Where Will Vincent Van Go?

 Well, it has been awhile since I posted, but I haven't forgotten about it, I have just been getting more and more guilt ridden for not having done so. Like you do... But, that is all behind me now! So much to share, so many things have happened, so many places visited, so much to tell! After our return from Hawaii we spent a week or so in Bend getting the new year started. It was good! My parent's were getting things started on the process of building their new house, and there was plenty of catch up to do at work, so I spent mos of the time working in the office. Then, we got to looking at the weather. And let me tell you, it looked COLD! Central Oregon was supposed to get snow, ice, freezing temps, and just generally unpleasant-ness. So we decided to drive south! Which turned out to work out perfectly! As we were heading south I found out my good friend Kevin was going to be driving in a race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey California, which just happened to be where we w...

 So, it is January now, which means that I didn't blog at all in December, even though we had some amazing adventures! December started out with a journey to the state of Hawaii! Sadly Vincent Van didn't Go to Hawaii, but we had fun none the less! We flew to Honolulu, then on to Hilo, and spent 2 weeks at Hale Laule'a at Opihi Point about 15 minutes north of Hilo. It is an Airbnb that my parents stayed at several years ago, and the owners asked them to come back to take care of the property and guests when they were on vacation. Julie and I were able to join them this time to help out and enjoy the beauty of the island, and it was wonderful!   It was a place where one can just relax and enjoy the peace of living in a place where the air is warm, comfortable, and possibly raining. But even the rain is pleasant. And, there are fresh coconuts! We were both working while we were there, but we had plenty of time to go on some adventures. My three favorites were: 1) Going snorke...

We are traveling again! Thanksgiving is over, and we have some time to venture forth before our trip to Hawaii coming up in December, so of course we have to do some exploring! That is, after all, what one does when living in a van. (Or what two do in this case!) However, before heading to the coast, I had the great joy of spending some time with our friends Kevin and Emily Ford in Vancouver. Kevin and I go way back. We grew up together in the Kelso/Longview/Castle Rock area. I moved to that area when I was 5, and Kevin and his brother Ryan were some of our best friends growing up. Kevin and I also worked together at Big Lake Youth Camp for many a summer on Team Awesome (the maintenance team at Big Lake). Kevin has delved into the world of amateur car racing, and as part of that he has some fun toys that Julie and I got to experience during the visit (in addition to experience the great company!) Kevin has a whole racing simulator with steering wheel, shifter, pedals, and 3 monitors th...

 Well, it has been a hot minute since the last post. We had a wonderful September trip to Nevada, then headed north for the winter, as backwards as that seems. We headed north to celebrate Julie's dad's birthday! We got to spend a wonderful long weekend at the beach playing on the sand and soaking in the hot tub. The kids had a great time playing in the water! The adults got cold quickly wading in the water! Kites were flown, holes were dug, all in all a great beach experience. After our beach adventure Julie and I went over to Salem to spend some time with Julie's brother's family! They needed some help watching the kids, so we settled in to the downstairs bedroom, and had a wonderful month or so living the Salem life! It was a TON of fun, and it takes a TON of energy spending quality time with kids (for those of you who don't know). While we were there I got to go to a race at Portland International Raceway where my good friend Kevin Ford was racing! It was a beau...

 So, here we are in Nevada, which is one of those states that I feel like kinda flies under the radar (except for Vegas). It is a state I have been to before, but just kinda in passing. But, this year, for my birthday, we decided to drive down to Lake Mead and Las Vegas for a few days to celebrate! It isn't actualy too far from Central Oregon where we have been for the past month or so, about 13 hours. We departed Central Oregon on Thursday afternoon and arrived on Saturday afternoon. It is nice traveling when you can just kinda find a place to stop wherever you feel like it. We arrived at the Lake Mead Visitor's Center to get the inside scoop on where we should park. There are a few really nice free camping areas around the lake (2ish week stay limit) that we liked, and the first night we decided to stay at Government Wash.  The temperature was perfect for strolling around, relaxing, and enjoying the sunset. There were a few other vehicles parked there, but it was by no means...

We can finally breathe again! We have been hanging out in Bend for the past month or so, and let me tell you, it is good to have some clear air once again. There are a few wildfires that have been burning in the Oregon Cascades, and the prevailing winds from the west have provided us with an overabundance of smoke. But, towards the end of last week, it started to rain! YES! The rain helped cut down the smoke we received, and we can once again see the mountains and breathe deeply! Thank goodness! The best part was that we got to go up to Big Lake this past weekend for a wedding! Our good frineds Apollo and Alexis Lizzi got married! And there was no smoke, which was great! It didn't even rain during the wedding. It rained before, but just as it was getting close to wedding time it slowed to a stop, they got married successfully, and we had a great time at the reception afterwards hanging out, talking to people, and generally having a party. Then, the next morning, we jumped into the ...