It has been five years since I passed the torch of my '87 VW Vanagon. A series of circumstances (including a hit and run, a blown motor, and a feral drunk breaking in, passing out and pissing all over himself and my van) forced me to let her go. Like so many of these stories begin, "I bought mine from this old dude"... the original owner, a retired professor from UCB in '99. I lived in it the better part of that first year and on and off thereafter. We had a six year, 150k mile love affair that spanned Baja to BC. And in all that time, she never left me stranded.
Recently, due to a nagging itch, and the request of my wife (she digs van life too!!) we have started to search for and dream of life in a-Vanagon-Again. Certainly not the most efficient, economical, or reliable ride to own, but there is something undeniably addictive about the experience. Thanks to a nostalgic urge and a romantic notion, the search for another Vanagon begins and (hopefully) the journey continues.
photo by: juan b. a fellow sambanista
3 comments:
Spent a couple months in Baja in a van, the two go together like coffee and cream......... mmmmmm, good!
Awesome.
Whoa, could be a costly quest to find a solid one out East, but I know your itch. I'm on my fourth VW van. I found success in not having it as my daily driver. A little Japanese wagon fills that role. May be an opportunity to find one out west and drive it back!
hear you both loud and clear.
finding one west and christening her w/ a cross country rd. trip is exactly what I am planning on...
maybe with a few month layover in Baja on the way :^))
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