Some Kind of Journey

Somehow the wife and I got it in our heads that we needed a big van/little RV to head across the country, although we have traveled well in our little BMW convertible.  The above unit has, as I have told friends, everything that can go wrong with a house and everything that can go wrong with a car all wrapped up in the same package.  But I think we may have an adventure trying it out. 

We have cleaned it up and repaired some of the things that weren't quite right, and the wife is working hard to make sure we are comfy in it.  She has discovered many sources online that tell about improvements made to such vans--Roadtrek vans made in Canada.  Ours is a 1999 Dodge 3500 Ram (one ton) van with a 318 motor.  It's got a lot of miles on it, but Roger's Service here in Madison gives it a thumbs up for traveling.  It seems ready to go. 
Among the things we've done to improve it:

• installed a new cd/radio with bluetooth so we can plug in a phone to listen to all kinds of stuff. 
• removed the old monitor hanging over the back bed
• installed new carpeting up front
• installed new vinyl in the back end
• washed and repaired all the curtains so they function properly
• mounted new tires in the front
• mounted the rear-view mirror (found in a drawer)
• cleaned all the seats and fabric and surfaces inside
• changed the oil and air and oil filters

So far we've taken one short trip to Yankton's Lewis and Clarke Recreation Area, and the two nights there in the van were perfectly fine.  We were the smallest RV in the park!  (Ours is a 19 foot machine; Roadtrek made 17 and 21 foot versions.)  We also have plans for some other work before we hit the road.  But once we do, it will be without need for any more work around the house!  All our concerns will be contained within the walls of the van. 

As we go, we'll see what it's like to live the RV life, with the option of heading into the boondocks and setting up camp with our own power and water supplies.  It might drive us crazy, but it might be a whole lot of fun. 

Driving on the Other Side

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Some of our travels on the Green Isle.  The map won't let me add another destination, but there were more.  

Walt Whitman and Robert Frost: Pitchmen

When I heard Walt Whitman's long-lost recording of "America" used in an ad for Levi's jeans, it didn't ring wrong to me; the recording is in the public domain, and the commercial seemed a soft sell, pitching American values and freedom more than any particular product.  The match between the video images and the audio (with subtitles) is nice, and the visibility it gives to the poet seems to me to be okay.  But would it hurt to name the poet?  Give him some credit.

Things seem different in the new Jeep Wrangler commercial, which shows the Jeep navigating a snowy road as an audio recording of Robert Frost reading from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."  A small text tag at the end identifies the poet, the poem, and the copyright holder:  Henry Holt.  What's next?

Even Bavarians Make Mistakes

If you've got a junk yard, used car business, and a scrap metal business, it's no surprise if sometimes odd and wonderful things come across your line of vision, and you just have to divert the scrap from the scrap pile.  That's what happened to Mr. Lee Roy Hartung, who died in May and whose automobile, motorcycle, and bicycle collection will be sold off in bits and pieces.    The car here is one of those, a 1949 Veritas, with running gear by BMW and a body by Spohn, a German company.  Take a look at The New York Times article on Hartung here and a site called Bring a Trailer with lots of pictures of the old beast here.  Now I'm a big fan of some of the good work the Bavarian Motor Works has done, but this thing looks more like the whale that Captain Ahab was hunting than the spritely convertible the wife and I brought back from Seattle.

A Sonnet to Vandalize Your Car

My students are writing sonnets.  Go figure.  Makes me want to do one or two myself, so I do.

Sonnet XIII

This bad sonnet wants to punch you in the gut

Make your momma cry and your dad get drunk

The rhyme makes you think you woke with a slut

Or made bad sexy with a tattooed punk,

You get done reading and your mind’s gone wild

Like a tornado pickup truck four wheel drive

Ripping up a cornfield like a crazed meth child,

Wondering if you wanted still to be alive.

But a sonnet can’t hit, and your dad don’t drink,

Your momma seems happy and your loved one mild,

And the scene with the pickup truck—just spilled ink,

Lines on a page, like this one (there, you smiled). 

A sonnet can turn like that, bad to good,

Or come out swinging like Mrs. Tiger Wood(s).  

