Everything is falling into place!

I figured it’s time for an update with what’s happened these last few weeks. The van project went on the back burner while I worked to get my house ready to go on the market. My buddies Chis, Dan and Elsa helped me paint the interior while I painted the pump room and all the trim around the house. I improved the front sidewalk up to the house, put in a fire ring and made 5 runs to the dump with my motorcycle trailer and the Subaru. Elsa also had her “Escape hatch” moved closer to her house in Arlington. It’s at the Lake Bronson Nudist Park up in Sultan Wa.

The house went on sale June 1st and within 47 hours,  I was under contract with an offer for more then I was asking….. how fortuitous! 😉 a HUGE THANK YOU to my friend (PNW Tenere North leader) Christopher Dantzscher and Coldwell Banker Bain agent for the great work. The house is set to close 9 July!

Last weekend was Emily’s Senior Prom.  Emily and her boyfriend Zane had a great time! Don’t you think she looked fabulous!?! She is so looking forward to graduating next week and starting Western Washington University up in Bellingham this fall.

Oh yeah,…  As of Wednesday, I’m officially RETIRED!  After retiring from the USAF in 2011, I made a promise to my daughters that I’d stay close until Emily was out of High School.  Well….. That time has come! It was pretty easy walking away from my contracting position on JBLM,  but I will miss a few of the people and driving all the big toys.

These last few days I’ve made a lot of progress on the van.  First was applying “Hushmat”, it’s a premium grade insulation and sound deadening layer directly to the inside body metal.  At $350 for 78 sq/ft, I’ll need at least 150 -200 sq/ft to get the job done, but I’m assured that this base layer will make the inside very comfortable no matter the weather outside. It’s “the good stuff”

The flooring was next. 1/4” foil wrapped styrofoam insulation, 1/4” plywood and 3/8” rubber gym matting sandwiched together. Thinking about the weight of the bike on the foam, I swapped out that section of underpayment with strips of the rubber flooring. That should support it weight just fine. I’m also ok with not being able to cut a straight line along the walls because Cole will be building walls and furniture to hid the uneven cuts 😉

Yesterday my second shippment of Hushmat showed up as well as my Engle 40 liter Dual Voltage Refrigerator/ Freezer. I’ve only heard great things about the Engle brand of fridges. The 4×4/ Overland community swear by them for their durability and long life.  Can’t complain with that!  I also received my Kodiak lithium power supply  from Energy a few days ago. It’s a “all in one, plug and play” power generator. 1100 Watts / 3000 Watts surge , inverter and able to be charged from Solar, AC or DC. Until I get the 100 watt solar panel hooked up, I’ll be charging it off the house battery & inverter that’s built into the van.

I’m so greatful that everything has fallen into place from plans that started way back in 2006.  I didn’t know then what the future was to hold but that the summer of 2018 was going to be one of change and adventure.

Thank you for following my journey! There is MUCH MORE in store soon…. real soon!  😉

Glen

Author: PNWTenere

It's all about going for a ride with friends on the Yamaha Super Tenere, on road or off in the Pacific Northwest View all posts by PNWTenere