bm

burning man is creeping up on us. we decided to stick with our plans of only going every other year. this year is pretty tough for us due to the fact that close family members already have their tickets. it's becoming a comfort knowing what a relief to our bodies and minds that burning man has become. it seems that we as people become so uptight with our rigorous schedules, pressures of the day-to-day monotony that we forget to unwind. even the weekends are not enough because even those become loaded down with all the things one would want to accomplish before returning to work on monday. burning man is not like that. there is a schedule of events happening around the city and there's only so much day light but...you're free to do as you please. everything you could imagine is at your fingertips: most of the food and shelter, you provide yourself but as far as entertainment, is all out there for you, take your pick. if you have never been to burning man, we recommend you try it, at least once.

http://www.burningman.com/

adieu

it will be a sad day when we load the sc in a transporter this week.

the sc was our second restoration project since unification, the first being the mint green bug. it's been perfect for an array of things: camping, star gazing, firework watching, bike transport, swapper, storage, poker runs, shows, road trips, head turnin', arm rest and some killer dates! the usage has been really unlimited as long as off roading wasn't involved. the "becoming of" is a great tale which was published in a few periodicals that we're very pleased to have been chosen for, thank you! when it made it's first appearance as "black'n'tan" in '98, there weren't too many others to compete against at vw shows and not another one (let alone any other vws) at local hot rod shows so it was a "breath of fresh air" sorta speak. the response was always pretty humorous: "did they cut up a bus" is #1 on the list of funniest things said. our only conclusion to this comment was, "what planet did these people come from?" But coming from "hot rod" guys that don't particularly like vws anyway, was normal. the weirdest incident was up at the tahoe truck show at the horizon, one year. we were chatting with a man that was interested in purchasing the sc in a shaded area away from the sc but where we could see it when a couple, not a small couple by any means, decided to get right in. they looked at it for a minute, then opened up the doors and got right in. our jaws dropped, all of them, even the guy and his buddy that were trying to strike up a deal. we didn't say anything cause we didn't want to disrupt anything, we just let it happen. wow! good times!

we are happy to know that the buyer is a respectable person who knows a great deal about cars. if you're curious, click on his site: http://www.gpimports.com/

farewell black'n'tan, you will be missed!

the samba

i know that most of you search "the samba" each and everyday looking for that one special thing that blows your mind. of course, for me, that thing that blows my mind each and every time i look on "the samba" is the price of vws! what is the deal? my master plan is to wait until my retirement to purchase that one special thing, a 23 window! in my little fantasy world this 23 can have rust, i don't really care the condition as long as i can drive the thing, oh and put my dog in the back, oh and drive cross country if i wanted, not asking much. on "the samba" that one special thing of mine, way outta my price range and way too rusty! you can't even stand in some of them, let alone throw your dog in the back or drive cross country unless you're wanting to collect lots of bugs along the way(in your teeth)! oh, man, so disappointing!

these little babies are on "the samba" for sale or trade. they aren't rusty and reasonably priced.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/

vws in v-town

no matter what your preparations are for a road trip, something can always go wrong. now take marc for instance, looks awfully happy driving his vw in this pic, right? well, give him a few miles and believe it or not, he's still smiling when his wheel with tire intact goes off into another lane or two without his car attached! what a trooper! the guy was even on the phone when it happened! he did great keeping his car on the road with us directly behind him! we ended up retrieving his wheel with tire intact a mile or so up the freeway. we were so very lucky to have not caused an accident! you're the man, marc!

cars

so the long awaited film by pixar/disney came out this weekend and of course, we wouldn't miss it! knowing that there's a 1960 vw bus named fillmore in the film(voice by george carlin) and some little sneaky bugs flyin' around, vw freaks alike should have all been there! we really had intentions in making this film a club event at the local drive-in but once we were headed to vws in v-town in vallejo, we caught a matinee in napa. we do have some advice if you haven't heard about the film yet...stay 'til the end! by the end i mean, 'til the lights go on!

i was really bummed about lilo & stitch not having any of the bug stuff available i.e.: prints, toys, computer pictures, cells...but with this film, fillmore is available all over. check out his page http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/cars/