Oh, Okay. You Can Have Your Bus Back...

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I can't help agreeing with whoever posted on the story's page that the insurer missed a golden opportunity, here. The VO guy says, "In fairness, she did get paid for it..." Yeah, in the '80s. What did she have to pay to buy it back? The going price of something like that is ten times (or more) what it was thirty years ago. And she says she sent money to the guy in Germany. I'd say she's been robbed twice, but I'll admit it just may be worth that to have a family member back...

Mr. Tow helps "Big" Star

I admit: I never read Via, the AAA periodical that comes to our house since we got our membership. Last night, though, my wife pointed to an article and said, "You might like this one." I'm tempted to say that it's eerie how often my wife is right, but in this case I think it's just a matter of having been married to me for as long as she has. The article involved a "green Volkswagen Bus."

Apparently, Tom Hanks (you know, the movie star) and his brother were tooling around the West Utah Desert in said Bus when they ran out of gas, and Mr. Tow was called upon for help. So, see, now I'm going to have to up my Netflix rating on any movie involving Mr. Hanks. If he drives a Bus, he must be a better actor than I've ever given him credit for (not that I've been especially stingy with credit for that guy anyway).

You can even see a clip on Vimeo (conveniently embedded here) of Mr. Hanks telling the story on the David Letterman Show:

Tom's Syncro Westy Adventure from Ryan Alfonso on Vimeo.

I So Want One of These

Yeah, sorry. All I've got is "I WANT ONE!"

Doctor Dave Surfs the Web for You

These guys know a good time! I love the comment someone makes after a complete transaxle change. "Just a little road-side maintenance."

Shasta Snow Trip #9, 2009 - Friday from Gene Cornelius on Vimeo.

A rollicking rampage by VW bus in the dust bowl of Northern California, February, 2009, during one of the driest and dustiest Snow Trips in the nine years since its inception.

Complimented by the song "Undertow", used by permission from the album "Alektorophobia" by Eric McFadden & Wally Ingram. The edits were not necessarily authorized, however ...

Many thanks to the Newts who put up with my continuing efforts to obtain the footage of the Trip, as well as those who took on the pain and responsibility of the POV-cam!

For more information about the Shasta Snow Trip see www.shastasnowtrip.com and www.backroadbus.com

Stolen in '74, '67 Bus Recovered in 2009

SPOKANE, Wash. – A Volkswagen van stolen 35 years ago in Washington state has been found in a shipping container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport.

Customs agents found the 1965 van on Oct. 19 when they opened a shipping container bound for The Netherlands, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported. They ran the vehicle identification number and discovered... Read the stolen van story