Great report, thanks.  Just a few notes.

'Crazy Canadians' is redundant.
Karl M builds weird vehicles so he's far beyond the coveting stage.
Not all insanity is a must do, but a large proportion is.
The Miller carton is a spy device put out by my company so I can get the
true scoop.
Watch out for the ape, they never really are tame.

Mike

On 4/16/04 10:17 PM, "Joy Hecht" <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU> wrote:

> Wow, only 44 Vanagon emails today, instead of the usual 100 or so - I guess
> we really are all at Everybus!  And I'm the only one foolish enough to be
> logging in and checking my email.
>
> There are a few hundred vans and buses here, at least, and lots more people.
> Wish we had a cherry picker to get a nice bird's eye view to send you.
>
> Heaps of kids running around in VW t-shirts, having water fights, zooming
> around on bicycles and tricycles, clinging to their papas' knees, crying,
> wandering around at night with glowing necklaces and blinking earrings so
> all that you see are pairs of red and blue flashing lights.  A few sexy
> teen-aged girls who have been coming to Everybus since its first year, and
> seem to be having fun despite their obligatory bored looks and impatience
> with their dads.  (Their mothers are sitting these events out by now.)
>
> Zillions of dogs, most of whom are pretty laid back and happy to dote on you
> if you'll scratch their stomachs.  One lovely lab seemed a bit upset at the
> gathering, though, and embarassed her owner by barking at me ferociously
> whenever I walked past.
>
> There's a posse of crazy Canadians off in one corner acting hyper-patriotic
> with red and white maple leaves waving everywhere.  However, they cooked
> breakfast for everyone this morning and brought gallons of real maple
> syrup - so who can complain?  Greg Potts is recruiting for Buses of the
> Corn, in Whitby Ontario Aug 6-8.  Frank Condelli is rounding up folks for
> Burning Man.  He brought a video about it, which a bunch of us sat through
> despite a sound track so terrible that we finally just turned it off.  Some
> of us reacted "how weird, what are they trying to prove with all that?"
> while others reacted "oh, my, this total craziness, it's a 'must-do' at some
> point!"  I'm sure that says something meaningful about us, which category we
> fit into.  Not sure quite what, though.  (FWIW, I'm in the latter category.)
> Should we all go and burn a vanagon?  Should we all go to watch Frank
> running around in the nude covered with paint?  (Is it still Friday, am I
> being off-topic?)
>
> Matilda and I have landed up surrounded by a horde of folks from Tennessee
> (the Full Moon Bus Club) who have set up vast tents and shelters with picnic
> tables underneath.  Whew, it's quarter to one in the morning, thank goodness
> the ones who were carrying on and singing next door finally seem to have
> decided to go to sleep!
>
> Past them is the Tidewater crew, who are selling gloriously colorful
> t-shirts, some of them even VW-related.  They have armies of toddlers in
> their ranks as well.  This seems to be a very toddler-friendly crowd!  One
> very small blonde girl likes to park her pink and lavender Barbie tricycle
> in the middle of the road and stare, as the older kids just barely miss
> hitting her every time they zoom past.
>
> Down at the end is a lone couple in a massive RV, who are somewhat bemused
> to be surrounded by VWs.  They told me they actually owned a VW bus for
> twenty years, though, so they are finding this quite delightful.  Nice
> folks, too, he lent me his caulking gun when I couldn't find a vanagonian
> with one.
>
> Lots and lots of lovely buses and vanagons everywhere, of course.  But I'm
> sure someone who's more of a gearhead than I will fill you in on all those
> technical details!  Plenty of adjustments and repairs going on.  I got my
> new skylight installed, so hopefully I won't have any more leaks.  (The old
> one had a three-inch hole covered with duct tape, poor Matilda was flooded
> in every storm.)  A bunch of Canadians were working on an old engine, which
> they got running after a few hours to great cheers that resounded halfway
> across the campground.  Frank heatedly advising everyone on how to fix their
> vans, Karl M. showing photos of all sorts of crazy vehicles that he covets.
>
> Everyone wandering with bit coffee mugs in hand all afternoon and evening -
> no alcohol allowed here.  Funny, that, could have sworn I saw a Miller
> carton over by the Tennessee folks... musta been moonshine.
>
> Weather is great, wish you were here!
>
>
>
> Joy
>
> p.s.  Frank C., who read my sig file, thought I was actually traveling with
> a live orangutan, and wondered how I managed with an ape in my van.  I think
> I'll tease him about that for a long time to come!  (Henrietta is a fuzzy
> stuffed animal from the gift shop of the National Zoo in Washington DC, in
> case anyone else thought to harbor such a delusion.)
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Joy Hecht
> and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon
> and Henrietta, sad-eyed orangutan who waltzes with Matilda and me
> and Bicycle and Kayak, who ride on Matilda
>
> For musings about life and the vanadventures:
> http://users.rcn.com/jhecht/gypsy
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>