It's Mine!!

I bought the 86 Westy I looked at last week, I can still barely believe it's mine. The previous owner, the angel that he is, drove it to my place. My stick shift experience is limited and rusty, so I'll be doing some parking lot practice before I try to tackle Vancouver's hills.

On Sunday I finally found some time to start scrubbing down the inside. It's not bad, but since I can't drive it yet I figured I might as well do the one thing I can for the moment, make it sparkle. Et, c'est un peu comme avoir un nouveau amant, I just can't seem to stop touching it.

I had a friend with me who happily sat in the "Queen's Throne" (desolee D, c'est mon westy, cet siege est pour la reine), drank ciders and windexed a window or two while providing sage advice like "Frotte plus fort!." Good help is hard to find these days.

The one downer to the whole day was the theft of the roof rack. Le van m'appartiens pour moins que 24hrs et deja quelque chose a ete voler! I leaned the rack against the fence just beside the van and while I had my back turned scrubbing cupboards someone waltzes away with the bloody things!!! Grrr. All I can say is thank the gods I kept the brand new tires in the trunk. I'm going to put up a sign, something along the lines of "Hey, you! Yeah, you. The one with the sticky fingers. I'ld greatly appreciate it if you would bring my roof rack back, you fucker. Thank you kindly." I don't think my chances are good, but I'm sure it'd help me feel better. I believe the word I'm looking for is 'closure'.

On a positive note, tomorrow is my first date with the parking lot. Wish me luck!

The Hunt

La chasse a commencé. Hier, je suis aller voire ma première VW van. Après des semaines de recherche, j'ai décidé qu'un Westy serait le meilleur choix... yes, even when I'm making an impractical choice I do so with piles of documentation behind me. =)

I have decided that this is the summer for a roadtrip. A massive, transcontinental affair between me, Canada et les Etats-Unis. Tu vois, une de mes cousines va se marier cette été. Elle sera la première de la famille. And it's in Florida. Now, I could fly down, but where's the fun in that?

So, me, one lucky Westfalia, and possibly my cat (entirely dependent on how receptive she is to the idea over the next couple of months, stay tuned) will be the cast of this summer's action/adventure blockbuster hit. However, with what I've been reading about VW vans, there's a good chance that this theatrical release could just as easily be shelved with the tragic comedies.

J'ai pensé que ca prendrait plusieurs semaines a trouver la meilleure van pour mon argent. Mais, après hier soir j'ai beaucoup de misère a imaginer un spécimen plus méritant pour transporter me fesses d'un océan a l'autre. I know, I know, I'm bringing it into a reputable mechanic before I make my decision. Merci monsieur D et monsieur R pour votre aide avec la première round.