So here we are in Winston-Salem. It’s Saturday morning, and the temperature is already well into the 70’s. The sky is clear and blue. Coffee in hand, we walk out to the gazebo in the Auch’s backyard and settle in on the wicker to watch their chocolate lab puppy frolicking as we reflect on life. It doesn’t get much better than this. We now have two full days to relax and enjoy the company of our good friends in NC without any scheduling or appointments to interfere. There’s lots to do, but no pressure... Nice.

 

The first order of business is for Matt and I to climb aboard Jamie’s doubledoor and head over to VeggieWerkes in High Point. Jamie wants to show me his latest acquisition: a 1982 Vanagon Diesel Westfalia. It’s a little rough around the edges but VERY solid underneath, and a dozen hours or so of elbow-grease is sure to  reveal a true gem underneath. There are a variety of other VWs to drool over in the shop, mostly water-cooled and predominantly diesel powered. Robert is kind enough to show us the gear he uses for making biodiesel, which costs less than 10 cents per liter to make once you source the veggie oil. Jamie is planning to add a 20-gallon biodiesel tank to the Vanagon, giving him a 600-mile range before he has to switch back to dinosaur juice. We consider swapping the timing belt out while we’re there but decide that coming home later than planned and filthy from the elbows down will not please the wives, so we decline and get back in the splitty and head home.

 

The splitty is awesome. Jamie has transplanted the powerful 1904cc engine from his 71 high-top into the splitty and the bodywork looks amazing. Mark Dearing did a great job of finishing up the bus and Jamie is deservedly proud of the results. There are still some minor finishing touches like the headliner, radio and gauges to be dealt with but it’s a good runner and the small stuff is coming together pretty smoothly.

 

After we get back we watch the girls play in the yard on the slip-n-slide and then they go indoors to work on Easter Eggs. Colleen and Christina head out for some shopping after which we pile back into the bus and head to Greensboro for dinner with the Cybulski clan.

 

Dinner at Chris and Michelle’s was excellent... Our first BBQ of the season couldn’t be beat. Much of the conversation included great advice for our upcoming road trip to the Outer Banks, but we also cover a wide range of other topics from movies to music, family, BOTC and so on. All too soon it’s time to get rolling back to Jamie’s but we leave Frannie and Casey there for the night to stay over with Stella.