Project Westy

So what goes first the good new or the bad.....

*coin flip*

Bad news first. Rodney and I have decided to not go to Alaska, we figured we'd be rushing all around the country for two months and wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much. Oh well dreams can wait i guess :(
On the flip side of that we get to enjoy more of the country and get to slow down and take our time.
and the bad news continues... We've had some financial hiccups recently that won't allow us to do as much as we'd hoped, not sure where that's going to take us as far as the status for this trip but we will know as the time gets closer...


And finally a glimmer of good news. Helga is repaired! She had about $1300 in work done to her to replace the brakes, shocks, new fuel tank and a new propane system. And the fine people at Dynasty Auto even dinged out a big dent on the back bumper for FREE.  I'd like to get new side door speakers next so we can crank it up to kill out the road noise, and because sometimes...louder is just better.
here is a picture from a party before we took her in, Way to be hippie :)

Well I'm sure some of you want to know some about Helga...her story goes as follows

Back in November of 2009  Rodney found Helga through a person on craigslist, the listing was showing her as a 1982 Westfalia for $4500 with only 69,000 miles. We thought something must be up to affect the price but we also had a feeling that this would be the one we would settle for...

After driving three hours to Cape Coral Florida we came upon something special in a house by the water. She was kept in an air conditioned garage, the seller listed every fault with the VW which included her square tires from sitting for so long and the accelerator shaft being off.....and that was pretty much it. The interior was in practically mint condition, the sink was spotless, the fridge worked, the poptop was in great shape. Heck she even smelled brand new. He had every vehicle maintenance receipt for it and  if there was one thing i remember about the whole thing it was that this guy was very particular about EVERYTHING. A certain oil, certain tires, every spare part he gave us had an extra that was labeled, which was a great thing to see;  you could tell this guy cared about this vehicle and restoring it...

I remember Rodney asking "You wanna do it?" I sighed and smiled "Yeah let's do it" and we purchased her on the spot for $4500                It was about 8 or 9 when we finally left his house and after being there for about six hours we were exhausted from everything.  We had drove her to Applebys,  and had Margaritas and beers, ah the simple pleasures. We got toiletries in a Walmart and coincidentally it was also the first place i have ever shampooed my hair in a Walmart bathroom...needless to say walking out of there with slit eyes and a mop for hair, people did not have good thoughts when they saw me..

We headed towards a tire place that had a particular tire we needed. We camped in her overnight in the tire parking lot until the next morning and paid $700 for a new set of tires.

Fast forward to a week later, we drop her off at a local mechanic for a tune up and they call back an hour later saying that she doesn't need a tune up and that everything was "Like new." Excellent that's money saved.

Currently she is in the shop getting some minor repairs done to her brakes, a new fuel tank installed, new propane tank, new shocks. We should have Helga back by next week and when we do we're going camping!


Interior shots are coming when we get her back STAY TUNED!

-John

Greetings all, my name is Rodney Hartsell and as of this post I just celebrated my 40th birthday. I have always had a very adventuresome spirit and am very excited about our road trip to Alaska. I'll tell you a little about some of my adventures so far.
In 2001 I decided to move out west and tent camped my way from Florida to California, it was a three week adventure. I moved to Phoenix for a year and while there purchased a 31' 1976 Airstream Sovereign, renovated it in my friend Harry's driveway and in the summer of 2002 hit the road.


 I had a summer job lined up in Glacier National Park in Montana. After a short six weeks at Glacier I decided to move once again, the area was amazing but the company managing the lodge was less than to be desired. I headed further west to Seattle. After a couple of weeks living in Wal-Mart and Camping World parking lots I finally had a good lead on a job in Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula. The interview went well at Lake Crescent Lodge and I was hired on as a server and bartender for the remainder of the summer.
In September of 02' I headed back to Phoenix for the winter as I had a job lined up at the Arizona Biltmore for the winter. In the spring of 2003 I went back to Lake Crescent for another summer of hiking, camping and of course work. For the fall and winter of 03' I worked in Las Vegas at the Santa Fe Station casino's steak house. I had met an amazing couple while staying in the Camping World parking lot in the summer of 02' and we became good friends, Ely & Dafna. The fine couple moved from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Vegas that winter. They bought a beautiful home on the north west side of the "bowl" with full RV hookups on site. It was a fun winter of gambling and hiking in Sin City!
In the spring of 2004 I left  Vegas and moved to Palm Bay FL, bought a house and sold the Airstream to a contractor that was going to help with the Hurricane Katrina clean up in New Orleans. I waved goodbye to the Airstream and thanked her for 3 good years of traveling.
In the Winter of 2005 Eric, my manager from Lake Crescent Lodge in WA, called and offered me a job at Caneel Bay on St John in the USVI. I was ready for another adventure so I packed up and once again hit the proverbial road, this time in a plane. While on St John  I bought a  32' Columbia Sloop sail boat named Isabel and explored the nearby islands. It was a lot of fun to take her out on the weekends and sail to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola and Norman Island, better knows as Treasure Island.
I moved back to Orlando in the summer of 2007 and have been pretty stationary since then, with little camping trips here and there. I cant wait to travel from Orlando to Alaska with John and see so many new and amazing places with him, he has no idea what he's in for ;)

-Rodney

Here it is, the route we have planned out on the way up, the question mark in Wyoming is there because there are a few ways to go through the state and different parts of Yellowstone we'd like to explore.

We start here in Orlando (obviously) up through Jacksonville, to South Carolina where we get to see Rodney's family for a few days. From there its into Charlotte then up to Charleston, West Virginia.