First Leg, Roundabout Journey Home

The wife is pretty happy with this quick
 point-and-shoot of Narada Falls as it tried
to mist up her camera lens.

A long hike resulted in this self-portrait with
the mountain crowding into the shot.  Pushy mountain.  

We are happy to share our BMW with the mountain!

We hustled out of Seattle today and watched Mt. Rainier loom closer and closer until--there we were, in the park, sun shining, car making smooth German BMW noises all along, top down, wind in her hair.  Yep.  Sunshine, a day Seattleites dream of.  After a stomach and budget stretching last evening in Seattle, it was time for bagels and peanut-butter, which we picked up at the Safeway in Enumclaw, where Creation Fest was buzzing and the teenage Creationists were hogging the Safeway unisex bathroom.  But it was happy days on the mountain, with lots of viewing and some vigorous hking, after which we managed to find our way to the happy little Relax Inn in Chehalis, WA.  Then for some pie at the Kit Carson Cafe, and we're all set for the night.

Our Return Flight

1995 BMW 325iC

We'll forego our flight on Delta Airlines for a trip home in this little number, which I hope is ready for the long journey.  Today it's supposed to be a sunny 78 degrees in Seattle, which bodes well for our journey home.

My Bogus Lexus

Okay, so I've been shopping for a convertible (again), and a Lexus appeared on the Keloland Automall that seemed too good to be true.  How could some calamity benefit me and give me a ride I would almost be ashamed to be seen in?  $5500 bucks!  I checked NADA and KBB and it listed for about $18 grand.  Whoop! I wrote to the owner, almost panting.  "She" wrote back:

Hello there,

The car is still for sale.. Thanks for being interested in buying my 2002 Lexus SC 430. It is in a good condition, no scratches, no damages, never been implicated in any accidents, no problems at the engine, runs very well. It has an 8-Cylinder STRONG 4.3 L  engine, 76,000 miles, clear title in my name, a perfect car. The last price is not negotiable, $5,500.00 firm. YOU WILL NOT FIND ANOTHER LEXUS  with only 76K MILES FOR THIS PRICE! The only thing because I am selling it, because I divorced with my husband and after the divorce I own this car, now as a woman with two little girls I don`t need it...

I can provide vin# to check on your own. Just let me know if you are still interested.
Here are some more pics... http://imageshack.us/g/718/kgrhqeoki8e2cmsis6ubnyr.jpg/

Thank you very much,
Darlene Riggs 

Look at those photos!  What a ride!  But no phone number.  Hmm.  I wrote again, indicating I was a willing buyer, ignoring the hints--grammatical mistakes, emphatic caps, etc.

"She" replies:

Hi again,
Here is the VIN#: JTHFN48Y120015251. The car is located and registered in Great Neck, NY (I just moved here in Great Neck after divorce), we will use eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection, so we can both be protected and insured.. I just need your full name and full address so eBay can send you the invoice in which you'll see how to make this transaction. I supposed to ship the car to another buyer, then he told me that he found another vehicle so is no longer interested. He already paid the shipping charges, the shipping is paid. I will send the car with all the papers (vehicle registration, warranty papers, transfer papers etc) I am just waiting your full name and address to complete the shipping papers and start the delivery process. I have advertised the car in different locations just to increase my chance to sell it faster because I need the money to pay something asap.
If you are really interested don't forget to send me your full details for shipping reservation!

Thank you very much,

Darlene 

Oh, so it's NOT in Storm Lake, Iowa.  Okay, now all the wind is out of my sails, and it's clear it's a scam Scam SCAM!  Rats.  Oh, well.  So I went out to Lake Herman Auto and drove the Mercedes SLK convertible out there.  It helped a little.

Veteran From Deutschland

There's an old-timer that's come to live with me, not a veteran of the wars, but a long-term retiree that I think will enjoy some traveling time, maybe not soon, but eventually.  Welcome, Mr. Porsche.  He's number 914.

Embrace This

My sister sent me this. Thank you, sister. Click on the video if it doesn't display the whole thing.