout of phone numbers for wonderful people on the "Vanagon Rescue Squad" list. Thank you to the kind folks that we called near Charlotte! We were directed to a retired mechanic named Steve who was able to describe to us what was probably a problem with my CV-Joint! He really knew his stuff and was able to give us some great info. We were able to get towed only 15 miles, get some parts, jimmy-rig a temporary fix, and drive it to a place that we will be able to work on it ourselves. Dan's a real handy man to have on the road with me, and he is going to work on my CV-joint - take it off, grease it, re-pack it, whatever he needs to do. He found instructions online describing how to service your VW CV-Joint, so I am pretty sure together we can get it figured out. (although I don't know that I will really be able to help that much)

For now, however, I guess we are kind of stuck where we are at. That is ok, though, because I truly believe that I have angels looking out for me - If there was ever a best place to break-down, this was it, because I have a life-long friend that lives in Fayetteville. It couldn't have worked out any better. I will be here until further notice, trying to get my van running smoothly again, which I'm guessing will only be a few more days... We are also going to try and deal with the leaking coolant issue. Wish us luck!

Feeling a Tad Discouraged

You know how I ordered that coolant hose to fix the leaking problem with my van?

Well, I was so excited to get it that I guess I jinxed myself.

Johnson Foreign Auto tried to order the hose, but were unable to get it, even after calling seven additional places. They were very helpful, but I'm still out of luck. Apparently that specific hose that I need is truly unavailable everywhere. There is no place to get it! It is quite frustrating, really. I tried to order that same hose a while back from www.busdepot.com, and they told me the same thing after trying to order it. "That hose is no longer available." And yet they STILL have it listed on their website. They should really take it off there. So I guess for all of you VW vanagon owners out there, coolant hose part # 025121102A isn't out there anywhere. And if anyone happens to have a source, I would love to hear from you!

I will try not to let it get me down.

For now I will just try more hose clamps and coolant.