In the summer of 2010 I left my home in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for a solo journey across the country to start work in Reno Nevada. I had negotiated a head sailing instructor position for a nonprofit community sailing program in Reno Nevada and would be spending my summer off from college sailing in the desert. Just a month before leaving, I picked up and installed my Bostig engine (group 6) into my 1985 Westfalia conversion. This was my first car ever, purchased in high school a few years before and with a history of engine troubles. I took a sunroof bus and built it into a Westfalia, and the addition of the zetec engine was a welcome improvement.

With my bus packed, I headed out. 2000+ miles in 5 days on the way West, with an engine that was just installed. Along the way I met some wonderful strangers that quickly became wonderful friends. I camped in the yards of Vanagon.com list members along the way, and thanks to the kindness of others throughout the entire summer, made memories that will last a lifetime. I lived out of my bus in over 20 states in that summer alone, taking side trips outside of Reno to locations such as San Francisco, Yosemite, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Tahoe. Over the course of that summer, I drove 13,000 miles, solo, in a car that I built. With no major mechanical breakdowns, and an army of memories and friends, I traveled home from that summer with a smile on my face.