Oh, Canada!

So, I forgot my iphone charger/usb interface at James Gentry’s place in Seattle… so I can’t post many photos at the moment (of  Oregon camping, beautiful Portland, Martha’s donkey named Bunny and the goats, kooky Seattle, and our new friends in Vancouver) but we’re sorting it out!   Although, we have a few photos to share of where we are right now on Vancouver Island (courtesy of Maylee’s camera).

This is us posing in some of the free “road-shirts” we’ve found here.  They may end up on ebay or sold at a vintage st0re, but they may become part of our personal collection.  The awesome Syracuse sweatshirt was in a free box with the fancy shoes pictured (ditto on where they may end up) and we thought it was pretty obvious that some fancy lady was cleaning out their closets and was secretly throwing away her husbands “before we met” college clothes.  Poor bastard.

The super awesome kangaroo & joey stuffed animal was a donation from Maylee & Noah, and is probably 50′s or 60′s era with a really cool “Made in Japan” label.  Note the fab pocketbook.

If you want something, make us an offer! (small blonde child not for sale)

We went to see the house boats and to see the babies in the petting zoo.  Elyse was intent on breaking up the warring baby goats. Little hippie.  (all these photos were taken by Maylee… thanks Maylee!!)

Vintage Items for Sale!

Check out the stuff on eBay:

http://shop.ebay.com/virgilex/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

The First Bit (CA Coast)

We set off a bit later than expected, as expected. There seems to be an extraordinary number of loose ends to tie up when one leaves town for 2 months. Who knew? But here’s our “official leaving town photo”

Dropping off keys and saying goodbye to a lose end:

We arrived in Santa Cruz to stay with Emily & Andres, and were treated to an incredible dinner, as is their culinary standard:

Thanks again, guys! We ate that homemade granola post haste.

After shopping the SC Flea Market the next day, we arrived at Katy’s wedding, where I got to meet the ultra-delightful Reeves Family I’ve heard so much about.

That night we also got to see our friend Uni & her Ukelele perform, and she played the MOST APPROPRIATE SONG! Watch it here: http://vimeo.com/26846702

Then Sunday was more wedding good times:

Here’s some glamorous camping and driving and ocean shots. Yay for CA!

And our very first tourist trap visit!! The WORLD FAMOUS Drive Through Tree:

Totally worth the $5 entry fee.

Trip Preparations

We’ve been busy little bees, getting the Roadmaster trip-ready. My mom is making flowery curtains (thanks, Mom!) with some great vintage fabric to maximize the quaint station wagon-ness. John has removed the back seats and constructed a sleeping deck with storage below. Go team! Photos of the completed projects coming soon…

Also, this is my first post from my iPhone, so if the formatting is wonky, that’s why. For a more accurate test of my posting abilities, I suppose I should be riding in the moving wagon. Next time!

The Vehicle

This is the guy we bought the wagon from.

Many (male) friends’ first question is: “What are you going to drive”? To which the reply is, “Why, a wood-paneled station wagon, of course”! After all, this is an American road trip, right? Although we don’t have a gaggle of arguing kids to pile in the back, we thought it classically appropriate to procure the ultimate cliché of road trip automobilia. That is to say, we’re driving a 1996 Buick Roadmaster (Collector’s Edition) Wood-Paneled Station Wagon(ding!). The ultimate in grandpa luxury, it’s like floating down the highway on a giant leather couch. That’s not to say it’s completely geriatric… it does have a purring Corvette engine and custom wheels. John did some quantum calculations involving comfort and quietness, miles per gallon, engine reliability, with an eye toward style and head toward cost and arrived at this specific make, model & color. It took us a couple of months of hard-core searching to locate one in our home state, but we found this shining jewel down in Huntington Beach in June. We took the train to the beach to check her out, and drove her home that evening.

Taking a celebratory walk on the Huntington Beach Pier.

 

Trip Overview

THE ROUTE *subject to change without notification, copyright 1964

WHERE: Everywhere?  Or at least to most of the lower 48.  It will be a big loop starting in central California and going clockwise.  The first leg of the trip is up the west coast: Santa Cruz, Oakland (for Katy’s wedding), up the Pacific Coast Highway to Eureka, then over to Eugene, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver Island.  I know, Vancouver Island is not part of America… but it IS where our fabulous friends Maylee & Noah of the great Tower of Dudes live.

WHAT: Living (and traveling) by our wits and making this Vintage Road Trip pay for itself!  Exploring America one garage sale at a time… and reselling our finds on ebay to fill our gas tank and bellies.  But, we’re even more resourceful and talented than that! The plan is to network and meet kindred individuals who are in need of a bike tune-up, a pet door installation, oil change, hula-hoop lesson, or about a thousand other things we’re capable of.  But this ain’t no hobo show… we’re just two hard-working, creative, vintage design-oriented people who believe in our ability to make this (delightfully comfortable) adventure happen.

Something borrowed, Something blue...

WHEN: End of July until the end of September, if all goes according to plan.  The trip is book-ended by two weddings.  John’s good friend Katy is getting married in Oakland, which kicks off our trip, and then our friends Alana & Kevin are getting married in Fresno, which will be something to look forward to upon our return!  And, actually (keeping with the theme of this blog) John’s helping Alana & Kevin sort out 24 fantastic vintage chairs from his personal archive for their wedding. (see photo)

WHY: Because it’s the perfect time! We’re (sort of) young and don’t have kids.  And a massive American road trip is one of those things one wants to get checked off one’s To Do List, right?