First vanlife meetup!
Sometime last week I saw a post on Instagram about a vanlife meetup being planned for Angus, Ontario. I've been staying in Aurora, so Angus is only about an hour away. At the time, the van was parked at my grandparent's house while we worked on the roof and floor, so I sent my RSVP.
The next day, my grandfather and I went to go for breakfast - taking the van. He wanted to drive it before he left for the cottage for two weeks, to make sure the repairs Canadian Tire had done to the brakes and steering were good. Steering was great, brakes... not so much. Back to Canadian Tire it went for work on the brakes, a tuneup and replacement of the MAP sensor (no, I don't know what it stands for, but it's something with, like, how much gas it gets?)
After another three days at Canadian Tire, it seemed okay, provided the key is in a certain spot. Seeing as Angus is just an hour away, and with CAA on speed dial, I headed north on Saturday.
True to form, I was early. I spent a little time in Cookstown for lunch, where I sat with Dozer outside a little restaurant called Toast on the main drag. It was very, very noisy on the street, so I had a quarter of my sandwich and then headed back for the van.
Between Cookstown and Angus, about a 15-20 minute drive, I had to pull over as the check engine light came on, followed by a loss of power it seemed. The gears are a bit temperamental, so I first thought it just wasn't in drive and had maybe stuck in neutral. Restarting it and pulling the key back almost to the point it shut the motor off, as the mechanic at Canadian Tire suggested, seemed to fix it, so I carried on. It chugged on, just taking a lot of time to get up to speed, especially on an incline. I made it though!
I was still early, so I was the first person there, other than a couple other vans who were being worked on.
The meetup started at 1pm, and by dinner there were nearly a dozen vans in different stages of completeness! I counted about 20 people, including one dog (mine) and an adorable little girl. I love families with vans <3
It was pretty much Sprinter central. There were, I believe, six Sprinters, as well as my Dodge conversion, a Ford cargo and a former FedEx truck. One couple came without their RV as it was being worked on, and a few more people also had personal vehicles, including a motorcycle.
pic of my van by @max.m.schneider on Instagram
I'm terrible with names, especially now with the short-term memory loss. I made sure to add them all to Instagram right away, so at least we all follow each other now. If you're reading this, its highly likely that I can't remember your name, so please be patient!
It was amazing to talk to everyone about their journeys, hear stories of travel and adventure, van build suggestions and just geek out on vans. I'm SURE my non-vanner friends and family are sick of me talking about it, so it was refreshing to talk to others who actually knew what I was talking about!
The potluck was amazing - so much food! We thought it was pretty funny that there was only one vegan and one dog present, when a good portion of the millennial vanlifers are vegan, and many vanners in general have dogs.
pic by @a.van.degroot on Instagram
Something I thought was cool was there were a couple of YouTubers/vloggers creating content, both still and video. I felt a little like I was on a movie set. I can't wait to see some of the footage taken of my van online!
A fire was lit to try and help with mosquitos, which didn't really. They were ravenous! I left the fire for a bit to tuck Dozer in, then went to bed shortly after the sun set. I like to keep my early to bed/early to rise schedule whenever possible, and I was just exhausted after a long day of being social.
pic by @a.van.degroot on Instagram
The night was pretty perfect. I'd strung up some fairy lights from Dollarama to add some light until my actual wired in lights work, and it was really cute. I bought blue LEDs by accident, wanting clear, but it looked pretty awesome, and the light was dim enough that it didn't mess with my pre-bedtime relax routine. I did some reading on my phone, then had a great sleep.
I woke up around 6am, normal for me, but it seemed like most of the other who had stayed the night were still asleep. I saw Max around 8am, who took this amazing photo, and another whose van was still under construction (I'm sorry, I forget your non-ig name!). I like to do my driving early, so I would have left shortly after getting up, but I didn't want to wake anyone!
Around 9:30am, I said goodbye to Madison, one of our hosts, and headed home. I had one tricky situation where I stalled on a long, long incline, but I managed to get 'er going again and had a reasonable trip afterwards. Driving the van is a bit of a workout honestly, between the breakdown anxiety and the pedal placement which I'm not fully used to yet. I made it, though!
Once I got back to Aurora, I checked my phone and found a message from Madison that Raynor, her husband and co-host, and Max, another van lifer, had offered to work on my van's electric and engine issues. Yay! The rate is super reasonable, basically hourly + parts, so I've scheduled with them to look at the van next week for diagnosis. I love this community! Raynor does conversions, electrical and mechanical work through his business Ray Outfitted if you're looking to have some work done!
I'm in Toronto for a couple days this week with my sister, then the neurologist on Wednesday. Shenanigans will commence later in the week, so stay tuned!