Why, you may ask? Good question, especially considering that when it comes to all things vehicle related, the first question most folk that know me ask is: "What about it's sporting potential, Paul, what's the 0-60?" The kindest quote I could find on this matter was from www.carlustblog.com: "The best thing that could be said about a Vanagon Westfalia on a twisty mountain road is that it is SLIGHTLY racier than an RV", which, actually, for something that gets about 3 TIMES the MPG of an RV, is pretty impressive. The 0-60 could best be described as an 'amble' of around 18 seconds. I'm also breaking my normal 'early-adopter' approach with this 19 year old technology - this particular one has over 147,000 miles on the proving ground - however, what this bus offers, for us at least, is the potential to realise a dream.
The Dream: To get away from the daily 'sausage machine' of work and school for an extended time and, instead, focus on life, on 'quality'... No, this is no mid-life-crisis, I hope we're too young for that. And it's probably best if I don't try and define 'quality', that would take a book (that I don't have the skill or time to write), but for those interested I highly recommend the further reading Robert M Pirsig's prose.
It is perhaps coincidental that the year 1989, the year this bus was built, was the year that I returned from Ecuador with my mother, after 2 years of adventure. I like the way in which those dates line up, like good karma, like this bus was just waiting to resume the adventure with the expanded Bridges clan. Whimsical thinking I know... but that is exactly the kind of thinking that just driving this bus conjures. Indulgent? Yes!
The Bus: I found this house-mobile on the Go-Westy classifieds website, located in Nevada, just over the border, close to Lake Tahoe. It had most of the features we wanted: The more efficient water-cooled engine (that VW made post '86) and it met our spec of having 'less than 200,000 miles', with at least some work done recently. Not aesthetically perfect, but why should she be, she's an old lady and the full force of the Bridges kids will take the polish off anything nice-looking in seconds (just look at the once shining wood floor of our home). There is also the unique driving experience: You feel perched high, above and ahead of the front wheels, and this is a good thing, since you are likely traveling pretty slowly and this vantage point is a good place to see the world from.
Her Name: Until we think of something better, she's Rosey... the Love Bus. Love Bus came naturally (ahem, snigger), and then Sam and I determined Rosey en-route from Tahoe, blasting along in temperatures exceeding 40C. Sam, riding shot-gun, offers me one of his classic frowns when I suggest that the name has to be female. But quickly follows up with something that characterizes the shimmering red paint-work: "Rosey". It fits, we have it.
A plan? First some essentials: Get the van through the arduous California Smog test, make sure maintenance items are back to zero miles etc. Then we'll have to christen her with a small trip,
building probably to a few weeks of holiday/vacation in the winter - we're thinking the California desert national parks and preserves which are perfect destinations in the winter, and then to the Grand Canyon. After that will be a bigger trip: Multi-month, trans-continental... (I can dream can't I?)
I'm thinking about how to format the blog so I can update remotely from my mobile-phone during travels - something like: Top tune of the day, top child quote, top view, worst moment etc...
Immediate next step: Take her to the garage, 'Fred's Garage' to be specific, a local Vanagon specialist, for a tune-up, SMOG test and to double check that Rosey is generally safe and reliable to cart the whole clan around in. Hopefully we can still persuade ourselves to love the love-bus after seeing the bill...
