I need to update the story about how we got the bus here. After all of our extra expenses and not finding the time off work, we finally got it all together and John took the ferry to Vancouver. His sister dropped him off at the border in Blaine and he just walked across. He had to wait in line for 3 hours, and he was the only person on foot. The rest of this incredibly long line were all 'randomly' pulled from their cars, but he was quite conspicuous because he was the only white guy. This completely random crowd was entirely Asian and black. They were interrogating these people quite rudely, but for John they asked why he was entering the States, he said, "I'm picking up my bus," and they said ok and let him in.

Then the very nice guy from C&G Sales picked him up and took him back to the storage place. We had been pre-warned that the brakes were seized again, so John had called a guy to meet him there as well. It turned out he needn't have... the brake pedal was just rusty and stuck, so the mechanic sprayed it with WD-40... which John had in the bus anyway. Then the bus started right up and he was on his way. At the border we had expected to pay in import fee, but they said he didn't need to because the bus is just over 15 years old. It turns out that was incorrect... in order for us to get insurance on it, we need to pay an import fee of $240 and fill out some paperwork before they will inspect it. It didn't mess anything up, it just means that the border people don't know anything about buses because that rule only applies to cars. All they charged us was the taxes of $300, and then he took the Tsawwassen ferry which cost $150. I met him at a parking lot when he got in and we took a spin with the girls because the temporary insurance expires when you get home, so we thought we better take the opportunity.

It shakes and rattles like an old ski bus, lol. We wonder if we will need to do some work to the suspension, but it may be that when we load it up inside it might not need it. Then we went home and John had to back it into the yard next to the RV. The next step is to get a manufacturer's recall letter and do the modifications to the gauges and running lights to make it legal for driving, at which point we can go to Canadian Tire to get it inspected, and then we can get insurance.

John got a grinder and he also started grinding off the bolts for the ski racks and the seats inside. There are 20 seats, and we're lucky because they go along the side instead of facing the front, so there's way less than in a school bus, but it will still take a lot of time. We also have to remove the heaters from the ceiling. If you look at the video you can see all of that stuff.

I've been doing drawings of the interior design and we're still trying to pin down the floor plan which is really tough. We are going to go to an RV place and take some measurements, and we're looking on Google for tons of ideas. It's exciting!