Francis' Birthday and Last Minute Preps

Francis is turning 30 on July 1st and we celebrated his birthday at Lac des Plages with his family before leaving. We brought Lucy along of course. It was a weekend of firsts.

First time we drove over an hour in Lucy: Overall things went really well. There's some hills on the way to the cottage so we managed to push her a bit to see how she'd handle the Alberta/BC roads. She did well but the windshield wiper went kaput in the last 5 minute of our trip so we had to pull in with a wanky wiper. Minor detail.

First time we packed her up real good: I'm still a bit paranoid about the packing. We didn't take much with us on the weekend and she was pretty much full. We'll have to be smart in our packing for the trip. First time we slept in the pull out bed: I slept like a baby. The pop top was up and we had nice cool air coming in all night. Mom let us borrow her sleeping bags and they did the trick. We still haven't put the snaps on the curtains for the front windshield so we just used a spare blanket to cover up the front for the sun and privacy.

Other "adventures": We had battery problems on the way back. We were on the ferry and couldn't start Lucy. It was a little panicky because, well, because we were on a ferry and we were the first vehicle in front center. The ferry guys managed to push us off and the secondary deep cycle battery eventually got enough juice to start us up again. When we got home we discovered the generator wasn't working as it should and it wouldn't charge our primary battery. The boys changed the brushes and it did the trick. In the next few days we'll be scrambling to get everything done. Mechanically, we have to do an oil change and tune-up and packing wise there's still lots to do. Our next post will probably be from the road. Thanks to everyone for their wishes.

Little things here and there...

The last weeks have been a bit of a pot-pourri of shopping, attending social events and working in the shop. Mechanical work: The boys fixed the horn, changed the headlights, added cigarette lighter adapters in the front and back, added an aux input at the back for the laptop and/or iphone....what else... Oh, Jerry fixed the rear seat, which wasn't aligned perfectly. My aunt Claudette finished all the curtains (including windshield cover and sliding door) and they look fantastic. We're very lucky to have so many helpers. None of this would be possible without them. Trip Shopping: We ran a huge bill at Canadian Tire for camping supplies. We bought a Naphta Coleman stove, a propane Coleman Grill (because apparently a trip without grilled meat is inconceivable), a Naphta lantern and case, a propane heater and a screen tent. Now, the real issue is going to be where it will all fit. Ack. Re-appraisal: We figured it would be wise to get Lucy re-appraised by Grampa's Garage after all the work that was put into her. Turns out it was appraised at 5,000$ more than when we got her, and that's close to how much we spent on the restoration so we're happy. What's next: The next few days will be spent mock packing and bringing in Lucy to a mechanic who can confirm everything is A-Ok before we take off. We're also waiting on a CIP1.ca order for an ignition kit of some sort (Francis would know better but he's too busy to help me with the blog...haha) Apparently it will make the MPG a bit better. With the high gas prices and with the mileage we will be doing, I'm sure it will be worth it. Oh and we're more or less broke. I'm not worried but it will be interesting to see how we manage to pull through on the trip. Grilled cheese and Zoodles here we come!!

We are mobile!

Well, it was another very productive weekend. The front is completely done. It's a bit hard to see from the pictures because the mats are black, but hopefully I get better pictures out in the daylight soon.

The side cabinets are complete and installed.

They look really great with the LED lights....awesome mood lighting :)

We also installed the table and curtains..so now it looks less like a cube van and more like a little house...aw.

In the past few days, we noticed the auxiliary battery would drain rather quickly. 15 minutes or so of playing music (the amp is plugged into the secondary battery) and it would die on us. After testing dozens of possible location for shorts, looking for bad fuses or solenoid, we discovered that it was the ground that was the problem. After securing it to a new ground we did some tests and everything was fine. Phew. The objective for this week is to finish installing the sink cabinet and seat belts so we can drive her around town. We have a wedding to go to Saturday and it will be her first time out in public so we have to make sure she is nice and shiny!

30 days to go..and still in the shop!

Pretty much every spare evening Francis and his Dad have is being spent on the van and I am happy to report we are on track for the trip! I am so grateful for all they are doing. I know they enjoy it but still, I can't believe how dedicated they are to making Lucy look good. Every time I stop by in the shop I'm floored by their handiwork. In the past few weeks we worked mostly on the front of the van. We ordered rubber mats and a new accelerator pedal from CIP1.ca and once those were installed and glued in, the boys decided the seats needed to be primed and repainted.

We were able to finally put in the two front bucket seats so once the seat belts are installed we will be mobile again! Yay! The top storage cabinet was also installed and although I'm sure I had better pictures, these are all I could find to show how they look:

The only big ticket items left to do are...

• Reconstruction of the side cabinet (passenger side)
• Build tables (large one and the small ones that goes on the sink cabinets)

Smaller stuff that will need to get done before we leave:

• Aux and lighter adapter in the back and front
• Install carpet in the cargo bay
• Screens for the jalousie windows
• Finish and install curtains

The trip planning is pretty complete. Like I mentioned in previous posts, we will not be booking any sites along the way so that we are completely free to stop where we want. I stoppped by CAA to pick up travel documentation and our custom TripTik. I think with those booklets and with the laptop and WiFi along the way we should be able to make informed decisions about the route and detours we will take. We still have a lot of shopping to do for camping/cooking supplies. Canadian Tire, here we come!