Engine Rebuild

Lenny is going to have his engine rebuilt, hopefully beginning next week. We are going to try and find a place to store him during the time being so we can work on him while his engine is in another part of SC... A mechanic's shop quoted me at least $3k to rebuild the engine and a man I met through the Full Moon Bus Club will do it for at the most $1200. During that time we are going to put in a new fuel tank, work on the clutch and shifter, and get him ready for the road even better than last time. The man who is doing the work for me- nicknamed "Bear"- even has a loaner engine I could put in Lenny while he works on my engine, but another Moonie has it up in Asheville; a bit far for me to go get it. We have some friends and my dad who are going to help us pull the engine out and later put it back in. But we'll have to store Lenny while he's out of commission. We may be looking at another storage unit situation.
In a perfect world we would know someone with extra space on their property for us to rent and commute to work from the Bus, as our lease is ending in a few months. Without an engine we can live in the Bus and work on some of the little things that need love (bench seat, sink, windshield & seal, hole where antenna became loose and came off, sound system, etc) while saving the $750 we've been paying in rent, plus $100-200 in utilities.
We have some prospects in mind, but most of the people we know here don't have the room and are not hippies who don't mind being crowded in a living space. Considering Trey works 50 hours a week and I work 40, a lot of our leisure time would be spent aside the fire & Lenny, watching the summer sun set.

Spring time

"the magic float!"
Been looking through some favorite pictures and really missing Lenny. He is at a VW mechanic's shop waiting to be worked on as there was already a few ahead of him. The mechanic did say that when he drove it up to the bay it sounded like it was a lifter and a misfire. So I am hoping his right! We are not in any way mechanics and we can fix a few things here and there. But for now I'd like to get have everything looked over and fixed up since its looking like we may be on the road again soon and don't want to have silly little problems here and there along the way. An experienced eye would do Lenny real good right about now. So soon we will be back on the road again with many more adventures as we have a LOT of catching up to do!
Its great to hear that new people are finding my blog useful and inspiring! I hope that you start going to Bus campouts and maybe I'll see you at one someday.

Disappearing Act

"Beam me up, Scottie!"
I've disappeared from here, and I am sorry readers. I hope you haven't forgotten about Lenny and my adventures. However, I do have some bad news. Last I posted we had broken down en route to Charleston and thought it to be a clogged fuel pump or filter. Well it just a clogged fuel line so we were close enough. Once we got him started up the engine was knocking pretty bad. Trey did a test to see if the lifters were stuck, but it does not appear so.
Does Lenny need a new engine? We don't know. We are going to tow him to a mechanic we do not know, but does VW work and has for 40+ years. Hopefully he can give a diagnosis and some options on repair. Or maybe we'll just throw a Porshe 914 engine in there, for some real oomph! ;)
We are going to a Bus campout this weekend because we planned to have Lenny. Alas, we will be camping in the camper shell of a truck, with the cushions from Lenny at least.

I'd rather be camping

People have stickers and magnets stating "I'd rather be fishing!" or "shopping", depending on the person's hobby. Mine would definitely say "I'd rather be camping in a VW Bus!" Because pretty much every second of every day I think that. Except when I am gardening and baking bread. Those things would be too difficult in a Bus!

A little side note on dreams and life~
My dream goal is to own a bunch of land, a place where my friends can come and build their own house on it. I want to grow an abundance of food, as well as have an extensive wild garden (which will grow whatever grows wild where I buy my land.) Hopefully my friends will want to do the same thing (I have been selecting and asking friends to come some day considering much of them has the same dream as I). Then during the year at times I can go off in my Bus and travel to those I miss while living out on the farm. Knowing that my farm is still cared for by my friends who live there, I can travel for a few months without worrying for the chickens and carrots. Sounds like a dream, but to me that's what life is. A waking dream. I want to take advantage and reach my goals today; not sit back and hope that when I die there is something else, something better. I want to live life like THIS is the best and I better make it the BEST EVER! :)

A Visit from Carole & Dexter

Last week we got a visit from Carole Brown and her beautiful bus Dexter~ the Yes We Can Campervan. Carole is driving across the US (the second time) to raise awareness of the auto-immune disease, Myasthenia Gravis (MG). MG is a neuromuscular disorder, which involves the muscles and the nerves that control them, causing weakness of the voluntary muscles. Those living with MG may suffer from facial paralysis, fatigue, difficulty chewing, swallowing or climbing stairs; etc. Although the disease has been known for over half a century many are living undiagnosed with this illness today.
vw4causes.org has more information on MG and a link to other auto-immune diseases that affect more than 23.5 million Americans today.

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Cheating on Lenny & Haunted Charleston

Last weekend I "cheated" on Lenny~ I drove another bus!! We left poor Lenny parked this week while we were busy visiting family and friends around South Carolina. Over the weekend we went to Charleston where I got to drive Sprout, who belongs to our friend Jim. No one has gotten to drive Sprout while Jim has owned him, so I felt very lucky that my friend had a bit too much to drink. I noticed a big difference in the shifting, Lenny has so much play! Otherwise it was pretty much the same but I had a good feeling puttering through Charleston in Sprout.


A word on Charleston~
We stayed in Rockville, a stone's throw from the ocean where annually a ship battalion lights fireworks to celebrate July 4th. The rest of the year most of the homes are empty, leaving visitors to wonder how old these seemingly historic houses are; and the old wise trees, dripping with Spanish moss, that seem to know more than the people living here. At night we pondered on the history of the place; knowing Charleston was the largest slave port of America, a dark picture began to emerge. We ignored the shadows creeping in night and walked to the water's edge, before a cold gust sent us back to our temporary residence and our campfire. Ignoring the weird feelings we spent the rest of the night goofing off and gave it no more thought.
I have a hard time believing in what I cannot see with my eyes and touch with my hands, but some feelings are hard to ignore. Especially when all of us felt the same thing but talked about it much later. Needless to say, I got a FREE haunted tour of Charleston.


Side note~ I took these photos on a very sunny 75 degree afternoon, and they still turned out so eery!

Thanksgivings Misgivings

Last weekend we enjoyed the Coastal Carolina "Thanksgivings Misgivings" in Awendaw SC. We enjoyed the company of good friends, beautiful buses and delicious food and drink. Saturday I had fried turkey for the first time, and I have to say, I didn't taste the difference! I guess my Mum is just that great of a cook! :)
On the way, just after 15 miles of woods, Lenny started to shutter and cut off as we coasted into a fast food lot. We thought, fuel pump/filter?? We had him towed to the event location, arriving after dark, and hoped to have him fixed up and on the road by Sunday. My dad brought me a fuel pump and filter from the parts store on his way to the event saturday. The filter was wrong, and the pump was different but workable, so after Trey worked 2 hours on intalling the pump, the Bus still won't start up right. We are thinking the filter may be clogged, but can't tell until we get a new one on it. So we had Lenny towed back to Aiken from Charleston utilizing both Trey and my AAA accounts (100 free miles each). So this thanksgiving we are thankful for AAA!

Backing Lenny into the spot

Visit from a cute guest!

Lenny & Sprout

Carole working on her Yes We Can Campervan on their trip across the US to bring awareness for MG~ Myasthenia Gravis
Lenny and Wanderlust

Boomerang