All good adventures need a noble steed. Don Quixote had his Rocinante, the Lone Ranger had Silver, Darwin had his Beagle and we have a Vanagon Westfalia. These vehicles have long fascinated me, not so much for their supposed hippie pedigree (it’s not a bus!), but more for their thoughtful packaging. They sleep 4, have a stove and sink with a built in water supply, (heck, you can even get on-board gray water storage tanks) and are reasonably simple vehicles. Perfect for vanlife!They’re also painfully slow, but that’s okay right?
Right.
What’s in a name?
As far as we know this vehicle didn’t come christened with a name from the former owner, so we’re giving it one of our own. This, of course, has led to a dilemma.
As devout Terry Pratchett fans, and given the slow nature of our home on the road, there’s really only 1 choice – or so I thought. I was all set to introduce this vehicle as The Great A’Tuin, the world turtle on which stand 4 giant elephants who carry the whole of the Discworld.
But Tara had different ideas, “It’s really Serenity, isn’t it?” she said on it’s maiden voyage.
So as much as I’d like to quote, “the Turtle moves!” at people. I’m afraid we might be more of a leaf on the wind (without the impalement… hopefully).
And of course, the title of this piece has a certain song stuck in my head, and likely your too. So naming it Olaf is still a strong contender.
So what will it be?
Well, we asked the kids – and after their various choices (Calvin, Hobbes, and Perseus were strong contenders) we settled on Westly Wyndam Pryce which is both amusingly punny and geeky enough in a Joss Whedon sort of way to make everyone happy.
P.S. Apologies if the title got a certain song stuck in your head.
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