Portland for a minute

Originally I had planned to stay around Portland for a few days. I wanted to enjoy some of the great restaurants there. As it turns out the weather was not going to cooperate and I just hated the idea of being trapped in the bus. Camping in the rain is a bummer at best. I was able to visit with family and had lunch with a old friend. and then with reluctance, as i just did not feel like driving. I headed down the road. I had plans to get to the coast. Just what I would do at the coast besides look at the wind blown surf. I don't know.The wind was blowing so bad it made the trip very tedious. I exited at a small town in the woods off I 5 called Drain. I traveled about 2 miles west and ran into a wall of water. As it was dusk already I scraped the sense of adventure and just turned around. I spent most of the day trying to figure out a way to shorten the distances to travel. Traveling just a little further south I was in Grants Pass Or. at around

830 pm. There I lucked into some of the best all time Mexican food.

The long and short of it is that I headed south and after just one more rest stop. I found my way home. Even though there has been no real time change for me I still feel a little jet lagged. It is nice to be here.

There is a little let down that I am not out there pissin people of with my 60 miles an hour top speed. Its not that the blue bomb won`t go any faster its just that that is what felt like the right speed. I met a guy driving his Vanagon from Vermont at a gas station in Oregon. His top speed was 59-62 and I said that he should be able to do better than that. With the load he had that his car was happy right there. So I guess that what I am getting at is that it takes what it takes. It was fun to share my trip with you all. I do recommend getting out and rolling around to see what there may be to see. And especially in a Old VW Bus. There are so many conversations that would have been lost if I was in the Benz.

For me the trip is all about the people. All the places are still there and will be there after we are long gone. We are a fleeting moment in time. I promise that I am gonna do fun shit.

Sunday morning silence

Don`t you just love the couple of early morning hours, when its nice and quiet. Even here on hwy 395 at a flea bag motel. This place is so low budget that it is called eco lodge instead of econo lodge. They just scraped off the no. I really wonder if there is a convention for flea bag inn keepers and if they decide there that they are all gonna buy the same "cleaner" and if they vote on if it should smell like piss. I got here late and was not up for a search in the dark. So I wound up here and slept in my bus in front. The shower was pretty good. The plumbing works so I guess it was OK. The Hookers seem to like this place. Back to the peace and quiet bit. Even in this busy spot there are still these moments of calm and quiet. I know that it won`t last too long. It is just after 7 am and the rest of the world will soon be on the move. My plan, if for the lack of a better word was to get close last night so there would be some time this afternoon in Portland. I am aware that all this driving in the last couple of days has not allowed for much sight seeing. As I dash bye some of the sights I do remember that this is a road trip. Sight seeing alone is not much fun. Really all the places there are wouldn`t be the same without all the people. I just wish that we weren`t all so afraid of each other. I had this conversation with a truck driver that I met at a rest stop in South Dakota. Sunee rides a "First class broom". I think it is a Peterbuilt. She was hesitant to talk to me, and I didn`t want to bug a truck driver at a rest stop with silly questions. Turns out that she wasn`t in a big ass hurry and that I got some great off the interstate directions and had a bite to eat that morning . If you are ever in Belle Fouche, South Dakota there is a hash house called Belle Inn. cheap, good grub. Decent coffee. Any way it was nice that she talked to me and shared her VW memories. Its the people. Without us ,all this stuff is meaningless. Its just stuff and places. I promise to try and remember this the next time I give you mother fuckers the bird. I will just swear quietly.

I suppose that I should get on the road and hit it to Portland.

Soon to Portland

Today finds me on the move and in Missoula Montana. To get here I had to climb a few hills. Upon seeing the a sign "Continental Divide" somewhere back down the road I was filled with joy. If not for just a moment as I soon realized that this is really the beginning of the mountain phase of this trip. Flagstaff was a good chug up hill but this is a longer challenge. Driving up in the morning was definitely an advantage. Overnight temps are in the low 40`s. I have been blessed with nice dry weather. I plan to make Couer d alane Idaho in a few hours and get a room for the night. There is something funky smelling in the bus and I ditched the carpet in Minn.
I managed to find a nice little breakfast joint here in Missoula. This is a nice little town. I did not like the looks of Billings and I just drove thru it. I did stop in Livingston Mo. and had some great ribs. While trying to get a table last night at The Chop House I met a guy from the Orange county region who remembered surfing Dana Point before the marina was built. The waiter in the restaurant was getting ready to move back down to San Diego. So here I am in the middle of Montana talking to 2 surfers about surfing. What a strange and amazing country we live in. Hell... the whole world is strange. This is a fill in post for now as I have been doing a lot of driving. I will catch you later.

I did have a chance to drive through The Badlands Nat. Mon. and here are a couple of pics. It has occurred to me that on a trip this large that it is impossible to stop everywhere. There is so much cool stuff to see. The Dakota region has tons of old shit and lots of trailblazing history. It is a destination all by itself. I would like to go and spend time there. For now the drive-by will do.

OhYea... I almost for got to tell you yhay I took the Blue Bus to The Blue Earth. That of course is where the Jolly Green Giant is from: From the valley of the Jolly Ho Ho Ho...

There is one other thing that while I remember it I woulld really rather not have it as a memory. If that Queer from the hotel is following this "YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED AT YOURELF FOR TALKING TO ME THAT WAY" I use the q word as a deragatory. He was a nasty old man, that in my younger days would have punched him in the nose. The whole episode is too twisted to post. Shame on you!

