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.