Tuesday, February 24, 2009

More road tripping


Instead of driving down memory lane, today is a travel day for real. Destination: Greensboro, NC - only about a 2-hour drive from the office. I'll be ensconced in the convention center there for a conference until Saturday. I am excited. But only because I get a room to myself this time!

Nevertheless, I usually don't sleep well when traveling, so readers may have some insomniac posts to look forward to.

As it so happens, I do have a "connection" with VW busses like the one pictured here. Among my dad's many trades, he was a musician as well, and needed a substantial vehicle to transport his instruments and equipment to gigs. After one late-night encounter with a utility pole, however, the VW bus was out of service and Dad, also being an engineer, managed to recruit much smaller vehicles - even my mom's VW beetle! - to carry his gear.

7 comments:

  1. A boogie van! My late husband and I had a Ford Econoline, complete with blue velvet interior and bed. It was so much fun!

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  2. "so readers may have some insomniac posts to look forward to.


    looking forward to it, can't wait.

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  3. Ah yes. Being an aspiring 70's musician, I too had a "bus". It wasn't a cousin of the beetle, it was the cousin of a dog, dog, dog. Well, at least mine was (mushy gears, unresponsive steering...do dah.) Although I admit, I felt very "continental" driving the blasted thing.

    Then I got my '64 MGB...you know that story...continental ala Bond.

    Hope that's not how you're getting to Greensboro. On second thought, maybe it's best you DON"T get to Greensboro. Have you ever been there?

    Sweet dreams.

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  4. I've had a couple of big Ford vans, one of them was filled with music equipment for about a year. Never had any fun in either of them, that's what the station wagons were for :-)

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  5. Kate, I had lots of friends with vans in the 70s and 80s, all of them uniquely customized. One I remember is an old Ford Econoline, turquoise, with a leopard-print interior theme. There was always some carpeting of dubious origin in the decor, too.

    Barnesm, I will strive not to disappoint!

    Jadedj, I drove my own wheels, that way I can escape as quickly as possible on Saturday. I've been to this town a number of times since 1980, and the place has really changed over the years. Unfortunately, the current economy might pull the plug on the Greensboro Renaissance -- but I think that now the people have a taste for much more than BBQ and Bluegrass, it won't go totally back to the Dark Ages.

    Doug - "Never had any fun in either of them." ?? -- I have no idea what you're talking about ;-)

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  6. Enjoy your conference and your room to yourself.

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  7. I also do have a connection with VW busses.

    Actually my first road trip was in a white VW bus Volkswagen, me and my boyfriend drove up to The North Cap (Norway) when we were both 19!

    Always loved 'mini vans', they are quite good for transportation when I have an exhibition in the local neighborhood :-)

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