Subj: Westies at Watkins Informal Report   Date: 07/10/2004 7:47:26 PM
Eastern Daylight Time  From: _WSArmstron_ (mailto:WSArmstron)   To:
_ev_update@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:ev_update@yahoogroups.com)   CC:
_jcort@rochester.rr.com_ (mailto:jcort@rochester.rr.com) , _BusFusion_ (mailto:BusFusion)

EuroVanners -

I attended  my first VW Bus event this past weekend, Westies at Watkins, held
at the Watkins  Glen (NY) State Park.  There were about 14 VW vans in
attendance, but the  only EuroVans there were my EVC and the EVC of Steve Wertheim,
who lives in the  area.  Steve and I have been list members since the summer of
1998, and  this is the first time we met face to face.  Joel Cort of the
Rochester  area organized the gathering, and Frank Condelli of BusFusion fame was
there.  Just listening to Frank tell of his adventuresome travels over the
past six weeks, including witnessing the Burning Man Festival, was enough in
itself to make the jaunt to Watkins Glen worthwhile.  To make it even  sweeter,
goodie bags were given out to all attendees, and many door prizes were
awarded.  Given the moderate attendance, the odds were good for winning,  and many,
like myself, found that both of our two allotted tickets were  winners.
It was a very informal event,  one were everybody got to meet everyone else.
We spent the cold evenings  of Friday and Saturday huddled around a communal
campfire, enjoying the  discussions Frank had to offer, as well as talk about
RoadGuy Larry Chase,  Subaru engine conversions, and of course, TDI  engines.
Joe from New Jersey had a high  top Vanagon camper with an Adventure Wagon
conversion, and is moderator of a  mailing list of the same name.  Dan from
Syracuse had a Bus with a Riviera  vertical popup roof conversion (all 4 corners
elevate).  This was a test  run for Dan; he had just swapped in a TDI engine,
and until the previous Sunday  night that engine had not been run for all of
eight years!  More than two  Vanagons there were Subaru powered.
Saturday morning we took a casual group hike on the Watkins Glen Gorge Trail,
 and Saturday afternoon some attendees caravaned to the Finger Lakes Wineries
 around Seneca Lake.  For those who stayed at the camp, a free bluegrass
festival was held in the recreational building just a quarter mile from where
our campers were set up.
Sunday morning  the attendees broke camp, and those interested drove 5 miles
up the road to  Watkins Glen International Race Course, and for a $10 fee were
given the  opportunity to drive their vans around the track for a few laps.
Having  made a commitment to myself to isolate my EVC from my Shelby GT350
days of old,  I elected to pass on this opportunity, and instead got in another
bicycle ride  around the area.  I had also taken my mountain bike on the nearby
Keuka  Outlet Trail early Friday afternoon before setting up at the state
park.

Bill Armstrong
2001 EVC - Dream Weaver  8500  miles
Endwell, NY

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm)  a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2005
'87 Westy, '90 Carat &  Lionel Trains
Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/)  & _CCVWC_
(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in  the Ottawa Valley
_STEBRO/Vanagon Stainless Steel  Mufflers_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_Frank Condelli &  Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
or  http://frankcondelli.com