are you on the map?

Yes, it is true, the a-go-gos are going on the big trip soon, and we want to come sleep on your couch. We're going to be very busy bees over the next three months preparing, saving $$$, packing up the house, quitting jobs, and outfitting a suitable vehicle. We really like the Ford Transit Connect but can't afford to buy one as that will break the budget (hint, hint, Ford... c'mon, you guys can spare one of those nifty vans, and just think of all the swell photos that we'll post and all the people who we'll fill with new-found enthusiasm.

Naturally, being the worry wart that I am I have been piled with anxiety and dread of all the details that have to be taken care of before we are off. I fret over medical insurance and where to stash all the junk in our house. I dream nightly of how to make a small van a comfortable home, and I obsess over solar battery chargers and internet access. All this boils over and mrs. a-go-go has to kick me in the butt to remind me that we're doing this for fun.

"Why the Ford Transit Connect?" you may ask... well, lemmie tell ya. You may have seen a few on the road. They are little commercial vans that Ford just started selling in the US in 2009 and 2010 is the first official model year. They've had 'em in Europe for several years so most of the kinks seem to have been worked out and the small business folks like them quite well. Some say they are ugly and awkward, HA! I say it's about time and I think they have the charm of that very wise mutt pooch that you had as a pet when you were ten. We took one for a test drive and found it comfortable and the space in back is cavernous for such a small van with a nice little efficient four cylinder engine. I stretched out my six foot two bean-pole body in the back and was delighted to find that I fit.

So now I have a mental stack of fabulous ideas of how to use all that head room and space as a camper van. But we don't have the van yet, arg! I'm hopeful that we can convince Ford that it is worth their while to give us a van. I think Ford has so much to gain by letting us convert a Transit Connect into the VW bus of the new age and popularizing the grand idea of simple, low budget touring and camping out in their nifty new vehicle. Even the name lends itself so well to what we are trying to do. mrs. a-go-go has so many internet contacts all over the continent (and the world) and we want to "Connect" with as many as we can while touring in the Transit Connect.

Ah well, I can hope. Meanwhile I have much work and planning to do. I intend to detail some of it here in the coming months. I hope you will tune in to read about it and for some stories of our previous adventures. Here's a little teaser: we cooked meals on the hot engine of our good 'ol Rav4 on our trip to Portland, OR. Some meals were delicious but this one didn't make it.



Baking small cakes in orange peels didn't turn out to be such a hot idea.

Baking cakes on the engine or getting the car of our dreams or not, the BIGGER question is....are you on our map?