Where has Vincent Van Gone?

 So... its been awhile! The last post for Vincent was in April of 2024, and it is now January of '25. The good news is that Vincent is still going strong! Julie and I are still enjoying vanlife, and are excited to keep exploring.

So, where has Vincent Van gone you might ask? I shall tell you!

After getting back from Costa Rica, Vincent went into the shop to get some work done. The torque converter and transmission had gotten water in the fluid and needed to be repaired, so into the dealer it went. While it was in the shop we stayed with family. We also got to help my parents with building their new house in Bend! The outer walls of the house are a high efficiency pre-fabricated system that fits together on site. It was quite an adventure, but we got it done!


 
After that we took some time to go up to Prineville Reservoir with Julie's family for some time on the water. It was HOT, in the upper 90's every day, but the water felt amazing!
 

The rest of the summer was spent in the NW going to birthday parties, floating rivers, and generally having a great time. Until, that is, September happened upon us.

September was a month! To start off, we had our anniversary, which was most excellent! Vincent traveled down to Mammoth Mountain in California! It was such a blast! We were able to visit some of the lakes and take the lift up to the top of the mountain for some epic views. Definitely a great way to anniverse!




From Mammoth we continued south to Loma Linda (which is where I was born) to celebrate a friend's wedding, and house sit for them while they honeymooned! We were SO thankful for the AC as the weather was furnace like, but with the AC we survived, and had a blast! There was even an amazing race! We did not win, but we had a great time and the race really was amazing. And we got to go see Lindsey Stirling in concert, which was definitely worth it! Not only was the music great, but she is intentional about sharing her life joys and struggles, and how she has navigated those experiences in a positive way.

We finished off our Loma Linda experience by going on a cruise for my birthday down to Ensenada, Mexico, which was great! The food was good, the ship was fun, and we got to take a surfing lesson! We both managed to get up by the end of the lesson!



After the cruise we drove back up to Salem as I had agreed to substitute teach form my brother in law who is a high school math teacher for a week. It was great fun, especially since I didn't have to do any grading! Then, after the week of teaching, we drove back down to Maricopa AZ. So that was a lot of driving. But we made it! Why Maricopa you might ask? Because cows! There are a lot of cows in Maricopa, and cows generate manure. And manure generates methane, and methane is natural gas! (The company I work for specializes in facilities that turn cow manure into natural gas). Some new equipment was being installed and brought online, so I was there to help make sure everything on the electrical side was getting done. We were there for 2ish weeks, then headed back north for Thanksgiving, stopping on the way to see Lake Tahoe, visit friends in Reno, and explore Death Valley National Park.

Finally, we reach December, which, as you all know, is the heart of the holiday season. We were fortunate enough to be able to go up to Big Lake the first part of December while the facility managers were at a camp conference to keep an eye on things, along with our friends Kevin and Emily Ford (along with their son Theo). It was super fun, and we even got to go ice skating on the lake! An activity I have only been able to experience a handful of times! It was a beautiful day, and great company, and just a wonderful time up at the camp!




And then there was Christmas with the Wilsons, and the Betz families! For the Wilson family we went to SunRiver with my parents and brother (and his family). It was a great time involving presents, graham cracker bridges, ice skating, and lots of fun. The Betz family Christmas was at Julie's parents where there were more presents, lots of great food, and a Family Photo Adventure (organized by Julie) that involved exploring the town of Sandy, OR. All in all a great holiday season!

Well, that is it for 2024. Its now 2025, and we already have had some new adventures, but those will be on the next blog post. But... who knows when that will get written. Hopefully soonly!

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