A week in Jersey

We had scheduled a weekend to visit my old high school friend/college roommate, Alli, who lives a very busy East Coast Life. She travels constantly (for work and for vacation) and has two kids in varying activities. This was their one free weekend we could manage for the summer, so we were on a mission to get to Jersey on time.

We packed in a full weekend with kids activities during the day, and enjoyed her new wine cellar each night. Animal parks, zip lines and New Jersey’s little-known National Historic Site – the Thomas Edison Labs and Museum. The Junior Ranger badges are piling up.

It’s been a while since the kids had seen each other, but it didn’t take long for them to bond. Her girls loved the bus and wanted to come with us. I’m not sure their father was on board with that idea. It goes against the whole “don’t get in a strange person’s van” thing.

Unfortunately, as we entered New Jersey on our way to their house, the bus started making a bad clunking sound each time we hit a pothole. Luckily, we’ve been internet friends with John for a while, and the VW shop he works at was in the next town.

Jason contacted John and headed over to the shop on the following Monday. Bode and I took the ferry to Liberty Island, and then on to Manhattan. We had a little history lesson, ate sushi, visiting Central Park and Time Square. Then we met up with my friend Alli when she got off work, and bussed it back to her place.

It turned out that the bus projects were going to take a while, so our weekend in Jersey turned into a week in Jersey. The rest of the week, Bode and I caught a few movies and enjoyed Alli’s air conditioning and wi-fi during the days and Jason and John worked on the bus.

We finally got those new ball joints, replaced the front wheel bearings, fixed some dragging rear brakes, fixed a heater and all sorts of other bits and pieces that needed addressing.  Thanks, John!

And finally, a week after we got to New Jersey, we were back on the road. Thank goodness for the help and support of many friends!