Cha Cha Cha Changes!

Just like the leaves and the seasons here in the Northeast Kingdom are transforming, the farm itself is undergoing a few changes of its own. Our new friends are preparing to leave on a cross-country expedition of their own. Just like us, they have decided to travel powered by grease, and their moving craft is a great big yellow, now also blue and purple, school bus. The bus has just been recently converted and is still undergoing some renovations to make it a comfortable home for all 4 of them (plus a dog). We are excited for them to have many great adventures as we did on our trip.

The Big Push

We left Chicago early. Our plan was to drive 950+ miles to Montpelier in two days (probably the most driving we have done between destinations). We left at the perfect time, missed Chicago morning traffic, and by the evening rush we had already passed through Cleveland, OH. Driving a little further thru Pennsylvania in the north-west town of Erie, we made our way into New York and spent the night in a motel. We cooked dinner in the room, watched some tube and fell asleep. We got another early start in the morning and made our way across the state.

Got Grease?

We were warned a few times that it would be hard to find unclaimed grease throughout California, and gas prices are usually much higher there. So, a couple of weeks before our arrival in San Diego we sent an email thru fillup4free to a person who stated there was a network of grease car owners in the SD area who may have extra WVO to give away for free. After corresponding with Frank, he sent out a mass email to a few other grease car owners and WVO collectors in the area. Then I received a call from Ned who said he could give us enough to fill our tank, so we arranged to meet with him. It was great to see fillup4free work like it did, and just like the couchsurfing network, it will be very fulfilling to give back to the cause once we settle down.

San Diego

Before heading out to San Diego to visit Jose and Katy, we grabbed a $1.99 falafel wrap at Ali Baba’s and made a pit stop at Buffalo Exchange. We made our way across the desert and thru some mountains to a much milder climate. It was nice to see some friends so far away from home- Jose and Katy had just moved from Philadelphia to San Diego about the same time we left for our journey. Upon our arrival, Katy put us up in her parents’ luxurious condo in the VERY hilly neighborhood of Mission Hills. Jose also had a couple of friends coming to visit for a bit, and Amy’s birthday was the upcoming Sunday, so we geared up for a few days of festivities. It was so great to spend time with our good friends from back east, meet their friends, play some games inside and outside, prepare delicious meals and drinks, check out Katy’s prints (and take one with us!), hang out, and have an adventure out at the National Air Guitar competition while we visited!

Cubies!

Found these 2 cubies of oil on our way home the other night on out way home. Turn out they are about 1/4 filled with food chunks and sludge. No good, refund please.

Our Vehicle

Hello, Hello.  I suppose I can start this thing now that we have a vehicle.  If you keep following this blog, you will  see how we convert this thing to run on waste vegetable oil and then you will join us on our cross country trip.  So please stay tuned, much more is to come.  For now here are a few more photos of our 1995 Chevrolet Suburban.