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Date:         Mon, 10 May 2004 12:17:03 -0700
Reply-To:     "John D. Foster" <jidd@JIDDWARE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "John D. Foster" <jidd@JIDDWARE.COM>
Subject:      Re: State of the List... State your ages!!!!!!! :<)
In-Reply-To:  <45.b4c82de.2dce9bbb@aol.com>

> so anyway, tell us how old you are..and what got you into vw's...and > what you > use your van for... should be a good read! > > chris

Considering I bought my van from Chris, I felt rather obligated to respond. <g>

I'm 26, been into cars for a good 12-14 years or so now. In a roundabout sort of way, my first car was a VW. Technically, it was a 1979 Porsche 924. At least the insurance company definitely considered it a Porsche, but half the parts on it had VW stamped on them. Even though it is long gone, that car sparked something in me. I went through a series of unfortunate vehicles, including a '94 Pontiac Grand Am, a '91 Ranger pickup, '91 S10-blazer (heavily modified for four-wheeling). Things started looking up when I ditched the domestic stuff for an '87 Mazda RX-7, and finally now have a '96 Z3 Roadster as my daily driver.

So what am I doing on a Vanagon list? Like Chris, I'm not one that very many people would confuse with being a hippie (although I seem to be creeping closer every day). Somehow I ended up smack-dab in the middle of corporate america working for a large engineering firm (at least for now...) But I would say that I have some underlying ideals that are more communal in nature. Furthermore, my wife (married Nov '02) has helped to moderate me a bit. In her youth, her folks had a vw bus and spent most family vacations camping. In highschool, a vw bug provided her mobility.

So last year when we were looking for a change in our vehicles, we decided to sell her Civic and start looking for a Westy. My local searches around Sacramento came up dry, but through the guidance of some list members, I finally found one that fit the bill. Unfortunately it was in PA and I was in CA. My sister in VA was getting married in November, and Chris and I were able to arrange for the delivery of the van from his place to hers. My wife and I flew out for my sister's wedding, which happened to be the same weekend as ours had been the year prior, and spent our first anniversary driving cross-country in a '86 Westy we dubbed Brunhilda.

After a quick trip up to NYC to visit a friend, we headed west for California. We drove straight through to Wichita where we stayed the night at my brother's, got to see my new nephew for the first time, and managed to squeeze in time for a Jonny Lang concert. Back on the road the next day, we got into New Mexico and had a long hard day. But Hilda ran like a champ and brought us safely home several days later.

Actually, home was no longer Sacramento. Between the time I bought Hilda from Chris and when we finally made it out east to pick her up, I got put on a project in Yosemite and moved to Mariposa (a little outside of Yosemite). Hilda now spends most of her days keeping an eye on the deer and racoons as they cross the property we're on.

In an effort to begin to wean ourselves off of dependancy on my 'corporate' job, my wife and I have just recently started a home-based aromatherapy/bath product business. She is a licensed aesthetician (say that 5 times fast!) has many years of experience in the skin care business, while I have many years experience as being a computer geek and have done all the website and business sort of stuff. All told, the big picture goal is to be able to spend less time looking at Hilda sitting in the driveway and spend more time taking her (and us) to other beautiful parts, meeting good people along the way.

Cheers, JD & Courtney www.baubles-n-bubbles.com '86 Westy - Brunhilda


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