At the end of a recent post dedicated to my sister’s new-old 1979 Westy, I mentioned this thing, this Big Burning VW Bus Love. It’s funny, the obsession. Once you get a van, you start dreaming about things like installing a radio so you can talk to truckers, or remodeling the interior, or driving off into the sunset without leaving a trace. You also start noticing that people smile and wave when you drive by, or flash a peace sign. And you find yourself taking out your camera more frequently to photograph other admirable rides. Here are a few of those photos that others afflicted (or not) with this Big Burning VW Bus Love might enjoy.
Above, right: a sighting in NYC’s SoHo. And below, my friend Andy’s van in Boulder, Colorado, with mushroom tea inspired psychedelic paint job:
Carolyn C. from Denver recently took this photo while in Hawaii. This guy’s living. And so is his dog:
My sister passed along this photo of a pretty sweet Westfalia kitchen setup:
Even though her kitchen isn’t that great, she’s already built a reputation as a superstar tailgate hostess:
And of my van? It’s pretty much frozen in place for the winter. I went out and fired the Old Lady up earlier this week, where she’s resting in her winter parking spot:
I did some scraping, kicked off the icicles, dreamt (briefly) of warm-weather adventures…and then just felt the love.
For serious geeks only:
The Verdier VW. Haven’t heard of it? Click here for Wired mag’s article “Reinventing the VW Microbus for the Eco-Age.”
For a “Down and Out” guided tour of Andy’s rainbow VW, a 1966 split-window, click here.