Back from Daytona Beach after dancing with the bikers and spring 
breakers on the beach !  What a ZOO !  No major problems with the '87 Westy 
to report !  Did 5,242 km at 120 ~140 km/hr.  Used 1 litre of oil.  Clock now 
reads 319,420 km.  Plus 20 ~ 40 k when the clock was broken during PO's 
ownership.  Original engine with just a head gasket repair and new rings five 
years ago.  Installed new alternator before leaving as the old one was 
growling, seems likes bad bearing as I took it apart and will rebuilt it.  
Some where around Harrisburg the Alt lite came on and stayed on until we 
camped for the nite just south of Richmond.  Leaving in the morning the lite 
went off and has been off ever since !  Mystery !  Lots of whirring sounds 
coming from the radio speakers though.  Yesterday did some investigating and 
took off the main lead to the alternator and the whirring sound in the radio 
went away.  Called the supplier of the alternator and he's sending over a 
replacement.  He thinks a diode is shot !  Ha !  Only other significant event 
was Sunday on the way home around Syracuse, made a pit stop and the starter 
would not work afterwards.  Got the women out to push start and away we went 
home.  Arrived home, unpacked and went to see it the starter would work and 
she started up just fine and has been working perfectly ever since !  Another 
mystery !  
       Vanagon Westys, Vanagon sightings ?  Ha !  We are a rare breed indeed 
!  In 5,242 km of driving and 11 days we saw five Vanagon Westies, one in a 
rest stop along the I-95 in South Carolina, painted like an American Flag, 
LiMBO member I believe, passed the entrance to the rest area before spying 
it, so could not stop to investigate further, one other just on the outskirts 
of Savannah at an intersection while making a pit stop, too much traffic to 
catch up with that one, one more in St. Augustine, Bob was stealth camping in 
a parking lot and Rita & I went and woke him for a lengthy chat, retired and 
travelling the county, one brown one tooling down the main drag of St. 
Augustine, couldn't catch that one either and the last one, a white '91, a 
couple from Mass. travelling since early February, along Ormand Beach, 
unloading stuff into a cottage they were about to occupy for a spell.  Two 
Vanagon vans, two bus Westys, a few bus vans, two Eurovan Westys and FIVE 
Rialtos !  One we made contact with as they were washing theirs in the stall 
next to ours in a car wash in Daytona Beach, from Nova Scotia, Vermont and 
Florida !  
      Where have all the Vanagons Gone was ringing in my ears !  Burnt to a 
crisp like true Canadians we woke Monday morning to a lovely spring snow 
storm...... That sucked BIG TIME !  Now back to work and cleaning the sand 
outta all the nooks and crannies.

Cheers��

Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm">BusFusion</A> a VW Camper camping event, Almonte, ON, May 30, 31, June 1, 2, 2002
'87 Westy & Lionel Trains
Member: <A HREF="http://www.vanagon.com/">Vanagon List</A>, <A HREF="http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/">LiMBO</A>, <A HREF="http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/CIW_English.asp">IWCCC</A> & Capital City VW Club 
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm">STEBRO/Vanagon Stainless Steel Mufflers</A> �
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html">Frank Condelli & Associates</A> or http://frankcondelli.com