Headed Home

After a great Mexican dinner with Pat and Sara we were headed home. We slept off a dirt road in the National Forest and passed Mt. Shasta in the morning. When we saw a van with a very interesting paint job we knew we were almost back in LA LA Land. After seeing so many awesome places we were less than excited to return to LA.

Smith Rock

After dreaming of going to Smith Rock for over 10 years Anja was finally there. She LOVED IT! We were pretty tired from the whirlwind journey but had a great time climbing and hanging with Pat, Sara and Roxy (Pat's dog). Since this was Anja's first trip there we had to hike over the pass to see Monkey' Face.

Headed to Smith Rock

We had owned the van for nearly over 24 hours so heading off in it to a climbing area was already far over due! So we headed off to Smith Rock in Bend, OR with Pat and Sara.

Headed to Portland

We had the van and we headed to Portland to catchup with a climbing friend. We made a quick stop in Seattle to show Justin the van.

Van Celebration

Lunch at Antonio’s was great and reasonable with most dishes costing between $15-25. Anja mentioned that he should order whatever he wanted and Ron replied “that’s all I needed to hear, I’ll take the halibut”. At lunch he also told us: “there are two days of celebration in the ownership of an RV, Boat or Home; the day you buy it and the day you sell it.” Thanks for celebrating with us Ron! After a quick stop at the park near Antonio’s we headed off to Portland.

Van Theft Story

On the way to the restaurant we asked Ron about the theft, and he told us that one morning he came out of his condo to find the van gone. He phoned the police and then went looking for it. After an hour he found it with some people unloading/loading stuff. He notified the police and they came quick and pulled there guns as he sat in his car and took pictures! His bike and radios were missing from the van, but his sleuthing continued. He checked on eBay and found his radio for sale from a local pawn shop! Once again got the police involved and recovered his radio. While the bike was gone, his insurance company reimbursed him for the cost of the bike.

Van Transaction

We then took it on the freeway for a test drive on our way to Wells Fargo. It is HUGE but drives great. We were both excited and Anja was exceedingly excited. At Wells Fargo we completed the transaction and offered to reimburse him for the repair cost, but he said he felt he should repair it since he had told me the A/C was in good condition. What a super cool guy! We insisted he let us take him out to lunch, and he suggested Antonio’s: a nice seafood restaurant on the water front. A quick photo op with the keys to our new van and we were off.