A Westy Reunion

Jeffrey Lee · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:54 pm Post subject: A Westy Reunion

I was assistant-instructing at a sea-kayak symposium this past weekend in Wisconsin's Door County peninsula, and I got lots of admiring glances and peace signs every time I puttered through the parking lot with my Westy. Once, when I'd parked and was rummaging through some gear bags, an older woman approached and asked, "What year is your diesel Vanagon?"

"It's a 1983," I answered, and she replied that she used to own one the same color. She went on to explain that she and her husband had gone to Germany and picked theirs up in Hannover, then spent five weeks touring northern Europe before shipping their new van home to the States. I chuckled because that was the same story I'd heard about the original owners of my van, but I suppose lots of Americans did that.

She went on to offhandedly mention increasingly unique descriptions of various accessories they'd added to their Westy: the matching Westfalia toilet-in-a-box, a foot switch for the sink pump, the RV levelers on the closet wall; all of which our van also has. And she mentioned their cross-country roadtrips to the western American national parks, and points beyond.

I finally asked whatever happened to her Vanagon, and she explained that once their children were born they had camped less and less, so they finally sold it to a pair of German foreign-exchange engineering students. My ears perked up and I asked, "What university?"

"Oh, that was down in Platteville ..."

I felt a shiver run down my spine. "That's where we bought OUR Westy," I said, "from two university students who were returning to Germany."

She stared blankly at me, and I stepped over to the passenger door and opened the glovebox. Inside, there has always been a small faded mailing label with a name and address, presumably of the original owners. I had long planned to look them up, but had never gotten around to it.

"Who is Kevin and Grace Halmouth?" I asked (names have been changed).

"Well, that was my married name!" she replied. We both burst into laughter and exchanged a friendly embrace at this reunion of long-lost Westy 'parents'.

We spent the next half hour swapping stories and tales of our travels and roadtrips, and exchanged email addresses. She plans to visit my wife and I with a small photo album documenting their time in Europe and the US, and I can't wait to see the 'baby pictures' and first steps of our beloved Westy.

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jimf909 · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:08 pm Post subject:

That's super sweet. What a fun story. Now you just have to find those two students and y'all can take a 6 week road trip together. Very Happy

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chojinchef · Samba Member Joined: February 17, 2011 Posts: 1539

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

LP
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Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

photogdave · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:17 pm Post subject:

Great story! I'm sure she's happy to see you've kept it in such great shape. Cool

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Gnarlodious · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:20 pm Post subject:

Great story! Love it!

AKWesty · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:27 pm Post subject:

Fantastic story!
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kamzcab86 · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:58 pm Post subject:

Wow... what are the odds? Surprised

Neat story. Cool

My van has reunited with its 2nd owners twice now, but it wasn't by coincidence. They kept in touch with the 3rd owners, who passed along a pile of 2nd owner receipts, so I sent them a note telling them that their lovable van had been sold and moved to AZ. Will be camping out with them again next month up in NorCal. Very Happy

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WestyBob · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:03 pm Post subject: Re: A Westy Reunion

Excellent post and story.

And I'm a fresh water kayak enthusiast who could use some pointers sea kayaking Cool

vegpedlr · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:30 pm Post subject:

Great story!

My van has over 380K miles and I often wonder where it's been.

Bassyaks · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:38 pm Post subject:

Did you let her take it for a spin?

70coupyel · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:49 pm Post subject:

Smiles and warm fuzzy feeling. Just amazing that these vans can tie folks together. Good times and stories are coming your way." Boy if the walls of this van can talk."
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dhaavers · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 5:53 am Post subject:

Great story & a sweet looking van!
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"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

Jeffrey Lee · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 6:44 am Post subject:

Thanks for reading, everybody, and for the kind comments! It's true that these beloved old vans have a way of connecting people. For the rest of the weekend, every time I bumped into Grace again, we busted out laughing and introduced our friends to the story. Good times.

WestyBob, I don't have a lot of ocean paddling experience yet, but kayak-touring here on the upper Great Lakes can often be much like paddling the ocean. Here's an article I wrote on my kayaking website comparing/contrasting the two:
http://superiorpaddling.com/great-lakes-a-little-slice-of-the-sea/

Two advantages to the Great Lakes:
1. you can drink them
2. there are no sharks ... Smile

Jake de Villiers · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 7:49 am Post subject:

That's a delightful story! Thanks!
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ironturtle · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 9:51 am Post subject:

Signalocity · Samba Member Joined: February 13, 2012 Posts: 573

This is great!

Yondermtn · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:05 am Post subject:

Nice story!
When did the original owner sell? When did you buy?

I am leaving for Door County first thing tomorrow morning. Camping in the park for a few days then the family cabin in Ephraim for a few days.
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1977 Westfalia 2.0FI 4spd
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Jeffrey Lee · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:51 am Post subject:

the joker · Samba Member Joined: October 12, 2006 Posts: 1287

Westy Bob read alot of sea kayaking books / nautical charts Cool

learn how to use a compass
remember ocean tides wind are your major factors kayaking in Neptunes playground

zippyslug31 · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:48 pm Post subject:

Cool story, thanks for sharing.

Through some detective work of my own I was able to track down a previous owner of my van. He went on to some semi-fame in his particular profession so it wasn't super hard to find him.
I did exchange an email or two with him thinking it would share in a similar 'reunion' of sorts and hoped for some past stories. The previous owner only said he wished he never sold the van and, for the most part, didn't seem the slightest bit interested! LOL
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'80 westy
current:
'90 syncro westy 2.5L subi, triple knob, 16" wheels.
'84 sunroof van, 2.1L motor.


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