Matt is back home after ten days away for work, so it's back to van stuff that we aren't paying other people for.

We replaced the weather stripping along the pop-top.  This would be project number 43 that would have been made easier if we knew where our rubber hammer was ... but we don't. 

So he strong armed most of it on by hand.

And sweat a lot.

This is the old weather stripping.  It basically just fell off.

Thirteen years of dirt and water right there.

Thankfully Bug took a nap yesterday, so we could make good on our promise to go to the beach and "eat dinner in the van."

She also earned some iPad time.  I get the feeling that this is the position she is going to adopt for most of the trip.

On our way, we stopped and picked up a camp table we found on Craigslist.  We went to REI yesterday and I fell in love with approximately 67% of the store (as usual) but I let go of my "aluminum roll up table" dreams in favor of this $30 one.  

While we were at REI, we also looked at car-top cargo systems, and I think that's a business, like owning a parking garage, that seems to just print money.  The amount and cost of all of the endless pieces (all sold separately!) that are needed to complete a setup is just unreal.  We have the beginnings of a Yakima system already on the top, but need almost $400 in additional pieces for us to even get to a point where it could hold a cargo box (which is another $400+).  Bah.

But back to the beach.

Bug picked Mission Beach.  Unfortunately there are not a lot of parking lots that afford you unobstructed views of the ocean.

Technically speaking, the front of the car is facing a lot of really dirty sand and the bay.  The ocean is straight back. 

Using our new table!  It's kind of obnoxiously large; almost six feet long.  But it'll do!

Eating our first of many meals in the van.

Everyone who walked by stared at the van, and we had a couple of people walk up to us and ask us about it.  I didn't anticipate there being so much curiosity about it (naively so, it would seem).

The weather was kind of "eh," there was a lot of fog offshore, and she was being kind of a turd, so we decided to head home before sunset. 

Which proved to be a big mistake.  Because the sky exploded into the most beautiful colors... on our way home. 

Pretty sure this would have looked even better at the beach. 

TO ALL THE HATERS WHO MADE FUN OF ME FOR NOT REALLY HAVING ANY INTEREST IN DRIVING THE VAN AROUND MYSELF (really just my father and my husband) I present to you my accomplishment for the week:

Yes, I backed it down the driveway all by my lonesome and didn't remove any mirrors or any neighbor's chimneys.  This is especially exceptional because I maybe have difficulties backing up my Golf in a straight line (maybe).  AND I maneuvered that disgusting trash can that is CAKED in active spider webs all over the place getting this all to work while maintaing composure.

Tutu had to be moved because she was going to have an at-home spa day courtesy of Lee's Auto Detailing.  Originally there were plans to clean the interior ourselves, but after calling around for a few quotes, I decided that it was going to be well worth it to have someone come and do it for us.

I was convinced they were talking trash in Spanish about how disgusting it was.

BEFORE:

Umm, gross.

AFTER:

I forgot to take a photo of the cushion before, but it was all stained, and now is pretty new looking. 

All clean and ready to be spilled on again!

Marked improvement -- in fact, they got more stains out than I thought they would.  It was well worth the money.  I also had a windshield guy come out to take a look at a chip, but it turns out it was already repaired (although in a pretty half-assed way).  He said there was nothing structural to worry about, so that saved me an extra $60.  

More parts are supposed to arrive via UPS tomorrow.  I personally can't do much with most of what's arriving, but that's what the weekend and beer is for.  Tutu will also take a visit to the doctor next week to have her inner parts examined.  

We have campsite reservations at the Grand Canyon and Zion already.  If anyone has any suggestions for sites around Bryce, pass 'em along.  

We were so productive yesterday afternoon, I am afraid we have set a precedent that will never be met ever again.

The shower is out!  AND Matt didn't electrocute himself disconnecting the electrical to the water pump.  Double win. 

The fridge is out!  There used to be a mini fridge with a rather enormous housing sitting behind the driver's seat.  The previous owner said the owner before him installed it.  Have I mentioned it was enormous?  It ate up a ton of space.  You can sort of see the leftovers from its footprint in the floor carpet behind the driver's seat.  We would much rather have the space than the fridge, and it wasn't even a propane fridge, so its use while camping was low.  

Time for a self-congratulatory beer with the dog who has earned himself another visit with the Cone of Sadness.  

Oh, and he also would like credit for fixing the front passenger arm rests.  

