Rolling Right Along
Whew, been busy the last couple of weeks. And, it has been hot. Had grandkids around here a good bit. Just took one home tonight after church. Had to rest up over the weekend after a week at camp. We will be taking the GMC back to camp in 2 weeks for Teri to stay in as she helps teach at the last session for the summer. We enjoy camp. I was a kid when it was being built in the late 60's and got to help my dad and others get it up and running. The first year it was open was 1968, I was there as a camper. No roof on the kitchen and no floors in the showers. Certainly we had no hot water. Did not take this 13 year old long to get a shower.
I sit here in the evenings watching the news thinking how I have been there. Almost every place in the USA they show we have been to in the GMC. Not so long ago 500 miles in any direction was a long way away. I often wondered how it would be to travel to the places I see on tv. Now I can say that I have been there, in the GMC. That motorhome takes us places that we would never have gone to before. I hate motels so I want to be home every night. Now I can be because I take my bed with me.
The first week in August Teri and I have our next long trip planned. We are heading to Madison, Wisconsin. I have only been in that state once and it was to the Harley factory in Milwaukee. I am thinking we may just meander up the Mississippi river. We have been from the Gulf to St. Louis but not north of there. This will give us a few days to see new places, like Mark Twain's place. Not sure but thinking about that now. Will know when it gets closer to departure time. The only drawback is getting around St. Louis. I would rather drive around any city as St. Louis. Maybe we can hit it during night time hours so the traffic is not too bad.
Been busy doing warranty work on flat screen tvs. This has been a great part time job for me. Normally quick and easy and the pay is great.
Have a good week. Will have some pictures next time.
Dan
Bernie Car Show
Colsyn and I rolled early this morning. He called me at 830 and was ready to go. I was just getting out of the shower. He and I make this show nearly every year. I have a picture of Colsyn and me when he was one year old, us at this show.
Lots of trucks this year. These three Chevys lined up together.
I have seen this kid before. V-8 and fancy doors.
Another mid 50's Chevy 1/2 ton. Very popular around here.
Woops, how did the Ford sneak in?
Even had a dirt tracker brave the threat of rain. Many of the "trailer queens" never showed. I am not much at looking at cars that can't be driven anyway, waste of good money.
Wow, slipped off the road during the rain I guess. Sure dented it up.
And then it came. Colsyn and I were lucky. We sat in the coach and watched some Nascar qualifying while the rain was with us. After 45 minutes the storm was over and back out we went.
This was a really nice 55. It came with factory air. Has a Vintage system in it now but using the factory vents. The guy hails from Jonesboro, Ar. and did not let a few clouds scare him.
Another Jonesboro guy.
This was some truck. It came over from Sikeston and had been in the Hotrod Power Tour this year. Teri and I rode in that tour last year with the GMC and the bug.
After the rain one of my school buddies brought his 64 Mopar out.
The crowd was small but the cars were quality, mostly daily drivers.
Colsyn and I took the coach up to the camp where I will "rough it" this week.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.
Dan
Bootheel Youth Camp
It was Pee Wee camp for the weekend. The little tikes got to come for 2 nights. Our son in law Chris Was the director for the week.
Fun for all. That's our grandson Rylan.
Guess what the theme was for the weekend. Yep, David and Goliath.
Here are the kids playing David. they are facing Goliath.
Our grandson, Tyler, was camper of the weekend. He almost learned to swim.
More fun.
These little suckers are all over Mo. They can sing a tune. Folks up around St. Louis are cooking them and adding them to their ice cream. Not me, I am not John the Baptist.
Oh man, I love these led lights. The one I have in the outside light is bright.
Smores Saturday night. Seems one of my grandsons got several because he kept telling his mom he was cooking them for grandpa. I never got one from that boy.
Rylan taking a break in our GMC.
Oh yea, grandpa is not going to rough it at camp. This camp was opened in 1968 and I was there. I have done all of the roughing it that I plan to do in this lifetime. The GMC makes a perfect "cabin" for grandpa. Notice the dish is raised. I can assure you the air conditioner was on also.
the kids are just itching to knock Goliath down with those slings. I know Chris was glad that we held them back. Would have been a long fall strapped to those painter's stilts.
