Making the most of the coast

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 that he has set up to simulate the Pontiac Fiero that team Fieroline races. Let me tell you, there is definitely some skill to racing that I have not yet developed. Kevin helped me get my lap time at PIR down from about 2:00 on my first lap to about 1:40 on my best lap! Kevin runs in the low 1:30s usually, so I still have a ways to go. Then, the next morning we went to Cars and Coffee at Vancouver mall and saw lots of interesting, speedy, and beautifully restored cars and trucks. Damian was there with the BMW Isetta that he restored, which is a funny little 300cc 2 person car that always gets tons of attention. Kevin was also kind enough to let me drive his Mazda Miata from his house to the event. Let me tell you, the Miata handles differently than the van. He also took me for a ride in his S2000 later in the day. It was definitely more intense of a ride than I could have managed, Kevin knows that car well!

Damian's BMW Isetta

 Then, we headed to the Oregon Coast, near the town of Tillamook, where we found a nice place to park, set up Starlink, work, and then walk on the beach at sunset. It is one of the perks of vanlife! We haven't had as much time to explore and adventurate as we had originally planned this year, but we had plenty of good times with friends and family to make up for it! And, in December we are going on a non-van adventure! We are heading to the big island for 2 weeks! Lots of opportunities to relax, enjoy the warm weather, and soak up the sun! Sadly it isn't a place Vincent Van can Go with us, at least not right now, but he will be waiting when we get back!



Location: Oceanside, OR 97141, USA

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