A TRIBUTE TO VINCENT

Still posting in flashback! The end of our UK adventures and a goodbye to our wonderful Vincent!

We head off toward the East taking in more lovely scenery and after visiting A LA Ronde, end up camping for the night in the New Forrest. What a tranquil place for our last night sleeping out in Vincent. Just can’t believe this moment has come.

We head on the next day to Brighton and enjoy the sunshine walking along the pier and around the Lanes. We have not done our research properly and don’t go into The Pavilion, next time. I think we have got to the point that we just want to get home now.

We miss John and Jenny so drop by but alas they’re not home, so we decide to push on to Chelmsford. We are welcomed back by Maggy and Graham. Just a few days before Aunty Babs had a nasty fall and is in hospital and we are glad to have a week to be able to visit her regularly and catch her up on our travels. We hope she is quickly back in her home and feeling much better.

We spend our time sorting out lots of little jobs before we embark on the next adventure. It is a busy time and the fact that we are soon to be in America is taking its time to sink in. Its exciting and scary all at the same time.

Well the time has come to part with our beloved Vincent. As always in this life we are incredibly lucky and even this very sad moment falls into place. Maggy and Graham had first introduced us to their mechanic when we purchased Vinni back in December. He gave him the once over and fixed a few little things before we embarked on our European adventures.

It seems that he fell for him as quickly as we did and on our return expressed an interest in purchasing him. Long story short, on our return from our UK adventures we met to discuss the possibility and agreed on the price only just short of what we paid for him. HOW AMAZING is that. We kept him until our last day in Chelmsford and delivered him to Gary, his new owner.

What is fantastic is his intention to completely restore Vince, the perfect man for the job being a mechanic who can tenderly care for and repair any little problems.

This blog is a tribute to the VW Transporter, a tireless workhorse that has transported us over 16,000 MILES of hills and mountains, highways, byways and mere tracks.

He has kept us warm and dry, safe and secure, endured intruders and pushy drivers (who literally ran into him), snow, rain, sun and storm and just kept on keeping on. He also made it possible for us to camp in the most spectacular and sometimes unexpected places.

He delivered us into the VW club of fellow travelers that always wave enthusiastically as you pass, with the secret knowledge that you have the best vehicle on the road.

Vincent may have rattled a bit (quite a lot at times) but he was ever faithful and dedicated in his task of transporting us around. He was literally our home, a very cosy and comfortable haven that has shared in many laughs, a few arguments, lots of games, our snoring and our bathroom duties, what a patient and understanding fellow he is.

We will never forget you Vincent and will visit you on our return trips to England (Gary has agreed to rent him back to us on future trips – how good is that). We will be looking for a cousin of yours in Australia for our adventures there.

You are the one and only special Vincent and we love you and will miss you, but most of all we will treasure the memories that you have given us. KEEP ON KEEPING ON. THANK YOU FOR JUST BEING THE PERFECT YOU.

Photos of Vincent can be found in pretty much any album on our Facebook page!

READY AS WE’LL EVER BE

We have spent the last week or so getting Vincent ready for traveling. Getting travel insurance (essential) and deciding on our departure and return dates for Europe (also essential for getting the travel insurance). All booked now and will update on our plans very soon, stay tuned!

We also went to lunch with Nan’s sister, our Aunty Babs. When we’re with Aunty Babs we feel closer to Nan and I think she does as well. We picked Aunty Babs from her flat and walked across town to Loch Fyne, a seafood bar and grill.

I had the privilege of pushing her wheelchair, one that I could have lost when I almost tipped Aunty Babs out. Walking across the road there was a very small curb, that was slightly larger than I realised. A slight jolt when the wheelchair stopped but all was fine, I just gave myself a heart attack!

Loch Fyne was lovely, all open and with lots of wood and white on the walls. But my favourite part was how light the huge room was. It reminded me of Kailis at Trigg Beach in Perth, and both restaurants are seafood places, and it felt like home. The food was delicious too and we had another “best we’ve ever had” moment, with the vanilla ice cream! Aunty Babs had fish and chips, just what Nan would have. I had seafood pasta, Mum had white wine mussels and Mikayla had fish pie, all got the tick of approval!

We told Aunty Babs stories about Nan and she told us about Nan when she was a child. After lunch we did a bit of shopping, walked back to Aunty Babs home almost (emphasis on almost) tipping her out of the wheelchair a second time (Chelmsford counsel really need to up their game and fix the footpaths) and spent the rest of the day at Aunty Babs flat talking, talking, talking! We can’t wait to come back and see her again in 6 months time.

But for now…drumroll please…it’s the photos you’ve all been waiting for! The photos of Vincent Van Go! We’re sorry they’ve taken so long but we wanted him looking his best! So here he is, our home on wheels! More details on the packing and preparation soon.

It’s a sad day leaving The Bells. We’re going to miss Maggy and Graham so much! We’ve felt so at home and couldn’t have been ready for this trip without their help.

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