Date:         Mon, 6 Jun 2011 00:39:07 +0000
Reply-To:     J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Natural Bus & White Westy N. Bound on I-81
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I too went to Natural Bus this weekend, first time in 2 years and I 'm glad I went, I've missed it as it has always been one of my favorite bus events. Got there Friday around 8:00pm after getting stuck on I-81 in a huge back up due to a truck accident/fire. First time sleeping in "new" '85 Weekender, actually one year old to me this week. Found that the 26 yr old foam in the cushion over the engine compartment was hard as a rock, it was like sleeping on a wood floor. Saturday morning my wife drove down to join me, I called her and told her to bring the 2" memory foam pad I had purchased for my last Westy. Wife arrived and we went swimming in the lake, hung around the Westy and played guitar, talked to folks, etc. Went to the door prizes and bus raffle, won some cool stuff but not the '72 raffle bus : - (. I made the wife buy a ticket, since this was kind of her first bus event, I figured she might have newbie good luck, but it wasn't meant to be. It was a real good time. Went to sleep around midnight, and I am not used to having anyone next to me in the Westy! Memory foam helped a lot with the comfort level on the bed, but we kept elbowing each other and then at some point, maybe around 2 am, a huge clap of thunder and then light rain for about a half hour, not too bad but kept us up, and neither of us slept very well. Packed up this morning and headed back up I-81, and around Winchester a white Westfalia merged in between me and my wife who was following in her Mitsu Lancer. The Westy exited with us east bound on Rte 7, followed until the Berryville, VA exit on Rte 340. Anyone on the list? Ordinarily I would have pulled over to chat, as I am always anxious to talk to a fellow Vanagon/Westy owner, but we were both exhausted and anxious to get home and take a nap in our own (large!) bed. My '85 ran beautifully, and I was really shocked when I calculated my gas mileage-20.9 mpg! And this was doing 65-70 on the way down, 60-65 on the way back. I've never able to squeeze more than 16-17 out of it, but a few weeks ago I tore the top end of the motor down and replaced every rubber gasket, vacuum line, cleaned the throttle body, etc. and I did find a vacuum line that was rotted-there was my mpg! All in all a good weekend despite the crummy sleeping! Jeff 



Jeff Stewart