It was the best of vans, It was the worst of vans. From Vancouver to Los Cabos, I explored the west coast of North America in that van. My daughter's childhood memories will be filled with camping trips all over Northern California in that van. She named it Serendipity and stuck each sticker on the […]
Delightful, but barely adequate, the Vanagon is one of the few enduring cars from a decade of shit. This 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia is just waiting for you to make it your own. Bring-a-trailer: This 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon is a Westfalia camper equipped with a pop-top and canvas tent as well as a sleeping loft, […]
Oh, the joys of #vanlife! I was checking up on my Vanagon yesterday and noticed the coolant was low. Missing coolant is very bad in a Vanagon for many, many reasons. I looked for a leak. I could not find a leak. It was possible the car had just burped an air bubble and swallowed […]
This permanent USB port has everything I want: QC 3.0 charging, 2 USB ports, and a voltmeter. My little USB 2 port plug in has kept me going in the Vanagon for years. It does tend to fall out when I go over a lot of bumps, or a daughter or dog bumps it. The […]
Smoking my dinner is the latest in slow 'n low cooking for me. My brother, the actual bonafide chef in the family, got me addicted to smoking meat. While I've long been an enthusiast of sous-vide cooking, Brother Ben swears by his offset smoker. After visiting with his family for a bit, and eating a […]
This is post is part of a series of reviews of Federal, State, and County provided campsites along California's amazing coastline. I mistakenly thought Gaviota State Beach was Refugio State Beach. It is not. Another parking lot style campsite adjacent to a fairly lovely California beach! Gaviota features a lot of bunnies, all of whom […]
This is post is part of a series of reviews of Federal, State, and County provided campsites along California's amazing coastline. I've visited the Oceano Campgrounds at Pismo State Beach several times this summer. Conveniently located right off the 101 highway along the central coast of California, Pismo is a great place to take a […]
This is the first in a series of reviews of Federal, State and County provided campsites along California's amazing coastline. I started my summer of #vanlife at the Californa State Park campsite of Morro Strand. It was pretty depressing to sit there, but you can leave and see wonderful things. Morro Strand is a cement […]
This Mad Mats rug keeps sticks, dirt, burrs and other garbage out of my dog's fur and out of my camper! 6'x9' and awfully stylish, I've had this rug since 2013 and it looks as good as new. Excellent for throwing down just outside the door of my VW Vanagon, under our pop-up shade, or […]
This LEGO Camper Van is far more accessible than the VW branded one. Growing up in Southern California instilled a love of all things camper van in me. My daughter loves our VW Westy so much that she cried when I suggested selling the ol' bus last year. There were peals of joy when she […]
A reader sent us a link to an awesome VW microbus poster, so I bought it for my mechanic. In response to this nice gesture all the coolant dumped out of my engine.
I love space saving gadgetry when camping. I fell for this collapsible silicone kettle. This silicon kettle folds down for easy storage. I can boil water in a pot, but this adds just the missing touch to morning tea while camping. LevelOne Collapsible Silicone Outdoor Camping Kettle via Amazon
This eraser wheel is wonderful. It removes old, weathered decals in seconds. I attached this eraser to my cordless drill and effortlessly rubbed some very old and bad looking decals off my VW Van. I replaced them with something closer to my heart. I cleaned up with rubbing alcohol after removing the decal. ABN Decal […]
