One of the best things about this Travco is the paperwork. The original owner, Leslie Smith—a perfect 1966 name if ever there was one, did an amazing job of storing and organizing everything. I’ve got every manual to every single item on the bus. They really are a window into … Read More
Holiday Ramblings
We’ve been playing airplane lately. This includes packing up luggage and flying from one grandma’s house to another. Today Ouest added a new wrinkle to the game and included a stewardess. “Hey, juice lady. Juice lady?” she called out once the plane had reached cruising altitude. Because really the best … Read More
My Mazatlan
I’ve mentioned it many times, but it bares repeating, that Mazatlan has become one of our favorite spots in Mexico. The Old Town section is where it’s at, so if you go there on holiday make sure you get downtown and explore beyond Plaza Machado. I threw together a sort … Read More
Holy Christ…mas
Of all the things Ouest learned in school—good and bad—the meaning of this Santa Claus guy has to be the worst. But hey, I’m not going to be a total Scrooge, so now that she knows what’s up, the key is going to be mitigating the damage. We took the … Read More
Introducing the 1966 Dodge Travco
In the dark early hours a couple of days back I set off with Ali’s dad for the road trip south to pick up the bus. It was about 270 miles away—too far to travel with the kids, in the cold, in an old motorhome—outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We … Read More
I Guess We Are Minimalists
I’m not sure if we’ve ever called ourselves minimalists. It always feels as if we have more of everything than we could ever need—be it food, clothing, or toys. And yet this pile of boxes is everything we own. Well, that’s not entirely true, we do have a surfboard and … Read More
In the States Again
We said goodbye to Mazatlan, a city that we’ve really grown to love these past few months. Ouest had her last day of school which I had been a little worried about, but she seemed almost not to care. I think that probably has more to do with her not … Read More
Hole in One
So here is the hole that has caused all of this drama the past few months. This speck of a hole, about the circumference of a piece of pencil lead, was enough to sideline us all this time. In the other picture the hole is just out of sight around … Read More
It’s a Hole
Found it! Finally. Yesterday the mechanics started tearing the engine down. After removing the fresh water pump at the front of the engine they could peek through the hole to the first cylinder, and there, just barely in view, was a small spot of corrosion that had worked its way … Read More
Four Years Old
Ouest turned four today. Ali mentioned how impossible it seems that it was four years ago that we were down in Puerto Vallarta walking across the street from our condo to the hospital to have her. Birthdays are kind of our thing. We don’t really go in for holidays, and … Read More
Missed Holidays and Engines
Today was the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and we completely missed it. Which is a bummer because the locals really got into it. The plaza and cathedral were packed solid full of parents with their young children dressed up in traditional Mexican garb (which is why it is … Read More