The Beginning: Meet Patience

MEET PATIENCE

Basically, a friend once casually suggested "We should get a van & convert it to run on veggie oil." My reaction was, "YES!" I started reading about veggie oil conversions. I started emailing with friends & friends of friends who have done it for years, and still do it. I started searching Craigslist, Carmax & E-bay. I would simply query "diesel truck" or "diesel van", and look at EVERYTHING. I was liking the space in the long Chevy Suburban, or some Toyota vans. I wasn't thinking about VWs, until I saw Patience on E-bay, 5am on Tuesday, March 9th. Bidding was closing that day. For the next 8+ hours, before bidding ended, I was reading about Vanagons, the 82 Diesel Vanagon Westy and how well veggie conversions went with them. Eventually, my gut told me to go for it. I put a first bid in, and then learned about "reserve" prices. The "reserve" price is a hidden minimum that the seller will sell the vehicle for. When bidding ends, if the highest bid is lower than that hidden "reserve" price, the vehicle doesn't sell. When you make a bid, you are told whether you have met the reserve price yet. I never made it, after making around 11 bids, starting at $3,500 and ending at $8,000. "WHAT IS THE RESERVE PRICE?!?!?" I was yelling in my head all day, in my cubicle. When I still hadn't met the reserve at 8K, I messaged her to call me, because I was interested.

At work, I see an incoming call on my cell, it is a Maryland number. Her name is Emily, she is the van owner, I am surprised & happy. We agree on the phone to $8K, I tell her I feel pretty sure about this, and figure that I will go down there that weekend to get it, after looking at it.

I find the girl on couchsurfing.org, and learn that the van's name is Patience from her photo album. I've gladly kept the name.

The next day, Kylara taught me how to drive stick in Ridgely's Delight, my old Baltimore neighborhood. She was a very calm, patient, awesome teacher. At first I was okay..then, not so much...then we took a break, and I was better...then, not so much. At the end, I drove from Kylara's in Edmonson Village to Hampden, which is a 20+ min trip. I considered the day a fair success.

Friday, I withdrew as much cash as I can to pay for the car, because I don't have a bank in Maryland. Kylara withdraws her savings (she is THE BEST) & I write her a check. Allison, Kylara, Tomko & I go in a rental car to Asheville, NC get there very late, stay with Natasha & Gavin (Bonaventure friends). We had a little wine & caught up with each other, went to bed too late (4:30am?).

Meet Patience:

-Sleeps 2 people below & 2 up top in the loft. You see a picture of a hatch which you push to open up the pop-top, which creates a loft enclosed by tent canvas. There is a tent canvas zipper window up there, whcih you can open, and has screening to keep bugs out, like a tent. 

-2 burner stove (propane)

-fridge (propane)

-sink (isn't working)

-the front seats swivel to face each other & a table can come out. Or the front seats turn all the way around to face the back.

-many storage compartments

-CD player, with an i-pod/mp3 player jack

-2 room tent built for the Vanagon Westfalia, it attaches to the doorway, as shown.