Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 18:25:48 -0400
Reply-To: Alain Pierre Hovasse <aphovasse@home.com>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alain Pierre Hovasse <aphovasse@home.com>
Subject: Trip to America
In-Reply-To: <2b.8c28384.26b2c4e6@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi Gang
I've been enjoying the list for a couple of months now and I have a bit of
advice to ask. I'm treating 86 Westy along with wife and daughter from
Toronto, where we live, to a tour of the eastern seaboard for a couple of
weeks in mid-august. We'll be headed to Boston, then south to New York and
New Jersey then to Washington DC before heading back northward.
The van runs well, just been tuned, oiled and checked, new tires etc,
coolant, and all looks ok. I have Listee Stuart MacMillan's "advice for a
long road trip" letter. But I've had this one and others long enough to know
that few long distance trips in the van are complete without the odd stop
along to way to take care of some dire or not so dire mechanical "event".
I'm not completely cynical, but better to be prepared. Hence I have
downloaded the various names of garages along the way but I'm asking the
very kind listees for more recent and well recommended names along the way.
The way I see it, I need good names in Albany, Springfield and Boston ( I
have Daryl Denford's earlier listing around Syracuse and Rochester). Then
from there Providence, Hartford and close to New York (not intending to go
directly into NYC) then we're headed further south to Philadelphia, (I have
Listee Walt Spak's number for Philly) Baltimore and DC. Any assistance with
names and numbers for this will be greatly appreciated. Of course I'm also
taking Bus Depots' recent catalogue (are they located anywhere near
Philadelphia?) I'm currently planning on coming back straight north from DC
back to Toronto, any prefered routes and garages to recommend?
Other questions: is the I-90 the best way to travel across to Boston? I'm
not in a huge rush and I heard that this is a toll road and I'm carrying
canadian change (ouch!) Is there a good alternative? What about the number
20?
Also I plan to come back pretty well straight north from DC to Toronto: will
the Appalachian mountains be a challenge for the wasserboxer 2.1 (or any
other hills along the route?)
Last but not least, I'm too late to get one of the infamous stickers (or am
I?) would it be possible to get a copy somewhere online and print it on my
printer so I could paste it on my window? I promise to apply for the real
thing as soon as I get back: I understand the copyright laws and will
abstain if told to. Van spotting is a great hobby when we're on the road and
it would be great to be able to identify other listees this way.
You guys are a great bunch.
Alain Pierre
Toronto
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