Gutted

Dawn to dusk, rain or shine,

Safe to say, it’s been a grind….

Thanks to a lot of hard work and love, especially from J, Pancho has successfully been gutted and is officially rust-free! Wooot!

The floors have been treated, anxiously awaiting their new insulation and sub flooring.

J has developed a passion for auto restoration, I’ve discovered a new affinity for power tools (vroom baby)…

I think Pancho is really rubbing off on us…

We’ve come a long way and are so pumped for this next phase of customizing our dream machine… making it OURS.

¡Si se puede!

Mysteries

Pancho is full of mysteries… After researching some ‘do it yourself’ YouTube videos, I felt full of ‘internet knowledge confidence’, deciding to roll up my sleeves and surprise J by removing the old carpet from the van floor.

We did have an idea that there may be more than one layer…

I mean, why pick one floor when you could have 3?! Ha! I ripped out the carpet, to find linoleum, to find old wood… While more work than I bargained for, I felt pretty proud of myself for getting the job done.

Sweaty and smiling, I think I missed my true calling as a construction worker…

Pancho definitely had some past lives… if those walls could talk! Cleaning up the last bit together, we found an old, rusted U.S. Government pen. (Favorite find so far…)

I’d like to think that he was definitely an undercover agent. Such an inconspicuous vehicle you know…

Calling it a day, it was time for Pancho’s first surf trip!

Boards packed up, playing some reggae jams, we headed to our favorite local spot. Wiggling into our wet suits, it was a very good taste of our life ahead.

Vacation Days

Big things happening this week:

Transmission rebuild = complete!

Vehicle registration = complete! (Thank goodness for AAA, saving us hours from the dreaded DMV). It felt pretty good getting those license plates…real official….woot!

Costco run = complete. Ha! No, not for the trip, just for life. In the midst of all this craziness, we decided it was a good idea to do a 21 day sugar detox. Stocked up on meats, veggies, almond butter, eggs…sadly had to skip the wine aisle…next time.

The reality of this trip is really starting to sink in. How often does one get to spend 3 months traveling through Mexico?! It really is a rare opportunity; J is in a unique position to make shift trades and my contract is coming to an end.

It’s crazy (for me) to digest that I only have three weeks of work left. Planning the transition, I have been sharing our plans with more and more people. The reactions have been all over the board: shocked, amused, excited, curious, amazed, skeptical, unsure, annoyed, and my favorite, genuinely happy for us.

The truth is: not enough people take vacations and time for themselves.

“Unlike every other developed nation in the world, the U.S. has no mandated number of days off for employees. About one-fourth of American workers get no paid vacation at all. Those whose employers offer it receive an average of about 10 days a year” – https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/why-vacations-matter/index.html

Even with the average of ’10 days’, over half of Americans do not use all of the vacation they earn.

Being at companies in the past, where vacation hours were accrued, I was counting those hours each pay check to plan my next adventure… I would not leave a single minute.

There are so many aspects of life, work is certainly one of them, but should not be the only one. Take the vacation days, discover somewhere new, go for a walk, lay in a hammock. You won’t regret it.

We are excited to live ‘outside the box’ for this upcoming period and fully experience all that life has to offer.

Cookies

After getting Pancho home safely, we checked him into the doctor for his first operation; rebuilding the transmission.

We have about two months until ‘Mexico go-time’ so we’re tackling the big stuff first. Parting ways, it was time to pack up the bicicletas for an adventure in the Malibu mountains…

Challenge: Phil’s Cookie Fondo.

Course consisted of: Spandex, gourmet cookies, tough climbs, burning lungs, sweat, eye watering descents, beautiful views, and did I already say COOKIES? Yes, at everrrrry aid station…sweetness!

Ex pro cyclist, Phil Gaimon, known for chowing down cookies on serious races, puts on an awesome event! Dressed up like the cookie monster, he organized several routes: Mini Chip, Sugar Cookie, Chocolate Chip and Double Fudge. (The double fudgers are walnuts! 110 miles…eeesh).

We opted for the 50 mile Sugar Cookie ride, plenty challenging with over 3,250 ft+ of climbing. It was a rad day, starting through foggy farmlands, climbing up windy narrow roads, discovering gorgeous, rocky, hilly, terrain sprinkled with horse stables and impressive ranches.

Sweet treats along the way until we found the Malibu coast for the last stretch. Right when you are about to cross over to the dark side, fatigued and in need of more calories, you ride through the finish archways to find a Michelin star meal and cold beer waiting for you. Amazing.

Of course we had to bring home some gourmet coffee…one of the best souvenirs 😊

Pancho!

Ever been in love at first sight?

Okay, you must admit the first feelings are purely physical. It was probably that strong, bold body… Or perhaps that charming style, the first impression that left you craving more…

Maybe it was that “ready-for-action” look that made you want to drive off into the sunset…

Oh yeah… (All of those things…)

That’s how we felt when we saw Pancho!

After months of van searching, we found the ONE. With extremely busy work schedules and limited time off, we had to get serious and seal the deal over the phone. Whoa!

Luckily, we hit it off with the seller and felt pretty confident about the transaction. (Of course, I was a nervous wreck until we reunited in Vegas, everyone in one piece).

It was an amazing blur…Vegas lights, a free hotel upgrade to a poolside cabana room, riding the high roller over the city skyscrapers and getting to know our new adventure wagon.

The ride home was less than ‘Purrfect’ thanks to “Purrfect Auto Service” who took 5 hours, inspecting Pancho, ordering new shocks, trying to install them and realizing they ordered the wrong ones…Ha! (Not so funny at the time).

Crossing our fingers and leaning to the right, we set off on our drive home, using tie-downs to hold the seats in place and a Bluetooth speaker to ease the mood 😉 A very memorable first drive in Pancho.

Sometimes it’s the perfectly imperfect ones we fall for…and those are the BEST. We are so excited about this sweet ride and what the future has in store.