Conclusion

So this is it. We are now home. Back to the craziness of everyday life. Although it is always nice to be home after any trip, I find myself several times throughout a day longing to be back there. I can only speak for myself, but this trip has changed both of us for the better. What have we learned?

1. Enjoy the simple things in life. The smell of a campfire, the silence of the outdoors, the appreciation of a good shower-these are just a few of my favorite things!

2. We will be Westy owners for life! No explanation is necessary.

3. Never count on everything working out as planned. Instead, embrace the unexpected.

4. We can get through anything when we are together. No matter what it is, together as a team we succeed.

5. Give back to others whenever you can. Whatever you give comes back to you ten fold. Thank you to all those who helped us and made us feel welcome along the way. We will never forget you all!!!

Our trip was magnificent! So many adventures and encounters that cannot even come close to being explained in words. Therefore, we are not discouraged. We will go on. This is not an end to our blog by any means. It is a continuation-til next summer. To be continued on our honeymoon; when we conquer the rest of the Pacific Coast that we left off on!!!

Game Over

So what have we been doing all this time? Basically looking into different options and deciding which one would be best for us. We love being a Westy owner. Our heart lies with Amber. What other vehicle can be your daily driver and also a home for a month, a summer, or even a year? None in which you have a bed, a stove, a fridge, a sink AND still get 30 miles per gallon if conditions are right. So our decision is to rent a U-haul truck with a car caddy and take her back to Shorewood, WI. Our route will be Oregon to Wyoming to Idaho to Montana to North Dakota to Minnesota to Wisconsin. It has been a good ride. Stay tuned for our final entry...

Engine Catastrophe

All of Mike's hard work has ended in game over! A small part of the pre-combustion chamber broke loose and ruined a valve and a piston. Basically a small explosion occurred in the engine and now the whole engine is seized up and of no use anymore. Mike will have to start all over when we return in fall. The mechanics who looked it over determined that the head was a bad part. Mike did everything right when putting the engine in to begin with, there was nothing he could do to prevent it. So now we are off to renting a u-haul and returning home. It will be a while (a couple weeks until we return) and another adventure in itself. We will continue to keep you posted.

Thanks Everyone

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help. We are figuring out our situation and options and will be letting everyone know what is going on ASAP. All of you have been so helpful and kind I know it sounds king of corny but I must say this: I now have a more positive outlook on humanity.

Oh crap!

Today is a somber day. Amber pooped out on us. She was idling violently, puffing out white smoke, and then nothing. She just quit. Mike had to bike to where we could get cell phone reception and then call AAA. They towed us to Florence where a place called ACR Automotive will look at her tomorrow. We checked into a motel across from there called Silver Sand's Motel. They had the best shag carpet ever!!! Keith (the nice man from yesterday) called us to check out how we were doing. He also recommended places we should check out here while we wait. Another awesome person that has crossed our paths throughout this trip. I do beleive (more than ever before) that there are way more good people in this world than bad. We have experienced this first hand throughout our whole adventure. I am optimistic about our situation. Just a minor set back on our trip. We have money and time still so we will hope for the best. The verdict will be in tomorrow.

August 3, 2009

Today we continued on through Oregon. We stopped at Devil's punchbowl to view the scenery and pay a visit to the Winery. We walked along the shoreline and enjoyed the gentle breeze. Life is good. Next we continued on and stopped at a seafood market in Waldport. We bought fresh local crab-live. I would have been cool with the ones already cooked, but Mike wanted the freshest ones possible. As we drove further, Amber's engine began idoling funny. We pulled over to check it out, and an extremely nice man named Keith stopped to help. He was driving a Westaflia Syncro. There is some kind of special bond with all these Westfalia owners that I am still trying to figure out. It is actually very cool and I am proud to now be part of this. Keith and Mike checked out the engine a bit, but they were unable to pinpoint what it could be. We chose to drive back three miles to Tahkenitch Forest Park and find a spot so Mike could continue with his diagnosis. No luck. We decided to call it a night by feasting on our crabs and Devil's Punchbowl Pinot Blanc.

August 2, 2009

Onto Oregon we go! It is a beautiful state. There are many hills, cliffs, rock outcroppings, and sand dunes along Hwy 101. We traveled for a bit and then stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory. Everyone knows how I love cheese and this is truly what I would view heaven as. It is the largest cheese place I have ever seen. After I bought five chunks of various cheeses and two bags of curds we were on our way again. This should last me a few days or so. Then we stopped at Rocky Bend Forestry Service Campground. It lies along the Nestucca River. It was a nice place to spend the night, and best of all it was FREE! We made Scooby sandwiches with corn on the cob and had a campfire. This is the life.

August 1, 2009

Since county parks seem to be the way to go, we decided to stay one more day in this beautiful spot along the ocean shoreline. I read, while Mike worked on Amber. He changed her oil, fixed her brake light, changed her air filter, and fixed the bubble in the injection pump. During the afternoon, we rode our bikes for a while, and Mike misunderstood the RV dump station sign (see picture above). That is totally his sense of humor! Then we went clamming on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. After catching 23 clams, we headed back. Mike and I feasted on salmon and clam alfredo accompanied by white wine tonight. Our night ended with Mike going to do his business in the porta potty, but instead Mike deposited his new book on accident. He was very sad to say goodbye to "One Man's Wilderness" as it went down, down, down.

July 30, 2009

Woke up today and I took an ICE cold shower. I guess a cold one is better than none. Mike was not as brave. He decided to stay smelly for a while longer. We spent a great deal of time blogging to catch up and then headed on our way. We got an excellent spot just outside of South Bend, Washington at Bruce Port County Campground. We also met another friend today. His name was Roman and he spent the winter biking through Russia. Now he is on his way from Canada to Ecuador for a year. Another hard core traveler. We chatted with him and shared a little bit of Wisconsin-Johnsonville brats and beer.