Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2021 11:47:57 -0400
Reply-To: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Roadtrip to Canaveral Launch...and then...
In-Reply-To: <CABToOYL5n2On=-jyvShXsyh0OFnVVB_6KG_AF=u_NOe_u=10BA@mail.gmail.com>
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Several years ago I drove the Westy from Richmond to Miami for an aunt’s funeral and on the way home heard on their local NPR station about a SpaceX launch to occur in a couple of hours about an hour out of my way. Perfect timing. Hung out on a causeway at some distance and nearly missed the launch due to the sound delay. But got a pic of a glowing dot above the luggage rack. That shot launched a comm satellite for Azerbaijan.
That might have been one of the last trips with camping. When you move to the woods it becomes less urgent but is still the preferred way to travel.
Stephen
Mobile
> On Oct 18, 2021, at 11:29 AM, Edward Maglott <emaglott3@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Nice trip report even though the trip was a bit shorter than expected. Lots
> of miles and no troubles from the van is always a good thing!
> Edward
>
>> On Sun, Oct 17, 2021, 8:29 PM David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Sorry for the pain, Richard. Glad your camper held up for the trip and
>> served you well. Better luck next time with the bod. Being 76 yo, I know
>> how such things are.
>>
>> On Sun, Oct 17, 2021 at 2:32 PM Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@sbcglobal.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I was Covid grouchy. Hadn't traveled more than 60 miles away in 1.5
>>> years. I decided October would be a splendid month to travel from San
>>> Diego to Florida. To see a "real" rocket launch, and of course all the
>>> things along the way...at least whatever was open. Had reservations and
>>> everything at a campsite called Jetty Park, apparently it's a jetty
>> about 8
>>> miles away from launch pad at Cape Canaveral.
>>> All went well. Vanagon with Subie 2.2 performed flawlessly. About 22
>>> MPG. Picked up campgrounds along the way, much fun! Well...I was in
>>> Arkansas....about 40 miles from Mississippi River...and then it started.
>>> Lower back pain. I didn't know if it was Acute Sciatica or just strained
>>> lower back muscle. It got bad. Made the decision to cancel and turn
>> back
>>> home, it was a difficult decision. You know how it goes. But when you
>> are
>>> not having fun, and have to precisely calculate every reaching move,
>> every
>>> twisting move...yeah, time to call it a day.
>>> Funny....I used ALL of my equipment in Vanagon. From Buddy Heater to
>> 5000
>>> BTU window mounted A/C unit. Max elevation was 8600, Min elevation was
>>> -14. Even with back pain, my full sized TinTop bed did the job, always
>>> slept well. The next morning though, when things stiffened up, was
>> another
>>> story.
>>> Last day was 375 miles from Pichaco Peak State Park north of Tuscon to
>> San
>>> Diego.
>>> Back is resting, and feeling better. Lots of smashed bugs and
>> butterflies
>>> to wash off trusty Vanagon, and do a thorough cleanup job inside and out.
>>> These are the things roadtrips are made of. But, with total
>> satisfaction,
>>> I will state that Vanagon is the way to go. Only saw 1 other...and we
>> gave
>>> each other a thumbs up....he was from Washington, probably on this list.
>>> Somewhere in western New Mexico.
>>>
>>
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