A New Tradition

On April 10th, we were reminded that it had been one year since we first set foot in Bend. I was so excited about our new hometown that I took this picture and posted it:

April 10, 2014

We decided to start a new tradition for our new town, and we went back down to Drake Park and took the exact same picture:

April 10, 2015

While it was a bit overcast, and the pond looks a little murky without all that gorgeous blue sky reflected in it, it was still a crisp spring day, and a great way to mark the passage of one sporadically frenzied, life-changing year. And thus, a new tradition is born!

We've definitely been doing a lot more wandering since it's been warm lately. It's just so refreshing and beautiful outside. Everyone seems to have fruit trees, and the streets are popping with color.

our plum tree in full bloom

We took Morty out for a little spin, down some farm roads, with no particular destination in mind. The sun was shining, we passed sheep and cows, horses and goats, a few llamas, and finally ended up at Tumalo Reservoir. You can just barely see the Cascade mountains peeking out in the background. They're still completely snow covered, but this year our snow pack was only about 30% as deep as normal. This means it will melt off too quickly - the trout and salmon will suffer, because the rivers won't be as cold, which equals less oxygen. A hot, dry summer is in the forecast.

Morty at Tumalo Reservoir

Note to self - shooting into the sun sucks.

It's getting harder and harder to stay inside and finish fixing up the house, but like homework, it hangs over our heads every day. Some days, I just unpack a box or two (we're close to done, only about 10 boxes left) and consider that "remodeling." It does help, though! This day, we got two art boxes unpacked and hung up some of our Audrey Kawasaki favorites on the living room wall.

maybe the art will distract from the fact the trim's not done...

And while the kitchen cabinets are still a pain to open since I didn't put the handles on yet, the kitchen is fully functional and I've been cooking up a storm! I made butter poached, local wild caught rockfish with saffron sauce, a deconstructed pastichio (it's sort of a Greek eggplant lasagna), consommé, and completely-from-scratch-pierogis. I also made stuff Mike could eat, like chili. Ha! 

not all cooking goes right! eggplant explosion on the grill.

Life has been quieter these last couple weeks, as we've gotten into a groove of just living here in Bend. It's a nice thing to enjoy, since looking down the summer pipeline, we've got a lot of plans. Time to get motivated to finish our list! While there's tons more to do, if we could only get this stuff done, we could relax for a bit. Let's see if writing it here helps us get it done before the next post (wishful thinking...).

Things to Do:

finish replacing all electric receptacles

finish trim

hook up kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans

reframe all windows and kitchen sliding glass door

hook up hallway pendant light

hook up office light

install bathroom door

paint office

finish unpacking/storing away all boxes

Happy Holidays from Mike and Kristy!

Apparently blogger had some technical difficulties and erased my entire Happy Holidays post! Major bummer.  

Quick synopsis: We went to the local Bend holiday parade, shopped around town, then headed up to Los Angeles via Monterey Bay, with a nice little stop at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

Morty, our vanagon, all festive!

The Bend holiday parade with llamas, the unicycle club, marching band, and Smoky the Bear.

awesome Christmas lights in Monterey

Slightly creepy holiday decor, also in Monterey

A very active octopus - he was awesome!

An alien looking Nautilus

Jellies!

More jellies. We love them - so gorgeous.

Moon jellies

Mike and I at Monterey Bay. Happy Holidays!

Project Finally Completed!

It's been busy around here; word is getting out about Subietech, and that's a good thing! I'm learning a lot about running a business, and Mike's being his usual charming self with the local Subaru owners. 

Mike hard at work!

We have already had repeat customers, which is awesome, and Subietech paid for itself this month - hooray! But don't worry, we still had plenty of time to just play around town. 

We made it to Member's Night at the High Desert Museum, and met a blue tongued skink. 

Mike made friends with the snapping turtle, too.

We found time to play in the snow:

snow angels!

me and my thousands of layers!

And, the most exciting thing: we "finished" Morty, our Vanagon! I say "finished" because as anyone with an old car knows, you're never really finished (we still want to get curtains, some new gauges, storage, move the heater, etc). 

the new carpet and upholstery - we added some protective mats and
eventually need to figure out what we'll put under the seat.

the front seats and new carpet!

Morty is now sporting new upholstery, picked out and designed by yours truly. I am particularly proud of the black piping and strips down the side of the seats. Looks nice, huh? A big thanks to Blue Pine Designs for doing such a great job!