Ready to roll, again.

So I have been in Minneapolis for 2 nights. Today was the day that I took care of the funky smell in the bus. I have had a leaky ice chest for a while. I didn`t think it was too bad. It turns out that it was way worse and with so much rain nothing is gonna dry out, so out with the carpet. The hot shower last night took care of the rest of the funky smell. Plus I hit the suds n duds and washed the sleeping bag. It was definitely about time. The plan for tomorrow is to get into a position to adjust the valves and bump my timing for the Hill Climb. I don`t mean a Pennsylvania hill either.

For you VW lovers that is my 71 deluxe that I got from the hi-desert junkyard several years ago.
I did for get to mention that while driving through South Bend I stopped off st Notre Dame for a photo op and some bad Italian food. But I didn`t plan the bad food.

Its been a nice stop and I am ready to roll. I will catch you all later.

New Jersey to Minnesota

The trip across I 90 to Minneapolis was fairly uneventful . Except for the horrible weather out of Chicago and the blown toll booth near there. That is only the second one I have missed. There is a lot of construction in the area and traffic was bad. The other blown toll both was all the way back in N.C.

I had a great time at the Flanders New Jersey VW camp out and car show. I wish that I could remember every ones names. So if I get it wrong please forgive. I have also been bad about taking pics especially at shows as I take em then I never look at em. This would have probably been a good time to use my camera as this blog can be pretty boring without the photos.

I want to give a shout out to Chris and his brother Dustin for making me feel welcomed from the very start. It was good camping with you guys. To Ray from Ottawa for the groovy Canadian coffee mug. Casey and Jane for the tip on Taylor ham egg and cheese. For those that don`t know , that is a Jersey breakfast standard. Nice Thing Casey. Hey Casey if you read this, Stay in touch and when I come across another 800 dollar bus I will let you know. I do have to say that some of the cars that the east coast guys start with are in rough shape. It takes a lot more love to bring them around. I am impressed. Like Jim's 75 Westy that he pulled from axle deep mud. Amazing. It has given me a new perspective. All that there is left to say is that Flanders ROCKS! What a great event. I highly recommend it.

On my way here I drove across three states and they looked exactly the same. There was not a lot of stopping except for fuel. I am a lousy Tourist and don`t enjoy that sightseeing stuff I will say that I am a bit homesick and that I miss my wife. Cruising around the country is fun and all but I have always known that I am really a home body. No, Not home boy. Seeing and meeting all the dogs on the way makes me miss Fred that much more. Someone in Flanders had a young Pointer and he was great.

I guess that I am just working backwards from Long Island. Too bad for me that I didn`t know about DVG as I could have caravan ed with them to Flanders. That would have been cool. Thanks for the sticker. See... Long Island is just like anywhere else in the world. Only some people are Assholes. I suppose no matter where they were they would be the same. All I can say is Cheer Up.

On the Bounce

I left Long Island and made the Flanders NJ camp out and car show. I have been on the run since Sunday afternoon and have no real time at the computer. This will be a short Blab.

I almost made it to your place Rollin except I got on the turnpike the wrong way. Needless to say I took the long way thru PA.

As for the New Jersey show, in a nut shell " It was a blast". I will have more on that later when power and time permit.

Just a quick one for you bus guys. f you ever find yourself on I 90 check out the Belvedere Oasis. its got the Sponge Bob bus. I dont suppose these cars are ever going away. Cheers for now.

Welcome to all my followers and the new ones. You Flatter me and I thank you.

Lazy in the Hamptons

So I left the outer banks on Monday morning. It was a leisurely pace to start the day. Once I realize that there was only 477 miles between me and my next destination, I figured that I could pull it off. I arrived on Long Island around 1230 am. I know that as a surfer I am a bit of a adrenalin junkie. So if you want a real rush navigate and drive across N.Y. with all the rest of humanity. I don`t mean get off the freeway or anything like that. That may cause vomiting uncontrolably or severe hemorrhoids. But really it was a challenge and I made pretty good time. It is always good to get to the end of the driving part. I had been camping in the bus for nearly 7 nights and I was ready for a break. A hot bath was the icing on the cake. My friend Mark lives in a cozy little cottage here about 30 minutes away from Montauk. Yesterday we made it out and surfed clean waist high dribblers. The hope is for Friday. If you don`t know a resident you can`t park at the beach as you need a beach pass. So I am lucky to have a connection here just to get to the beach. Where is Surfrider when you wanna surf Montauk. Hell some parts of Florida have so much no parking regulation that only residence can go to the beach. So I am hopeful for Friday.

As you may already know the Hamptons is a place where the neat and elite meet for the summer. I would guess that there are a lot of famous folks running around here its just that I don't much care . The artist Jackson Pollock drank himself to death somewhere near here. I bought some coffee at at the same store he used to buy his beer. I don`t think that the same asshole that sold me the coffee, sold Jackson his beer. Maybe... it was probably some other asshole. So now me and Jackson Pollock have something in common...assholes in the Hamptons. All the assholes aside, This is a very unique community. Very quaint. Nice beaches and overpriced everything. It is good to see old friends and new ones. I sure do love where I live.

So for now I am being lazy. Well I did do another oil change and valve adjust today and if the weather is lousy I may get a little work in on my new friend Adriannes dwarfed studio. I mean the ceiling is low. The surf is supposed to pick up tomorrow and Friday it is forecast to clean up. I hope that I get at least one session in good Montauk. It is a beautiful set up.