It's a tough life but someone has to lead it.  You're it.

> From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
> Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
> Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 22:00:18 -0500
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: The Way It Is ---- Long.
> 
> Preparing for my two day local camping trip I plug my 120v into the
> receptacle.
> Set a coffee can full of ice cubes in the fridge, turn on fridge and my
> tiny computer fan in the fridge.
> I round up two cans of Wolf Brand chili, two cans of Ranch Style beans, a
> pound of bacon, five slices of cheese, � jar of mayo, and two Irish
> potatoes.
> I unplug the 120v power, get in the van and note the wonderful all tin
> sound that the door makes as I close it briskly, noting that the window
> dropped a half inch when I closed the door.
> On the way out to the trip I crank my engine and it burst into the great
> throbbing 67 hp that I�ve grown to accept.
> I roll down the driver�s window, noting that the window crank still
> scrapes on the large speaker grill in my door.
> I turn on the radio noting that its moved out �� from the desired
> position in the dash, I give it a little push back into place and turn it
> on. I plug in my favorite traveling music starting with Cat Steven�s;
> Morning has Broken, knowing the next song will be the Who singing Going
> Mobile.
> I turn the fresh air blower on and put the tranny in reverse, I watch
> carefully for joggers and their dogs coming up behind me. I take a quick
> look at the driveway to see if I�ve developed and oil leak.
> I get backed out and headed to the local Albertson�s store passing a
> Splittie en route.
> Ah Yes! The blower finally started.
> I lean over and push the radio back in again.
> I overbuy on deli meats at Albertson�s as always.
> As part of my trip I scoot through the drive through ATM and punch the
> Quick Cask $100.00 button ���. Where does all that money keep coming
> from? I�ve been thinking about getting my own ATM card.
> I navigate the hard U turn to get out of the ATM lane engineered by New
> Your Architects.
> I move into the traffic and reach over giving each of my VDO gauges a
> little thump with my spring loaded middle finger. The all remain the same
> (except when the faces fall off).
> Lets see: Cylinder head temp 300, Oil temp 60, Oil Pressure 5+ Bar, Volts
> 14, yes all ok.
> I reach the freeway ramp that leads me to an Interstate nonstop trip of
> 120 miles to get to Possum Kingdom Lake.
> I bury the accelerator pedal testing fate by pulling out in front of a
> Ford Ranger going warp three. I get the Westy up to near sixty before he
> makes his standard snap lane change to show me how important this lane
> has been to him.
> I�m now cruising at close to seventy and I�m checking out the direction
> the wind is blowing so I can decide if I�m going East or West and
> possibly changing destinations to accommodate a tail wind. No matter,
> Caddo lake to the East is just as good as Kingdom Possum is to the West.
> I watch the flags at Auto dealerships to calculate the wind direction and
> velocity and find that I can go on to Possum Kingdom Lake.
> The next two hours is just 65-75 mph Interstate driving with one or two
> changes of the traveling tapes, I�ve graduated on to Sarah Brightman
> singing that popular song from Cats, Knowing that the next song is
> Charlotte Church singing Amazing Grace.
> By this time I�ve thumped the VDO gauges a few times and I�m seeing;
> Cylinder Head temp 360, Oil pressure 4 bar, Oil temperature 100 (c),
> Volts 14.
> As I approach the lake I�ve several long inclines that are severe enough
> that they chose to provide passing lanes. I enjoy these now that I have
> my new engine, reminds me of my years in Colorado when I had an 560 cid
> Eldorado Cadillac and when I put it to the floor I expected the hood to
> be sucked right down the carburetor.
> I reach the nearest country grocery to the lake and ice down some soft
> drinks, the deli meats and other necessary items. I fill the fridge with
> frozen water bottles I�ve brought from home. I know my fridge has a good
> thermal boost by now.
> It�s just six more miles over lots of hills and through valleys before I
> get to the lake.
> I arrive at the lake and cruise about three Pay-For-A-View parks before I
> turn off onto a gravel road with heavy erosion ruts and severe curves on
> inclines surrounded by Mesquite bushes. I honk at a small herd of deer
> that are possessive as a BMW driver of their road.
> Finally reaching my destination high above the Lake I navigate the Westy
> to take advantage of the prevailing breezes while still getting it close
> to level ground as possible.
> I get out and find two good sized iron colored rocks to chock my wheels.
> After setting my bicycle out and popping the top, I brew up some hot
> water, using half to pour into the sink for a shave and the other half to
> make coffee.
> Its now time to organize the gear so I can swivel the front seat, set up
> one table and burn some breakfast.
> I choose to scramble a few eggs and cook a pound of bacon (I don�t like
> to clean up so I cook it all at once). Whenever I cook bacon I know full
> well that I�m going to be driving around salivating for ten days smelling
> the odors that permeate every crevice of the Westy.
> That�s it guys; the rest is bike riding, fishing, napping and once in a
> while I check my oil.
> 
> Stan Wilder
> 83 Air Cooled Westfalia
>