Van Shopping: Strike Two

by Scott

What is it with 1998 Coachmen Starflytes? Soon after our first deal fell through, we found two more Starflytes in Florida, one on ebay and one on AutoTrader. The one on ebay, despite being 13 years old, looked like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

From the start, I had my reservations about Bill, who sells RVs on ebay under the username belmar13. He has excellent feedback, but his personality was that of the stereotypical used car salesman. What concerned me most was his attitude toward my request to have the van checked out by a mechanic. He acted like it was a personal insult, claiming it was the first time anyone had ever requested such a thing. When I insisted that I wouldn't be spending $20k on a sight-unseen vehicle without a mechanical inspection, he relented, but he took it to his mechanic--the guy that does all the work on his RVs before he sells them. Before the mechanic finished inspecting it, somebody hit BuyItNow for $21.9k. The van was gone. Bill called the next morning to tell us that it sold, and that it was out of his control. Fair enough. That was actually kind of classy. Maybe I was wrong about Bill.

We were a little bummed about missing out on the showroom van, but what could we do? We kept searching. Every day, I would search Craigslist for Starflytes. Every day, both ebay and RVTrader would email me with any new Starflyte listings. Imagine my surprise when RVTrader found yet another showroom Starflyte. It was just like the other one. It was in Florida, just like the other one. It had 4 new tires, new brakes, and a new timing belt, just like the other one. The VIN number was 1FDJE30L5VHB78959, just like the other one! It was the same van! But, instead of $21.9k, it was now only $13.8k!

What the hell? Did the mechanic find something catastrophic? Did Bill "buy" his own van to take it off the market? Did Bill sell a lemon that someone else is now willing sell at a $8k loss? If that's the case, why did the ebay buyer gave Bill excellent feedback, "A +++++ Seller - Great RV - Thanks for throwing in a Keylime Pie." Whatever's going on here, I'm soooo glad we're not part of it...though I do like keylime pie.

Carpenter Ants Eat More Than Wood

It took 2 weeks in my parent's barn for our favorite Slingshot Rev kite to get completely destroyed by a colony of carpenter ants.  After a search on Google, I found that they primarily nest in and around wood structures.  Why did they choose our nylon kite and polyurethane bladder?  We spent a couple of hours repairing the massive holes in the nylon and the 20 or so holes in the bladder.  It seems to hold air but we haven't taken it on the water yet.  There were no other ants in the barn, and this is a big barn.  We are completely baffled.  This was a VERY expensive lesson.

Back in the USA

We made it back to the USA without a hitch.  I think I'm getting the hang of the 30-hour travelfest involved with flying from Austral-Asia to the USA.  We sold most of our stuff but couldn't part with a surfboard, kiteboard, 2 kites, 2 snowboards, and a few items of clothing.  We've been back for 3+ weeks and still haven't felt the need to buy anymore clothing -- I think this nomadic lifestyle is really starting to stick.

1am at the Detroit airport.  30+ hours of travel and we still squeaked out a smile. 

After a great week visiting with my parents, sister and nephew, we took my dad's truck down to Indiana to visit Scott's sister, Becky, and her family.  We had never visited Becky at her home.  It was also our first visit with Nick, her husband, and their two kids Cayden (4) and Camren (5).  After a bit of hiding upstairs, the boys introduced themselves to Uncle Scott with a baseball to the skull. We had so much fun with them over the next 24 hours -- playing Cayden Ball, watching T-ball, and eating at Shake 'N Shake (because it's all about the shakes).

Next, we drove to surprise Scott's brother, Skip, at his college graduation party.  Skip is no ordinary college student.  He is 39 years old with 4 teenage kids.  We are so impressed that Skip stuck with it for four years during an incredibly hectic time for his whole family.  They thought we were still in New Zealand, so the surprise was priceless, as was the look on Skip's face (see below).

We are back at my parents' house in Ann Arbor.  I call it the 5-star resort -- all-you-can eat and drink, fluffy bed, a free gym membership, manicured lawn, spa-like showers, our own car, wireless internet, a TV in every room, fresh coffee waiting in the pot every morning, and our favorite orange kitty.

Repetition is a Sign

by Scott

We are in the final days of our year in New Zealand. The gear is gone, and it's raining, so I've found time to record a song I wrote last year in Australia.

The song was inspired by Ann Arbor's Chris Bathgate. He writes beautifully mysterious songs with lines like:

I twiddle my thumbs at the rag I've become and wait for the world within
cause all I need is the night as my steed and a kiss to serve as my shield
cause it's comfort and ease on evenings like these that turn all my poisons prose

It takes a secret decoder ring to figure out what he's talking about, but it's undeniably poetic. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't work like that. Simple chords. Simple lines. Simple man. Simple mind. Repetition is a sign (mp3).

My band in a box--every van dwelling songwriter should have one