Morty also has a new carpet kit and a super nice thick foam mat - in matching upholstery, of course - in the back, so we can sleep cozily and comfortably on our future road trips. We can't wait to test it out!

The only thing left to fix is the windshield wipers, and front visors. I can't believe how far this crappy van has come - you can see the original pics on the Vanagon tab. Morty's come from a dusty, un-driveable dream project, to a ruggedly handsome powerhouse. And it only took 2.5 years and thousands of dollars - HA.

the back seat folds down and makes one HUGE bed.

Mount Bachelor opened their terrain parks over Thanksgiving, so I'll be falling on my butt a lot this upcoming week. Hopefully I'll remember to take some pics!

Our First Morty Adventure Ends

After our shift linkage fell out on our way through SLO (San Luis Obispo), we were super paranoid the rest of the trip, and kept stopping when we heard a new noise. And since this was Morty's first trip, all noises were new noises. It was slow going to Santa Cruz, which was only 2 hours away, and we ended up arriving at 10pm, well after dark. 

Luckily, the campsite was really nice, we got a spot near the restrooms (which were some of the cleanest I have ever been in!), and we spent a decently comfortable night.

Morty at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, site #32

This trip has totally inspired me to keep notes on campsites that we travel through, as tips like bathroom cleanliness, insect control, cost/fees and privacy are things I find very important, but aren't always rated or noted in reviews. A new tab with campsite recommendations is coming soon!

The next day, we got up super early and headed inland and north, towards the I-5. Our cigarette lighter/charger doesn't quite work yet, but thanks to our buddies John and Jorj, we had solar power to charge our phones. 

Goal Zero solar charger - free energy!

I cannot wait for the day that I have solar power for my entire home. All the destruction of the environment, wars, and pollution that we suffer through, just for gas and oil and coal to power homes - it's idiotic. We could be getting free, clean energy all the time. Mike's already got an auxiliary battery for Morty, so we can put solar panels on his roof and have energy on long camping trips (without using the motor or gas). The future is here! 

And while we're on the topic of the environment, some sad California drought scenes we saw on our way up to Oregon:

brown, brown pastures for miles and miles.

Lake Shasta, which should be up to the level of the trees. For scale, that little white thing
on the right side of the picture is a large boat.

One of the things I love most about traveling is that it gives you perspective. And even though this wasn't a fuzzy, feel good perspective, it did hammer home the fact that water may run through the pipes at home just as it did before, and it may cost the same monetarily, but there is an overall planetary cost that you just don't see every day. Things are changing, and people's lives are affected.

Passing through Shasta National Forest, with Mike at the helm.

After we passed Lake Shasta, it was just another hour to Castle Crags State Park. We were anxious to get home and see our pets, so we didn't hit the hiking trails here, but we are definitely coming back. This place is beautiful, isolated, and perfect for groups to hang out (and these bathrooms are even cleaner than the last!). Lots of bear warnings, though. We decided to eat all our food and store it inside our bodies, rather than stick it in the bear box. There were lots of spiders in there, and somehow, that seemed scarier.

Castle Crags State Park, site #14. Stunning scenery, complete with bears.

Morty likes camping!

The "Castle Crags" from which the park gets its name. Picture from web, no credit listed.

We made it home to Bend the next day, and as much as we love Los Angeles, and hunger for Mexican food, and miss our family and friends...home is where your bed is. And our bed is in Bend. Although, I did just buy some super awesome foam padding for Morty, so our bed may soon be wherever we want it to be.

Adventure Time!

Mike had been gone 10 days when I decided to fly down to Los Angeles and help him drive the van up. I had found a $109.00 ticket, leaving in two days, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I packed, arranged for a pet sitter, and called the cab.

When I got to the airport, I found out I had actually booked my ticket for JULY, not June. Oops. When I thought about it, it was very weird that I could buy a super cheap ticket only a couple days in advance.

Yes, I am a moron.

Luckily, the kind, no-nonsense lady at the ticket counter rescheduled me to fly out that very day, same times, for no extra charge. I am now a huge fan of Alaska Airlines!

I got to LA just fine, and helped Mike finish up the van.

me, putting on door seals.

We got it running and figured we'd do the rest (interior, etc) up in Bend. We christened the car with the name we had picked for a future child: Mortimer Danger Manser. "Morty" for short. Human Morty is probably super glad he was never born and subjected to that name. I think Vanagon Morty loves his name, though. It fits. He's an old soul, but tough.

Mike, baptizing Morty with a bath.

