Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 11:04:53 -0400
Reply-To: arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject: Yippie! My wife no longer hates my bus!!!
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
There are milestones in every marriage. Wedding day, birth of a child,
buying the first house together, getting a phone call from an old
girlfriend that doesn't know you've been married for three years - you get
the picture.
So early yesterday morning, my wife says she wants to do something
together as a family. She suggested we load up the kids, pack a picnic
lunch, and head southeast to the Finger Lakes region. Wine country,
antique shops, and the fall colors. I asked if we could take the bus just
because that's exactly what the darn thing was designed for. After a few
minutes of thought, she agreed. We left the house at 10:00 on Sunday
morning, taking NY Rte. 5 & 20 East to Geneva, NY, then NY Rte. 14 South
to Watkins Glen, stopping at various shops and wineries along the way. The
weather was crisp with intermittant rain and a few flakes of snow. The
colors were wonderful and the kids really got a kick out of running wild
amongst the grape vines of the west side of Seneca Lake. We stopped for a
picnic lunch in Dresden, NY, pulling over into a little parking spot
overlooking the lake, and pulling up the table in the bus. It was a cozy
affair but no one complained. The kids thought it was cool.
After wandering about the shops of Watkins Glen for an hour or two, we set
out West on NY Rte. 23, bound for Hammondsport on Keuka Lake. We walked
around there for a while then headed up to the Bully Hill Vineyards, which
was like rummaging around an older relatives basement - all sorts of
interesting things to see and stuff for the kids to do. We got there late
so the activities were winding down. The kids did get to a hey ride which
was a trip highlight for them.
To save time on the return trip, we caught I-390 in Bath, NY, headed north
to Dansville/Wayland where we picked up NY Rte. 15 for the remainder of
the drive into Rochester.
The bus ran great! No problems or unforseen catastrophies. We all had
fun and saw about eight other buses of various years, including one VERY
nice, cream and green late 70's Westy in the parking lot of one of the
wineries. My son Dan, ever vigilant of other buses, even saw two that
were parked in driveways at various points along the trip. I knew my
marriage took a turn when my wife started to wave at the other buses,
after about the third of fourth one we passed. Once home, I asked her
what she thought about the trip. She said it was fun and she couldn't
believe how much more could be seen when riding the bus. All those
windows coupled with the fact that we didn't seem to go very fast... (I
allowed her this one dig...). More importantly, she said she'd do it
again. This from a women that hates - loathes is perhaps a better word -
VW's.
Alan Bosch
& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg)
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