Date:         Mon, 30 Oct 2000 15:39:13 -0800
Reply-To:     Larry Innes <linnes@INNU.CA>
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From:         Larry Innes <linnes@INNU.CA>
Subject:      550 mile Nightmare trips (and then some)
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At 4:35 PM -0500 10/30/00, Automatic digest processor is rumored to have typed:
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>Date:    Mon, 30 Oct 2000 10:43:42 -0500
>From:    "1980 VW Westfalia \"Pokey\"" <pokey@VANAGON.ORG>
>Subject: 550 mile trip NIGHTMARE trip to Toronto (Long)
>
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>I had one heck of a trip to Toronto this weekend...


Chris' account of a trip from hell (naw, he was heading to
Toronto...trip TO hell) reminds me of a voyage some buddies and I
made a number of years back in a '78 Bus.

The plan was to head to BC for some skiing during our spring break
from university. We attended McMaster, in Hamilton. For the geography
majors, this is a trip of some 2800 miles...each way). We had ten
days to make the trip.

This was February.

Well, somewhere near the Mackinaw Narrows, the heat exchanger decides
to give up the ghost, instantly turning our bus into a gas chamber. A
cold gas chamber. Well, being brave and hardy young souls, we just
plugged it off at the exhaust system with a Coke can, rolled down our
windows, put on our ski goggles and sleeping bags, and headed into
the dark, -40 Upper Michigan winter night...

Around dawn, it started to blizzard.

Around noon, somewhere around Iron City, WI, we were pulled over by a
State Trooper. He looked quite sorry to see us. When we explained
that we were Canadian, and that it wasn't much different than driving
a skidoo, we got off with a warning about the noise from exhaust
system (evidently Coke cans don't make good mufflers!).

Sometime around Bemidji, we decided that BC could also stand for
'Baja California', and we made an abrupt left turn. Three days later,
we'd managed to bury the bus up to its axles in Baja beach sand near
San Felipe...

Isn't this why we drive the darn things?

-- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * --
Larry Innes
Victoria, BC CANADA
87 Westfalia GL "Blu"
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