We bought a camper van. Sort of by accident. I was listing things for sale on the computer when an ad came up for a 22 year old European Possl van by Peugot. It was 17 feet long, very compact and affordable. We had been looking for a camper van for years, but then gave up as they were all out of our price range. We wanted a van with good clearance as we go off road a lot, but without the fancy features. Anyhow, long story short, I said to Jody that we should JUST go and look at it. He replied that this would be just like going to see a puppy, and it was.
So now we are owners of the Guppy, a perky little van that sleeps two (or three at a pinch) and has room for four at the table. Until two weeks ago we had not gone far except for one night away up a logging road. Aside from that we have sat in it a lot, talked about it, and Jody has done a fair amount of obsessing over it. He works in a bedroom right above where the van sits and when he finishes a report (he is a fisheries biologist) he allows himself a little visit to the van. He will turn it on, listen to the engine etc, go back to work. We also got in it a few weekends ago just to have tea and stare out the window.
We were making plans for a BIG trip, seven days away in the Kootenays, when Jody realized there was a problem with the brakes. He needed to order new callipers and that meant waiting for the parts from Estonia. No place in North America was going to have the parts for this vehicle, we learnt this from the mechanic we bought it from. The brakes arrived 10 days later, and Jody put them on with the help of a few YouTube videos.
We had a week of mountain biking, swimming in cold rivers in the Kootenays, and meeting up with our daughter Lucy. The van worked perfectly until it didn’t. We were on our way home to Gibsons, and after coming down the long Blueberry Paulson pass we stopped for diesel and noticed that someone else’s brakes smelt. Of course, it was someone else’s until we noticed no other cars in the gas station. So, we filled up and drove out of Christina Lake only to pull over again in 10 minutes to check if the brakes felt hot. They were, and 15 minutes later Jody had the van jacked up and the left wheel off. I was inside settling down our dog Lupin who did not like the noise or the shaking going on underneath the vehicle. Then a rather unhappy face appeared through the window and Jody mentioned that he did not think we could move the van as the brakes were seized. We needed that second set of brakes. The ones on the work bench that were ready to come with us, but somehow didn’t.
My chance to do some work. I am the packing/shipping person in the relationship. How do you get car parts from one small BC town to another fast? It was 3:15pm and any courier in Gibsons would have left the coast on the 1:05pm boat so the only other option was Canada Post. They said it would be 1-3 business days. But don’t feel sorry for us because we have one of those post office’s where you can phone up and get a hold of any of the three staff that know me well and they will figure out how to help. Satsuki was more than happy to suggest General Delivery and then she called ahead to the post office in Christina Lake to let Elaine know that the box was coming. Hey, that is good service! Elf Sylvia whipped over to our house, packed the box, Jody bunged the wheel back onto the van and we limped back to Christina Lake where believe it or not, my sister and brother-in-law have a place!
Our dog Lupin in bed, enjoying a sleep in after we got up.
We parked our Guppy on their lawn and used their cabin to cook and to work in for the two days while we waited for Canada Post to do what it does. During the wait I got to stare at the beautiful long lake that is chilly now, but really warm in the summer. The lake is 18km long and it is the venue for a swim race this summer. The full race is 36km, but they also run shorter distances including a one way 18km distance. Maybe I could do that. I say maybe because I don’t know if I can swim that far without blowing out my shoulders. But sitting there and staring at the lake as I worked made me really, really tempted to sign up.
I'm sorry that there is no super exciting end to this story.