Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 07:19:35 -0500
Reply-To: "Peter T. Owsianowski" <pnoceanwesty@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Peter T. Owsianowski" <pnoceanwesty@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Buses by the Beach Bus BRR 2010 Trip Report
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Pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/pnoceanwesty/BusBRR2010#
and here: http://picasaweb.google.com/happyvanman2/BusBRRR2010#
Wow! Maybe the best ever Bus BRR. Got back home Sunday around 2:30 in
South Bend from Angola. Since both my buses are in various pieces and not
ready until April, my brother let me borrow his ’87 Wolfsburg (The
LandShark) and tool on up to Pokagon State Park. My dog Isabella and I got
there around 12:45 on Saturday and my brother Chris was already there in his
’85 Westfalia with his two boys, Cody and T.J. Keith and Kara were there
with their two buses, a Syncro and a Vanagon GL – having arrived with their
daughters Friday night. My wife, Nancy, had some meetings in the morning
and headed up later in the day.
After Asst. Park Manager Sam Boggs got the wood delivered, we both directed
a guy in a New Holland front end loader to start digging out sites at
campground #3. We had to work around a surprising number of Boy Scouts
already there and setting up tents, but got enough sites for the buses
plowed out. Temps were about 33F and not bad at all. Buses really started
rolling in after that and we ended up with 17 buses – Sherrie’s 74 Bay, Dave
and Larissa’s Eurovan and the rest Vanagons of all stripes.
Everyone gathered around the bonfire making new friends and greeting old
friends. Todd Olson and some Buses by the Beach Volk rolled in sans shirts,
prepping for the upcoming “Men of BBTB” calendar. ;-)
Talk around fire ranged from bus tech talk to the Spring Bus Benefit event.
All our efforts and any money we raise is donated to support the wonderful
work of The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors and they in turn donated a
very nice stadium blanket and Phoenix Society hat for our Kozy as a Baked
Potato bus award, won by Dave and Larissa from Ann Arbor. Check out the
Phoenix Society and the work they do here: http://www.phoenix-society.org/
Sunday morning, some headed off with kids in tow to the toboggan run and
some hung around the rekindled fire sipping coffee talking and packing up. We
left the campsite 100% clean as we always do. Seems like bus volk are not
the kind to leave junk or trash lying around and our group is no exception.
Some had to hit the road early and a good size group headed to the inn for
the fantastic brunch they serve. The whole park is run by some very nice,
friendly people. They go out of their way to make us welcome and the
service at the brunch is great.
So, everyone fired up the boxers and hit the road with promises of gathering
May 27th – 30th at Grand Rouge campground in Belmont, Michigan on the banks
of the Rogue River.
Pete
'79 Westy "Aardvark"
'87 Westy "JoesVan"
WWW.Busesbythebeach.com