We then had a super Rookie Moment when we tried to figure out what the correct tire pressure is supposed to be after the front left tire looked low.  The sticker in the door was in every language but English.  We looked in the owner's manual which told us to... look at the sticker in the door.  Finally after some texting to Bobo, we had it figured out.  Once he explained it, it became very obvious how to read the sticker.  Like embarrassingly obvious.  Luckily he's our Bobo and doesn't judge too harshly.  

Then it was 4-something in the afternoon and we were all, "Oh, that's right, we have a kid we should go check on inside the house."

This is fake pouting from someone who was supposed to take a nap, didn't, then got mad when their mother called them out on not taking a nap, stormed into the van, and then was mad again when told she could no longer play in the driver's seat OR ride in the car without her car seat:

After dinner we took our maiden voyage as a family in the van (minus the dog).  It wasn't a very glamorous trip.  There was fog at the beach, so we just went to fill up the tires and to the hardware store for metric hex wrenches.  

This picture fails to accurately convey how far away she is/feels from the front seats.

He's trying to suppress his grin as he drives west on the 8.  

Now that the easier stuff is done, *boxing announcer voice* LET'S GET READY TO SPENNNNNNNNNNNNND MONEY! Today we made our first several-hundred dollar online purchase for accessories.  Scratch that.  Matt did.  He gets the fun stuff.  I just get a piece of steel wool and some rubber gloves.  

I don't know if we had exact plans to do anything to it today, but I scored a free outdoor playhouse on Facebook, and we were measuring inside the van to see if we could pick it up, and the shower in the back was causing some of our clearance problems.

The shower was installed when the previous owner purchased the van however many years ago.  We have no idea if he used it at all, but it stayed in the back.  Behind that white door is literally a handheld shower head and two knobs for hot and cold.  I could see how it could maybe be an asset when you're camping or surfing, but it ate up the majority of the cargo space in the back.

In the picture below, we have removed the shelf that normally rests on top of those two metal bars (and also on top of the shower).  

So we were all, let's just take it out now.

Keeping watch.

We got the water tank removed (thankfully it was empty) and then we had to take a pause for the cause and make dinner for the red one (which turned into calling Grandma from the van, showing off for Grandma, stepping on the dog, banging her head on the top of the car, almost falling out of the car, getting her pajamas on, insisting on brushing her teeth WITHOUT ANYONE'S HELP, stories, eight extra trips to the bathroom after lights out, etc).  Matt is now working on trying to disconnect the electrical that was run to the rear of the car to run the water pump.  Hopefully it will all be out soon(ish).

I don't know that I have ever seen my husband this excited about anything (purchasable) before.  I'm like, "now you know how I feel every time I go to the mall."

And no, we still didn't go pick up the house.  

Welcome home!

The Eurovan came home today!  AAAHHHHH!  Matt took the train up to Carpinteria and drove it home ... and arrived in one piece.  It is so very exciting to finally have it be ours, and to not feel like such a delusional idiot with all of my internet bookmarks full of things I wanted to buy for it before it was in our possession.

The first time we met her, back on June 6, up in Carpinteria.

And the other crazy thing?  We sold the wagon today, too.  I know, right?  Almost too much cosmic goodness for one day (almost).  AND we sold it for $200 more than our agreed upon "we will be happy if we get this much" amount.  Both of us sort of assumed that we would be owning three cars for more than ten hours.  I'm sad to say goodbye to the wagon, but I'm also super crazy excited about the Eurovan.

SO THE EUROVAN!  Here are her stats: She is a 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan Westfalia (which means her top pops up).  She got a new transmission a few years ago, saving us that headache for the near future.  We bought her from a professional surfer (we actually had no idea who he was until some internet searching led us to that fact, and then I was super embarrassed when Matt went ahead and asked them out right about it.  What if they thought we were going to go all fangirl on them?  Luckily they were very, very nice people), although there does not appear to be any surfing skill rubbing off on any of the new passengers.  Her name is Tutu. 

She will be taking us on a most epic cross-country road trip starting the beginning of August, kicking off our move to the East Coast.  EPIC.  

We have some cosmetic work to do to her, and hopefully not TOO much mechanical stuff.  We shall see.  I have already blown my imaginary budget on window tinting, fancy awnings, door screens, portable speakers, ergonomic camp chairs, you name it. 

First time sitting in the back.

Demonstrating the stand-up capabilities.

Hanging out up top.

Ralph, too.

Dismount needs some improvement.

These two are beside themselves with excitement.