If you buy yourself a vintage vehicle, it goes without saying that you must make sure that vehicle remembers where it came from.



Every era has its own style and we all know the 80s is no exception. Slouch socks anyone? Much of my childhood was spent in the 80s, but my parents kept the radio on CBC and we didn't have a television to spit MTV into the basement, so I entered adulthood rather uneducated when it came to music. Part of Scott's role as my life partner has been to bring me up to speed — and he's done a great job of it — and while 80s music wouldn't be at the top of my list, there are some gems in there. And I refuse to take our beauty beast out on the road without a little taste of her own era.

With '81 names like Journey, AC/DC, Bob Dylan, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, you can bet we're going to have an all-out sing-a-long party when we hit the road. The kids will groan and beg to change it to a pop playlist (which we will accommodate from time to time; we're not monsters) but we just HAVE to break that baby in with a true taste of her roots.

When we first went to see the Roadtrek, we realized it didn't have a radio at all — at some point it had been removed and the space it once occupied covered up with duct tape.

See the duct tape in the upper right? And check out that classic steering wheel, crank windows, and orange carpet!!!

Our brains were all-van, so we didn't really think about the repercussions. Actually, there's a big part of me that thinks the idea of a radio-free trip is kind of lovely, but I know we'd miss it if we tested that theory out.

We want the ability to listen to music, podcasts, and audio books while we travel so we had some decisions to make. Do we install a new stereo system? Do the factory speakers even work or do we need new speakers too? How much are we willing to spend when we've already busted our budget with the initial purchase? What about Bluetooth?

It just so happens that last week we popped around to various local shops looking for things we didn't know we needed for the van — not to purchase, just to build a list — and we found a very cool vintage-look wall-mount Bluetooth speaker. The Victrola Wall Mounted Bluetooth Speaker with A/C Adaptor and Built-in Rechargeable Battery. I loved it right away and knew the vintage styling would blend in SO WELL with our van's dated interior. The problem was, we didn't know how well the sound would carry through a big vehicle while on the road, AND there was only one left in the store (and it was on sale). So we bought it. We will test it in the van once it's finally in our possession. If it can be heard from nose to tail, great; if not, we'll return it and come up with a new plan.*

Building a Road Trip Playlist

It's easy to create a playlist. Especially if you use an app like Spotify. Just search and add — easy peasy. Because I'm not quite awesome enough to know what songs were released or made the charts in 1981 (I know, I know, you're totally disappointed in me), I googled it and went through a few lists, pulling out the songs I actually liked or could imagine us singing along to.

You can visit the playlist by clicking here, or just listen in below. 🎧