Old Retired Guy Blog
June 27, 2007
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ValerieOne of the toughest things to do when preparing to move is deciding what you should take and what you should toss. In practice, of course, "toss" could mean give to a friend, donate to a charity, take to the dump, drop off at the recycling center, or sell for a few bucks. We tried all of those methods. We gave a lot of plants to Paul Olson along with almost anything that would fit into his car; donated many items to Goodwill and the Viet Nam Veterans; hauled a load of old carpeting and other miscellaneous unrecycleable debris to the Hillsboro dump; took a lot of metal, glass, and cardboard to Far West Fibers; and sold a piano, a child's loft bed, old camera gear, and other things on Craig's List. Out of all of the things we decided to leave behind, the hardest to part with was a dear old friend named Valerie. We first met Valerie in January 1978 on the lot at Schmerler Ford on Highway 20 in Racine, Wisconsin. We were looking for a van to take us and our camping gear to various places around the country. She was looking for good caring owners. It was a perfect match, and $6500 later we took her home.
After our move to Portland in 1982 she took us around the Northwest and to California. She made many trips to Mt. Hood at all times of the year -- even if she had to wear her ugly winter chains -- and took us to visit our friends Paul and Laura in Seattle or to meet them on a camping trip in some National Forest camp ground. In her later years she hauled Cub Scouts from Pack 208 and Boy Scouts from Troop 208 and their gear on quite a few camping trips. During all of this time she had her brakes worked on quite a few times, had a couple of new radiators installed, and went through her share of starter motors, fuel pumps, and batteries. But, she was never in an accident and never needed a major repair. I suspect that our habit of naming our vehicles makes it more difficult to part with them. When you consider all that we've been through with Val, however, I think it would have been very difficult to part with her even if she didn't have a name. It was hard to say "Good Bye" to Valerie today. So, if you live in Portland, Oregon, and you see Valerie drive by some time, please say "Hello." |
Kathy made curtains for the windows that attached by means of
Velcro strips. Half of the Velcro pieces were attached to the headliner by simply removing the screws and reattaching them through the middle of each piece. The other half was, of course, sewn onto the curtain material. We installed carpeting in the back and I made a large plywood box that we could use to store camping gear like the stove, lantern, and boxes of cooking utensils and supplies. We would be cruising in style.
The
summer of '78 with Val was quite an experience. From about May 21 - June
30 we went to Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky, visited our friends Jack
and Merike in Spartanburg, visited my sister Elsa and her husband Bill in
Atlanta, camped and hiked in Smoky Mountain National Park, enjoyed the Blue
Ridge Mountain Parkway, and camped on the beach at Cape Hatteras National
Seashore. We returned to Wisconsin in time to spend the week of July 8-15
on Washington Island, and then headed west through the Badlands, Black Hills,
and Bighorn Mountains to Yellowstone National Park. After Yellowstone we
visited Grand Teton National Park and then met friends for a great group camping outing in
Glacier National Park. We returned through Teddy Roosevelt National
Monument and across Minnesota, arriving back about August 20. I should
point out that Eric was 2 years old and Kathy -- she's quite the woman -- was pregnant with Matthew at the
time! That was the first of many great trips around the US with Valerie.
