Date:         Wed, 7 Jun 1995 07:27:20 -0500 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Kirk <captain@indy.net>
Subject:      Trip!!

Well, we made the trip in the 71 camper (Blushie) to South
Carolina and back to Indy. Had a great time. Want to thank all of
those that came forward with ideas and places to start. It was
certainly a whirlwind trip. Didn't have as much time to do things
as we would have likes. First, we picked up the new kitties in
Greenfield Indiana. The first day on the road, Kate, my wife had
a kitty necklace. They were scared. The first day away from their
mom and the only people they knew, these strange people throw
them into a metal box that vibrates up the road. By the second
day, they were all over the bus. They had decided that they
weren't in any danger and were out checking the beast out. They
have decided where their own private spots are. It takes about 30
min of driving to put a cat to sleep. They slept all day while we
drove then at night at the motel when we were exhausted, they
were full of juice and running like crazy. I slept through it,
Kate didn't. It took about 2 days to decide on names. For obvious
reasons, we call them Twist and Shout. We made it down and back
with no problems. Blushie never missed a lick. The timing drifts
on her so every morning before we took off, I would readjust it.
It would drift 3 or 4 degrees retarded. Any ideas? We hit several
music stores along the way. I bought a strange little Romanian
mandolin from a man in Charleston SC. He gave me a 1980 Vanagon
as a bonus. It' has no engine and has been sitting for 4 years.
The tires are flat, but look to be in good shape. Ideas on the
cheapest way to transport a transporter back to Indy from the
south? Kate bought a Sears Silvertone electric guitar from a shop
in Knoxville. It's cool. Has it's own amp built into the case.
Works and everything. Stopped in at Maurice's Piggy Park in
Columbia SC. Great BBQ!! Took some home. Have the address to mail
order more. Went to Beaufort SC where the great southern homes
are. Spent all day there. Found a little restaurant there.
McBrians Pub. Great hot wings. Really hot. Just the way I like
'em. We drank lots of Palmetto microbrew while in SC. Liked the
pale myself, Kate preferred the amber. Hit about three brewpubs.
TBonz in Mt. Pleasant SC. Nice atmosphere. Decent beers.Good
food. Very helpful bartender. They will be opening up several
more throughout the south as a chain. This is the pilot. Seems to
be doing quite well. They were always packed. Stopped at the ???
brewpub in Knoxville TN. Average brews and good food. It's a big
place. Used to be a furniture store in downtown. Finally went to
Bluegrass Brewing in Louisville. Met up with a friend from
Compuserve. It's great to put a face with all those letters
flying across the screen. Let me tell you, this is great beer.
All of them. They had several on tap. My favorite is the ESB.
Kate liked the Kolsch. I'm the hop head, in case you couldn't
tell. Only made it to one blues bar. We were always tired after
driving all day. It was tough to try to force ourselves out of
the motel to hit a band that didn't start till 10:00. While in
Mt. Pleasant, we stopped at Blues. We were told it was a blues
bar. The only blues about the place was the name. It was named
after a guy that used to own it that was on a Team called the
Blue Jays. It was an interesting place. There was a huge painting
of Jimmy Buffett on the wall. They were serving cheeseburgers in
paradise. That's what I had. The problem was the music. They were
playing 1970's disco. I know. It didn't make any sense to me
either. The food was good. They were serving Palmetto micros.
Except for the music, it was a good place. Happened by the Busses
by the Blueridge, just outside of Asheville NC. It was great.
Wish we could have stayed longer. Next year, we are there all
weekend! I've probably left out something, but it's early and the
coffee is still brewin'. I would like to thank again those that
gave us advice and courage for this trip. It turned out fine. I'll be
writing some formal stories of the adventure soon, but I wanted
everyone to know we were home safe and sound. The kitties are home
now and are busy destroying the place. My bus is fine. Kate and I
are still a little tired, but overall OK. Talk to you soon!
 _____________________________
|                             |
| Jim Kirk                    |
| Central Indiana Volks Folks |
| captain@indy.net            |
| 1971 Camper (Blushie)       |
| 1980 Vanagon (hopefully)    |
|_____________________________|