Nice trip report even though the trip was a bit shorter than expected. Lots
of miles and no troubles from the van is always a good thing!
Edward

On Sun, Oct 17, 2021, 8:29 PM David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com> wrote:

> Sorry for the pain, Richard.  Glad your camper held up for the trip and
> served you well.  Better luck next time with the bod.  Being 76 yo, I know
> how such things are.
>
> On Sun, Oct 17, 2021 at 2:32 PM Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> >  I was Covid grouchy.  Hadn't traveled more than 60 miles away in 1.5
> > years.  I decided October would be a splendid month to travel from San
> > Diego to Florida.  To see a "real" rocket launch, and of course all the
> > things along the way...at least whatever was open.  Had reservations and
> > everything at a campsite called Jetty Park, apparently it's a jetty
> about 8
> > miles away from launch pad at Cape Canaveral.
> > All went well.  Vanagon with Subie 2.2 performed flawlessly.  About 22
> > MPG.  Picked up campgrounds along the way, much fun!  Well...I was in
> > Arkansas....about 40 miles from Mississippi River...and then it started.
> > Lower back pain.  I didn't know if it was Acute Sciatica or just strained
> > lower back muscle.  It got bad.  Made the decision to cancel and turn
> back
> > home, it was a difficult decision.  You know how it goes.  But when you
> are
> > not having fun, and have to precisely calculate every reaching move,
> every
> > twisting move...yeah, time to call it a day.
> > Funny....I used ALL of my equipment in Vanagon.  From Buddy Heater to
> 5000
> > BTU window mounted A/C unit.  Max elevation was 8600, Min elevation was
> > -14.  Even with back pain, my full sized TinTop bed did the job, always
> > slept well.  The next morning though, when things stiffened up, was
> another
> > story.
> > Last day was 375 miles from Pichaco Peak State Park north of Tuscon to
> San
> > Diego.
> > Back is resting, and feeling better.  Lots of smashed bugs and
> butterflies
> > to wash off trusty Vanagon, and do a thorough cleanup job inside and out.
> > These are the things roadtrips are made of.  But, with total
> satisfaction,
> > I will state that Vanagon is the way to go.  Only saw 1 other...and we
> gave
> > each other a thumbs up....he was from Washington, probably on this list.
> > Somewhere in western New Mexico.
> >
>