Date:         Mon, 25 Sep 2000 12:50:42 -0500
Reply-To:     arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject:      Cape Cod (Limited Vanagon content...)
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Volks,

Got home this past Saturday from two glorious weeks on Cape Cod.  Warm
weather (when compared to Rochester), a lot of sunshine, and two kids that
love the ocean, made for more fun and excitement than I ever imagined.  We
rented a house down-Cape in Eastham for a very reasonable off-season price.
No crowds and free access to all the beaches.

As my Van has been running rather inconsistently for the past month or so,
we opted to take the wife's Crapsler Mini-thingy for the trip.  Made for a
comfortable ride, but we wound up leaving a few things home I'm convinced
we could have stuffed into Phred.

My 4 year old son has become very good at spotting "buses" & Volkswagen's
in general - that is, old and New Beetles, Splitties, Loafs, and Vanagons,
specifically.  He counted 14 on one trip from our rented house in Eastham
to the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory in Hyannis.

Saw many Vanagons while on the Cape.  Neatest was a air-cooled Vanagon
Westy that was painted, pop top and all, in a rather glaring, eye-catching
yellow, with trout or salmon (or Manatees) hand painted on the side.  Spoke
for a short while with the owner who said he bought the bus painted the
yellow and hand painted the fish himself.  Nice guy.  Wondered why I didn't
have my Van with us.  My wife chimed up and said, "Me.  I wouldn't let
him."  Also found out that some Vanagon folks just don't have the affection
or camaraderie of their vans that many on this list do.  While at the flea
market in Wellfleet, I mentioned to a woman in a blue Westy that I had a
Wolfy at home and that I missed driving it.  She responded with "So what",
and walked off.  A surfer in a grey Syncro I met at Coast Guard Beach asked
if I had a Syncro.  When I said no, he said "Oh" and walked off, like I
didn't count or something.

There were a bunch of others, though, that were very nice - the guy with
the brown Westy in the Midas shop in Orleans, the couple in a white Westy
in Provencetown, the couple in the blue Wolfsburg at the Christmas Tree
Shop in Orleans, the woman in the white bay window Westy in Dennisport, and
a few others I know I'm forgetting.  I am convinced that Cape Cod is the
Vanagon and bus haven for the East coast.

For those interested, Cape Cod is a great place to go for a vacation -
provided you go during the shoulder seasons (April - to Memorial Day and
after Labor Day to mid-October).  There are some great paved bike trails.
You can rent bikes, kayaks - almost anything you could need.

Alan Bosch
& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg)
Rochester, NY