I started lurking in 1994, mostly because of memories of my splittie from college years. Then I heard more and more about these Vanagon things, and Syncros, and in 1995 announced I was in the hunt for a Syncro Westfalia.

Jim Arnott -remember him :) - found mine about 2500 miles away, in a used car lot in Pendleton Oregon. With his help, we closed the deal and put a new set of BFGs on it.

With my wife Michele and our son Colin, I flew out to pick it up. We visited Jim in Union, and then started camping our way back to Maryland. When the CVs started clicking in Death Valley, Unca Joel suggested injecting some grease in the boots. That fixed it, and after a wayward trip back including Sequoia National Park, Las Vegas and Four Corners, we made it home.

Fourteen years later, the Syncro Westfalia is sitting in my garage, waiting for the next adventure.