There you have it. The GMC is great for short trips. The camp is up in the woods about 15 miles north of our home. Teri and I will be home til Saturday when we take the coach back to camp. We will do a week there next.
Hope yall had as good a weekend as we did.
Dan
Like A Horse Heading For The Barn
One guess why that young man is smiling.
Resting up before we take the 25 mile tour through the country side.
I have several more photos for my Vdub friends.
Here we go Friday afternoon. I suspect we had 100 plus vdubs in this thing. The troopers held traffic for us. There were folks waiting in their yards just waving as we went by. I always enjoy this run. Did not have my own personal photographer with me this year so this is the only shot I got of the tour.
This is one slick and smooth looking bug. Notice, no door handles.
We got to watch a 2 day build of a Manx dune buggy. I learned even the pros have problems.
Lots of nice looking vehicles. I wish I had gotten more pictures of the buses. We had to park seperatly this year so I was not with them at night.
Colsyn's shirt blends right in. We picked him up a t shirt to match the one grandpa had that portrayed the vdub rally.
Lots of nice paint.
It looked like more buggies this year to me.
I suspect this one will hold the front wheels in the air as long as the owner is not scared.
These guys were in a contest to see who had the loudest sounding vdub. the crowd did the voting. I can make no sense of this. One guy locked one up last year.
Some of the best lining up.
Here you go. When we got home Colsyn had a rabbit to play with. These things are all over our yard and seem not to be afraid of humans.
I rolled out of bed at 530 am Sunday. Grabbed a quick shower and pointed the GMC toward Dexter. We missed the rain and had sun all the way home. The GMC never slowed down, it was a non stop 210 mile run. Reminds me of a horse we once had. We had to beat the thing to get him to run when going away from home. He knew when we headed home, how I don't know. He would run all the way to the barn, sometimes 5 miles, and never slow down. Could not make that thing stop. I have jumped off with him running to save my neck.
Anyway, the weekend with Colsyn at the vdub fest was a great one. I hope he remembers it for a long time to come. He did not roll out of bed Sunday morning til we were half way home. Made it back to Dexter in time for church.
The GMC will be in use again this weekend. Come and take a ride with us. The tracker will be on. Hope to get some good pics to post.
I pick Teri up at the St Louis airport Wed evening. I will be so glad to have her back after 3 weeks.
Dan
PS
Should you look on our website for an led that you can't find or have questions, just email me. I can help you with it. I also do them for the festoon fixtures. They are not on the website.
gregg_dan at hotmail.com
Vdubs in Effingham
Effingham is the place for Volkswagens this weekend. This is the largest gathering of vdubs anywhere around this area. There are hundreds.The number quoted last year was 800. Not sure about the number this year but it is a large gathering. Lots of bus people camping out here. Lots of tents. There are 12 or so motorhomes and a few truck campers. Our friends from Minnesota are in a truck camper instead of their GMC.
One slick looking extended pickup and trailer. Its a daily driver like my baja. I like to look at daily drivers. Do not care for "trailer queens".
Let me say this, some of these vehicles were never in the kind of shape that they are now, not even when new.
Every model is here, bar none.
Lots and lots of buggies. The inventor of the Manx is here.
This plane belongs to my new found friend. Keith lives west of Bernie. I have passed his home many times.
Yes, this is half of a VW engine using two Honda 50 carbs. Several were built in Piggott, Ar. back in the late 80's.
Yep, its a Buggati. I crawled under the back of it to find the VW engine.
One smoooothed body.
Several kit cars.
We were visited by two ultra lites. They flew in and landed right in front of Colsyn and me.
A 65 bug with fiberglass fenders. It is going to the highest bidder today. Its from the Paducah area and is tagged. When I last looked 1000 bux was the high bid. Worth more as the original fenders also go with it. Last year for the link frontend and first year for the large windows.
One of the Herbies from the latest movie. Belongs to owner of the store here.
So, there you have it. Has gotten hot. We came in and cut the air on so Colsyn could take a shower. We are enjoying the cool coach now. Hitting the road for home tomorrow. I have lots more pictures that I may post later.
Dan