We couldn't wait to leave on our first adventure back to Bend! We decided to take the coastal route up (much prettier than the I-5), and pass all the VW Vanagon specialty service shops and suppliers. We needed to buy a few things for the interior, and a few things for our other Vanagon. And in case you didn't catch that, yes, we have another Vanagon in the works, up in Bend. She's blue, with a sunroof! 

It's so fun to be on the road; you can do whatever you want. I'd never been to a mission before, so we stopped at the Santa Barbara Mission for a quick tour.

Mike at the front of the Santa Barbara Mission, which is over 200 years old.

Inside the church. Opulent, as most churches are...

skull and crossbones outside the door, marking the entrance to the cemetery.

Huge, gorgeous tree in the cemetery. Love these!

We were SO lucky we took the coastal route, because Morty decided to lose part of his shift linkage on the way. It was one of the only mechanical pieces we didn't replace. Guess he thought he should have a new one. We heard something bouncing off while we were on the freeway, looked at each other and said, "rock?" Then, "wouldn't it be funny if Morty was just falling apart?" HA. We lost the part only 20 miles from San Luis Obispo, so it was an easy tow to Westy Werks. 

This is where the cool vans hang out.

We felt comfortable the second we pulled up. There were at least 8 other Vanagons/Westfalias/Synchros at the shop, and the guys that work at Westy Werks are super nice, professional, and extremely experienced at working on VWs. They hooked us up with some sweet t-shirts that totally appeal to our sense of adventure, and their shop tag line is, "love the life you live." I think we came to the right place!

Mike's new Westy Werks t-shirt. Thanks, guys!

Tonight, we're off to Santa Cruz, to camp at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, and wait for Van Cafe to open. Our first adventure is off to a great start, despite our mechanical problems. Being broken down on the side of the road is so much better together, rather than apart!

Happy New Year! 2014 - the year the Vanagon was completed.

One of our goals for the new year is, of course, to get the damn Vanagon finished! To be fair, I have not actually contributed much to this project in the way of physical labor. I'm more of a money manager. Mike, on the other hand, has literally bled over this machine. And now, I have too!

On new year's day we decided to get a move on and start installing the sound mat and insulation into the van. The sound mat is a bitch to work with because you have to cut it to fit exactly, then press it into every nook and cranny on the panels (inside the door, sides, and back panels).

You're basically peeling off a giant, very expensive sticker, and then trying not to touch the sticky side to anything, while maneuvering it into a tiny crevice. Then you have to roll all the air bubbles out. Your arms are at weird angles, you're holding awkward tools you've never used before, your hands get cut on the metal door frame, things are all dirty, and overall, it's not super fun!

 

 

The best thing that came out of all our labor was that I have a newfound appreciation for Mike's job and what he does all day. I was so pooped that we went home at 2pm and I passed out for 3 hours. Manual labor is exhausting! Who knew?!

 

In the end, we only managed to get the back door and the motor cover completed, but at least we know what we're dealing with, now. We'll be back at it again tomorrow.

 

 



Vanagon Update: Bumpers!

Apparently you have to have bumpers on your car for it to be street legal. Did you know that? I didn't know that. I've seen plenty of bumpers along the highway shoulders, which leads me to believe there are lots of non-street legal cars out there...

So being mostly law-abiding citizens, Mike and I bought bumpers for the VW Vanagon. He wanted super manly bumpers so we got these really heavy metal matte black bumpers, and they look quite nice installed! Here is the front (you can also get a nice view of the newly installed headliner):

 

And here's the rear:

 

 

Hm, I just noticed the color of our van looks completely different in the daylight! It's a deep marsala red with a slightly off white top. We did realize in hindsight that it kind of looks like an ambulance, but hey, nothing we can do about it now. LOL.

 

We are SO CLOSE to having this thing completed. The last few weeks have been painful waiting for me. We have a trip planned in March to go up to Seattle and back. While I definitely think the Vanagon will be running by then, the interior might not be completed, but it won't be for lack of trying!

 

 



Update on the Vanagon!

It's month 22 of owning our Vanagon and we are SO close to finishing it! Little things keep popping up that are super frustrating, though, like....the windshield. We found out it was cracked - I think it was a itty bitty crack at first, but after being removed and then set aside for awhile during the paint job, and moved around some more, the itty bitty crack turned into a big ol' crack.

Since it was Mike's birthday recently, I told him I was buying him (us) a new windshield as his bday present. He was super stoked and got a guy to come out ASAP and install the new one (sorry about the quality of the pic, it's from his phone):

Woohoo! One more piece of the puzzle is in and we are one step closer to completion.