Granted.
Sammie is Nac -- you are? NHVWC?
I'm a bit wired tonight. Slow, rainy, day. I may look at it and do some
edits. I'll email a copy direct to you and Sammie if I do. What I wrote
was
a random ramble intended for email. It should be cleaned up a bit for
print.
But, ask around about me actually finishing things I start. Don't hold
your
breath waiting for an edit if you have a deadline.
I would like a copy of the issue it prints in from each of you.
Thanks
G2
On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:59:57 -0800 (PST) a riggs <redvan71@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Wow, Gerald -
>
> I'd like permission to use your "essay" in our newsletter, too. (with
> appropriate credits, etc.)
>
> You might have to start charging!
>
> Allan
>
> --- "Gerald V. Livingston II" <gerald.tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:15:58 -0800 (PST) sammie smith
> > <bugcollections@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > OK, you guys have me thinking about Havasu; and this from someone
who
> > > just drove to LA and back 4 weeks ago. Have never been. How is
it?
> > How
> > > many busses? How good is the swap area? Is it worth driving
1,500
> > miles?
> > > (3,000 round trip.) And any other input anyone wishes to give
that
> > would
> > > help me decide.
> >
> > Yeah, I was sorta hoping someone would say something about what this
> > show
> > is like. I've always wondered and was thinking about ... Oh,
waitaminit
> > ...
> > I guess I should be the one speaking up huh?
> >
> > BBB is the first VW campout-show I attended. 2007 will be my 6th
year.
> > It
> > was also the first "big" (100+ vehicles) show I attended and the
first
> > that
> > didn't have regular judging.
> >
> > In 2002 with (very little) prompting from the Buskatiers I got in my
'69
> > Beetle that would NEVER make it all the way to AZ. I drove up to
> > Oklahoma
> > City and pulled up in front of the house of someone I had never met
in
> > real
> > life. They showed me around, fed me, and parked me in front of their
> > computer when they went off to bed (since they both had to work the
> > following day) at around 10 PM. At about 2 AM two VW Buses from
Kansas
> > and
> > Nebraska pulled up. Art and his wife got back out of bed and made
sure
> > everyone got hot coffee. Talked a while then I piled into one of the
> > Buses
> > with two of the midwesterners and the other two hopped in the other
bus.
> > We
> > headed for I-40 determined to make it to Havasu in one shot. I left
my
> > bug
> > parked there, at the home of someone I had never met, and wasn't
worried
> > about it at all.
> >
> > The best laid plans ... From OKC we drove through the day and then
> > through
> > most of the next night. At Flagstaff everybody was too tired to see
> > straight so we pulled into a truck stop to take a nap. Note,
"napping"
> > in a
> > bus when the temperature drops to 5 degrees is WAY too cool for my
> > taste.
> > When the sun started peeking out we headed out again and made it to
> > Havasu
> > that afternoon.
> >
> > Now, this was at the old location for the show. No ground cover and
the
> > wind off the lake never EVER stopped blowing. Plus temps were in the
> > 30's
> > at night and the 50's or 60's during the day.
> >
> > I was there with nothing but me, a few $$$, and a sleeping bag.
> >
> > And that's where the PEOPLE make this show SHINE. Someone will find
you
> > a
> > place to bunk, usually a "spare bus" that one of the locals has
brought
> > down. If you made it to the show you won't go hungry either. It
seems
> > like
> > everybody that cooks, cooks extra.
> >
> > I had a blast. We drove back to OKC (in warmer weather by Sunday)
via
> > the
> > Hoover dam, just kickin back and relaxing.
> >
> > I haven't missed a year since then. 2007 will be my 6th year to go.
> >
> > In 2003 I took a Greyhound bus to Tulsa to be co-pilot for a young
lady
> > and
> > her two children because she had been wanting to go but didn't feel
safe
> > making the trip alone -- so she invites an old long-hair who she's
never
> > met to be her co-pilot. The weather was a little warmer for that
drive
> > and
> > with the show now at it's new (and current) location it was much
nicer
> > AT
> > the show too.
> >
> > In 2004 I had the Chevy -- and I had bought the Riviera, sight
unseen,
> > in
> > Concord, CA, off of a Samba advert. I also had a tow-bar that I had
> > bought
> > at the Jerome show in September 2003. I drove the 700 miles PAST
Havasu
> > to
> > pick up the Rivi and thus began the tow-camper adventures. Total
driving
> > mileage was over 4000 that year for the trip. I dragged it back to
> > Havasu
> > for the show and was there for the first time with my OWN Bus.
> >
> > ---SIDEBAR---
> >
> > In May of that year I hooked up the Rivi to the tow-bar and dragged
it
> > to
> > the first Texas VW Classic. I got both my Mom and Dad to go with me
and
> > they had a great time. Mom drove down from Alabama to go on the
trip. A
> > few
> > months later I got my Dad to go with me to the infamous Chigger
Fest.
> > Then
> > in October I towed the Rivi to West Virginia to attend John Brown's
> > Buses
> > and Mom traveled with me on that trip.
> >
> > In June 2005 they both died. But we had a GREAT last year with the
> > non-running Riviera.
> >
> > ---END SIDEBAR---
> >
> > And, backing up, In January 2005 I attended BBB once again. Towed
the
> > Riviera from the house and worked on it for a few hours in Ronnie's
shop
> > (Ronnie owns http://www.type2parts.com -- if anything breaks on your
> > trip
> > he should have a replacement). I actually started the Rivi for the
first
> > time there at BBB 2005.
> >
> > And the number of attendees keeps going up each year. In 2005 there
were
> > almost 200 registered campers.
> >
> > 2006 was BBB-X. I got there a day early and helped stuff the "goody
> > bags"
> > Thursday night. We stuffed over 200. The gates opened early Friday.
By
> > Saturday morning all of the registration material (goody bags,
> > show-magnets, registration forms) were gone. The final guess was
over
> > 300