We'll Stop in Chicago for a few days to visit with more family, and have me be blown away by the big city...Then it's across to Des Moines, Iowa, Into Nebraska and into the corner of Wyoming. That's where we haven't decided on a route yet, but we do know that we will enter Montana from the bottom left tip...Get on I-15 and take it into Alberta Canada


Rodney keeps telling me i'm going to be amazed about what i'm going to see on this adventure, i'm kind of not looking forward to having my experiences in Colorado blown out of the water. My sister lives in Durango Colorado, it's beautiful there, and for the longest time she told me to not be attached to anyone so i could move up there without anything holding me back...Well sorry Jo :( 

I've never seen mountains anywhere like there, one time we went up into the mountains towards Silverton and into the alpine meadows. The road we were on sat in the middle of two HUGE mountains and it was breezy and getting colder the higher we went up. I will never forget the time i spent there.

I'm excited though for taking this trip with Rodney, i couldn't see myself doing it with anyone else. And I most certainty never do it by myself, I'd be lost and confused the second I leave downtown Orlando

There are songs that can define an adventure... the wind in your hair, the blown highlights of the sun setting as you cruise down the desert of some midwestern state with classic tunes coming in through your speakers.
I have a list of of about 130 songs I put together tonight, they couldn't all make this list so I'm going to do a top 5 favorite classic breakdown in no particular order.
And it starts with

1.Running on Empty-Jackson Browne
This is probably my favorite song on the list. Jackson Browne has the ultimate voice for travel music.
"Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive~Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive"
The song inspires and when you hear it you can't help but think of sunsets and getting up and going. A strong driving beat and piano chords set this song off. I can't say enough how if there was anyone else singing this song they would not do it justice. If i could I would hire Jackson Browne and he could play for us in the van all the way to Alaska.

2.Take it Easy-The Eagles
Jackson Browne definitely never sang in this band, though whoever sang this song sounds exactly like him.
Alright who am i kidding Jackson Browne knows how to write travel music 
"Take it easy, take it easy  Don't let the sound of your own wheels  Drive you crazy"
What else can i say Jackson Browne rocks!

3. Tiny Dancer-Elton John
Now I've never seen almost famous, but I'm watching the clip on youtube now . But whenever ive heard this song I imagine exactly where that bus was driving through. Cornfields, one long highway, and you as  the only person on the road, cruising into the sunset. "Hold me closer tiny dancer, count the headlight on the highway" you can't help but sing! It's perfect for those moments of silence with a loved one, this one is great at pulling your eyes towards each other :)

4.Gypsies Tramps and Thieves-Cher
Alright there's a reoccurring theme in these songs, Wheels? Wagons? It's travel! To this song I imagine having just committed some kind of crazy...something... with Rodney and we've just jumped in Helga and speeding the hell out of where ever we just were. This would have been perfect in the opening scene of Fear and loathing! It's a song where you can't help but bob your head and tap on your knee "Gypsies tramps and thieves, we'd hear it from the people of the town!"

5.Have you ever seen the rain- CCR
Another voice made for traveling. John Fogerty sang this song, and you can't help but think of the 70's when you hear this classic. A simple bass line and drums keep this groove mellow but its when the chorus comes in with the organs, that's when it hits you "I wanna know have you ever seen the rain, coming down on a sunny day" 

Well that's it! My five classic road trip songs. We have more reviews for the future
Tell me how you enjoyed it, and if you'd like to see something added in the future let us know

-John

Well it seems like i'm going to be the blog guru here on this umm blog...That's not to say Rodney will not write on occasion, his post should actually follow this one, i've given him 24 hours....he normally has a look like this when he doesn't want to do something...but most times it's the other way around


anyway, some about me...My name is John I'm 21 my birthday is November 1st 1988, I'm gay! As of this post Rodney and i have been together for 9 months in two days, we love being with each other, and to go on this trip with someone i connect with, nothing can be better :) ..I love to workout, drum and be in nature. Being lost is fun, its not monotonous, which is what i liked in Rodney, he kept me on my toes and got me out of my daily routine. I'm always up for a fun time but i have a tendency to be negative..but I'm working on it!

Most foods I'll try once..i just don't understand the duck fetus that is balut, that's a-bit much... but for your entertainment i'll try it and write a review for you (complete with face expression shots) I try to be witty, and very sarcastic...actually it's probably my number one humor forte'.
I'm not much of a partier, i can't stand beer..UNLESS there are drinking games involved (flip cup,beer pong) it's an acquired taste so I've heard.

I swear one day I'm going to climb mount Everest and when we move out of this house to the mountains, I know I'm going to become a professional snowboarder..,Did i mention i have big goals that i know won't happen but maybe could but i know won't but could? I mean anything is possible right..just unlikely. Since i can remember I've had this dream of road tripping to Alaska, i never thought it would happen, things kind of fell into place and we purchased Helga. "Exactly what you get is exactly what you give" So from here anything can happen. Rodney and I are putting our energies out there and we are making this trip a reality.

-John

I was never the type for car names, Rodney has always had all of his cars as "Hers"
and mine were always "Its." A few weeks after purchasing her we had thrown some names around: Gertrude, Olga, Agna, Fritzi and a whole assortment of German blonde-sounding names, after all she was yellow and Volkswagen is from Germany. After weeks of talking between us and friends we settled on Helga, It's fitting she's a big van, yellow and if you imagine really hard you could almost see her with a viking helmet and two ponytails of fury...


-John

1 82' VW Westfalia
2 Guys
Florida to Alaska
14,000 miles