March 8, 2002 - Byran Off to Texas


I was looking at my 1977 Plymouth Van and was thinking, “ I need air conditioning,” and to make this short, a lot of other things. I was looking for a new Van but at this time didn’t know it. The newer ones were costing up from about $20,000.00. I didn’t want to spend that much (I am cheap). Myran was looking at the Auctions and found a 1998 Dodge Ram 15 passenger van. It had only rolled over once. I put a bid on it and bought it for $1,900.00.

We were thinking a little bondo and a new top and it will look good enough. Well, we were right but it was a lot harder to get there than we thought. The problem is there are not many vans and so used parts are hard to come by. This is where Myran is good. He found a top in Texas for $200.00 but how to get it here.

This is how it finally went. They would not sell it as one piece so we were thinking “cut it in half.” They still didn’t want to do it. This is where Myran’s charm went to work. He had some people working on it in Seattle (well it was a girl). There was the payment that had to be worked out. The people getting it had to pay for it. The cost with all the shipping and handling was about $1,200.00. The top came all the way from Texas but we were glad to get it. Myran got to pick it up in Seattle in a rainstorm.

Back to work on the Van. Take every thing out, cut the old top off, push, pull, bondo, weld the new top on, and paint. You know, the usual thing it takes to make it look good. We know it is a Van with over 150,000 miles and is bent on every corner and top. It will never look perfect. For what is has been through, it looks and drives good enough for me.

It is good. I have a heated garage so I can do these things. The time for me to leave is getting close and I find a broken motor mount. It is rusted in so a day job. I am packing. Oh yes, the boat that goes on top. That took a day to do but works good. The garage door is not high enough for the rack, so I flex it up when I want to go in or out.

The cost of the Van is now about $4,000.00 to $5,000.00 when all is said and done. It is something I could not have done without the help of Myran.

There was a lot of other help too. Ilene, Vellen, Sharon, and Trina put in time too. Some day I will learn how to do laundry and cook so I can say I know how to do house work. They learned how to fix vans.

I wanted to take a freezer. Two weeks back order. Yea, right! I will be in Texas by then. I will get one in Texas. Yea, right again! Ilene flew down and was calling around Corpus Christi and found one at Sears in Portland, Texas. Do the laundry and go and get it. (Wrong). It went like this. As we were driving into the store, someone was loading a 5 cubic foot freezer into his car. Yes, it was the only one. They called the store in Corpus Christi. They had five in stock. When we found the store, they were not the right ones. They were uprights, not chests. I am getting good at getting this Van around through traffic; I don’t break too many laws. We finally just looked up appliance stores in the phone book and drove there and asked. We eventually found one at Best Buy. It was a brand I never heard of and didn’t care. It was a freezer and the fish I worked so hard to get would be cold. Over the weeks I was there, the bottom was filled with fish and the top with ice cream. The top kept going down.

Anyway, back to the trip. I started out March 7, 2002. Ilene had to work so I was navigator and driver. I loaded the 12 CD’s, filled up and started down the road. I had to go back for the map Ilene stayed up late to make for me or be in trouble the rest of the trip. It is 9:28 a.m.

All the lights are red but finally I get on the road for good - the point of no return has passed.

I stayed the night at an RV camp. It was 16 degrees. I have a heater so I stayed warm. I cooked dinner and breakfast in the van. I stopped at Devils Washbowl at Malad Gorge State Park. You take the I-84 Hagerman exit near Tuttle, Idaho. Went for a walk to see the falls. I was really cold when I got back. Next time I am thinking I will take my big coat.

I made a wrong turn - one of many. I-86 will not get it done, I-84 will. Coldwater is nice but the wrong way. It is cold; the river was frozen over.

$17.00 to stay tonight. I spilled my chili all over the floor so the floor is clean now. There is a 10-mile an hour wind and it is going to get to plus 9 to night.

I stopped at Valli’s in Denver for three days. Garry and I went to a ridge and saw some Dinosaur tracks. We walked up it for a long way - about a mile. The day was great - too short and no wind. Valli was working but the next day we went on a 40-mile bike ride and the following day about 10 miles. My butt hurt and she was making me look bad. She was nice and waited for me at the top of all the hills. I rode my bike on the ice-covered lake. The third day Valli took me for a drive and we saw a lot of the country around there.

The weather had been warm but the night before I left to meet Jim and Joanne in Pueblo, Colorado it snowed. We drove to a lake to spend the night. When we stopped at a rest stop, the wind was blowing so hard I had a hard time opening the door.

I visited Round Rock, Texas to see Jerry. Jim and Joanne went on to Port Aransas to spend the night on the beach. I stayed at Jerry and Marilane’s home.

Jerry took me on a great bike ride; then the next day we went for a nice walk.

Valli and Jerry treated me really great.

I finally got to Port Aransas after I rode the ferry across. It is warm and there is a little wind. I have not looked up Jim yet but will after I get my nerves back on track. The wind was blowing the Van all over again and the trucks made it hard to stay on the black stuff. The roads are marked but you have to be on your toes. Someone wanted my lane and I almost took him out. The good part was I only got lost once and not for long. North was not the direction you would think.

I got a parking pass for the beach then cooked some food. I set back, took a walk, now it is time to look for Jim. He must be lost too. I find the Truitt’s without a problem. It is great to park the van and not have to worry about it for a few days.

They have a neat cabin with air conditioning and a kitchen. I have a full size bed in the van and I like it so that is where I stayed. I just came in to use the shower and kitchen.

I took Joanne and Jim in my boat over to the Phoenix docks and fished for Sheep head. At night we would fish for Gaff Top. A month of fishing is fun and you end up with a lot of fish.

We went out and anchored the boat. Jim caught two fish and they broke his line. Joanne hooked one and we were two to three hours getting it in. I ran the motor and followed it all over. It was a 39-inch Drum. She was so happy to get it in the boat.

Ilene flew down for two weeks. We took a charter out and I caught a Grouper. Now that is a good fish to eat. The rest of the boat caught sharks.

Ilene, Joanne, Jim and I went on an ocean liner, the Texas Treasure, so we could do a little gambling. Ilene made $150.00. I lost. Let me put it this way, the boat ride was a lot of money to me.

We took the boat out to an island covered with shells. Ilene found one of the larger, most beautiful, most smelly shells we have ever found 14 inches long. The poor little fellow died and smelled baaaaaaad and didn’t come out until after we soaked the shell for a week or better in Clorox water. The other shells were nice and a lot smaller but smelled a lot better.

Ilene and I went to see the Alamo in San Antonio. We also did the River Walk located in the middle of the shopping center. It seemed strange to see such historical landmarks surrounded by freeways and shopping centers. It was fun but there is not much to do in that town. Not much that we like to do anyway.

I took Ilene to the airport when there were high winds and tornado warnings with golf ball size hail stones and lots of rain with the wind in Dallas. That wind is really fun with a boat on top. The flight was canceled so she booked for the next day. She got to fish one more day.

After Ilene left, I stayed on a couple more weeks. Rene’ and Robert and their little girl, Megan, came for a few days. It was good seeing them again and fishing with Jim and Robert.

My Drive home was spent with more time lost and on roads that went the right way but not necessarily the fastest. A lot of two lane roads. Finding a place to plug in my freezer was fun. Just finding a place to stay was fun. One stop was at Valli’s. We ate fish. I left there at 5:00 a.m. A fox ran in front of me just a couple blocks from her house.

When I got home it was cold, maybe 50 or 60 degrees, a 40-degree change, but I had a great tan. I was away exactly 6 weeks. The van and boat worked great. A fun trip.