ROTFL!

Great start to your trip, Frank!

Can you get Rich's coordinates to Larry Chase so he can add them to the list
of repair people?  Or just send them to me - I'm heading that direction
soon, want to know about all the mechanics there are!

Joy

****************************************************************
Joy Hecht
and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon

For musings about life and the vanadventures:
http://users.rcn.com/jhecht/gypsy

****************************************************************

:::-----Original Message-----
:::From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
:::Of Frank Condelli
:::Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 8:05 AM
:::To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
:::Subject: Off To Burning Man Trip Report #1
:::
:::Left Almonte at 6am, off to a good start and headed  west, uneventful
:::drive
:::through TO toward the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia.   Getting accross the
:::boarder was the fist of glitches.  Semis backed up for  over 10 miles,
:::wound our way
:::past hem , stopped at the duty free shop to get  some booze and off the
:::get
:::in the USA.  Do you have any Canadain Beef on  board question was asked
:::and no
:::but yess,,,,in the dog food !  So we had to  turn in all our stash of dog
:::food
:::to the boarder guard  which he  promptly dumped in the nearest trash
:::barrel
:::then said we're good to go. Yahoo !  Off to Detroit we go.
:::   We got into Detroit and met up with Ina at her daughters where  she
:::was so
:::excited to see us and get ready to move out, she tripped on  an
:::electrical
:::wire and bruised both her knees and sprained a finger.   After some meds
:::and a
:::good night sleep in the driveway we got under way toward  Chicago.
:::Stopping at
:::Cabbalas in Dundee, as we never had done that  and got shocked at the
:::prices,
:::we continued on toward Chicago. We decided  to forego the invitation of
:::Pete
:::& Nancy in South Bend as it was getting  late.  Traffic passing through
:::the
:::Chicago area was overwhelming.   Nothing but simis on the road.  Then
:::Ina's van
:::starts having problems with  the oil pressure light and buzzer coming on
:::at
:::between 2000 and 3000 rpm.   I decide to drive hers for a while and see
:::what's
:::up.  Seems to run just  fine and no oil light at hot idle just at the
:::2000 ~
:::3000 rpm mark.  So on  we go for some 300 km listening to that buzzer
:::coming on
:::and off.  Finally  stopping for gas in Elgin I unplug the oil sensors, we
:::get
:::a Tornado warning  siren and we lock up the vans and head for cover in
:::the gas
:::station.  Soon  the siren shuts down and we decide to continue on toward
:::Rockford, IL.  The  Tornado seems to pass in front of us heading east and
:::we see
:::clear sky in  front.  What a trip that was !
:::     We made it to Rockford, found a Wall Mart  after missing the Flying
:::J we
:::were trying to find and settled in for the  night.  Still no way to get
:::the
:::Wifi to work on the new laptop so we  could not message Pete & Nancy
:::about not
:::stopping there.  In the  morning Ina starts calling LiMBO members in the
:::Chicago area to try and find a  mechanic in The Rockford area to have a
:::look at her
:::oil pressure problem.   I try to go off to the Wall Mart Auto Service
:::Centre
:::to see if someone  there knows of a good VW mechanic.  I now find I have
:::no
:::brakes......what  next ?  Seems the fluid has escaped somewhere.  That
:::explains
:::the  brake light on the dash since yesterday afternoon.  I thought it was
:::the
:::parking brake switch malfunctioning. Ha !  Wrong !  So after  a phone
:::call to
:::the local VW dealer who put us to a European Car service  place who led
:::us to
:::Rich at Brighams Rebuilding, supposedly the local VW  & Vanagon guru.  He
:::says come on over but it's not the best  day.  We find our way to Rich's
:::place on
:::Shappert Road, in Machesney Park  and are greeted by a yard full of VWs &
:::Vanagons.  Rich makes  place in his crowded garage and dives under
:::grumbling
:::something about the leak  could not be in a worse place, up behind the
:::shift lever
:::on the  tranny, above all the coolant lines.  Brale line is rusted
:::through
:::adjacent to the T fitting.  While he's working away we go off to a
:::clinic to
:::get Ina's finger looked after as it's swelling up now, It's not broken
:::just
:::sprained, they give her more meds and an ace bandage.  We  then go
:::looking to
:::find a Wifi connection and still no luck.   Find the Flying J that we
:::missed
:::last nite, they say the Wifi there is working  but I can't get to open on
:::my new
:::Laptop ????  Back to Rick's to see  how he's making out, Ina's van starts
:::cutting out.  What next ... has not  this day been exciting enough ?  I
:::guess not
:::?  So back at Riches we  find the Hydro has cut off his electricity,
:::unpaid
:::bills or something, but he's  still working on the brake line.  While
:::Rich
:::working on the brake  lines in the dark I start looking for Ina's cutting
:::out
:::problem.  I  find the newly installed by her nephew ignition wires are
:::not the
:::correct  ones for the cap.  New style cap old style wires supposedly
:::supplied by
:::the  Bus Depot.  Rick does not have a set of the new wires but does have
:::an
:::older style cap to match the wires.  I install the cap and send Ina off
:::on  a
:::test drive.  Success, no more cutting out, now we're getting  somewhere.
:::I wire
:::Ina's hi pressure oil switch to ground to shut off the  buzzing and light
:::as
:::Rich has no time or patience left to change the  switch.  The low
:::pressure
:::switch seems to be working so we will be  fine.  We settle up with Rich
:::and give
:::him a bunch of beers bid farewell  and we go off to find a spot to spend
:::the
:::night.  We end up back at the  Flying J, have diner at the buffet and I
:::go
:::about trying to find a way to make  the Wifi work.  Called the Flying J
:::Wifi
:::hotline from the drivers lounge  and he asks if I have a new computer
:::with a built
:::in Wifi, yes of course what  else.  Did you turn it on ?  Well no, is in
:::not
:::always on ?   Well, no, there must be a switch somewhere on the laptop.
:::Looking around I  find it.  Never saw that before.  One more reason to
:::read the
:::instruction book of newly acquired items !  Bruce, did you catch that  ?
:::Maybe
:::it was not your wireless box that was broken after all.  So  after
:::turning on
:::the Wifi switch I get on the Flying J Wifi and sign up for a  months
:::service at
:::$19.95 and viola we're on line in the Westy.  Checking  the e-mails we
:::see
:::one from Pete & Nancy wondering what happened to  us....don't ask !  So I
:::write
:::them a note explaining a bit.  We then  pop in a DVD of "Beat the Devil"
:::with
:::Humphery Bogart that Rita found in the  Flying J store for a couple a
:::bucks.
:::What a life, beer, movies,  Internet, Flying J, Vanagon gurus in
:::Rockford, IL.
:::Off to the Badlands  today, were we not just there ?  I hope the next
:::report
:::is not as  convoluted !
:::    Andrea & Brad, sorry your gonna miss Burning  Man, yes we will be
:::camped
:::with the Vanagon crowd.  Phil, yes, get my  reports posted to the LiMBO
:::website, good place to post the trip reports.   Pics will be posted to my
:::AOL site
:::soon.  Gotta go now the road is  calling.
:::
:::
:::
:::Cheers,
:::
:::Frank  Condelli
:::Almonte, Ontario, Canada_ BusFusion_
:::(http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm)  a VW Camper  camping
:::event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2005
:::'87 Westy, '90 Carat &  Lionel Trains
:::Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
:::(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/)  &_
:::CCVWC_
:::(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
:::Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in  the Ottawa Valley_  STEBRO/Vanagon
:::Stainless Steel Mufflers_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)   _
:::Frank
:::Condelli &  Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)  or
:::http://frankcondelli.com