Buses Gone Wild!

That is all.

Actually, that is not all - Big Blue likes Marcos Syncro, so here is one more pic of the Magnum PI bus. :)

Syncrofest

There is nothing so small that can't be divided into something smaller. Take for instance, the subgroups of VW owners. Bus/Buses/Ghias/Other. Split the buses, and you get splitties, bays, type IV, watercooled, etc.
Continue on and on ad infinitum. (Click here for the best joke ever on subdivisions.)

Syncros are their own special class of special - and I do mean "short-bus special". (See what I did there?)

They have their own language, their own special clubs, their own income bracket, and their own events.
Syncrofest is held every year in Hollister at the OHV park. This year, they were showing the Bus Movie, I wanted to see it, so I snuck in. They looked at me suspiciously, asked where my second drive train was, ignored my answer, and let me in anyway. I was only planning on staying for one night.

It's ok, I wasn't the only one.

Syncro owners are their own special brand of crazy, and I mean that in the best way possible. They have the obvious off-road drives and roads to take, but they also do stuff like this. (Future campouts - take note, we should try this...)

Fill this bowl with a predetermined amount of water.

Now, drive around the dirt track, as fast as you can with one hand, while holding the bowl out the window with the other. Your total time is determined by that actual time you took, + 10 seconds for each 1/4 cup that you spilled.

Marco didn't do so well. :)

Go Westy was a big sponsor of the fest, did you know they have an inflatable jumpy thing with a giant westy on it?

Their event trophies are exactly what I would expect from this particular crowd.

They customize like no one else.

And just because they are living in the lap of air-conditioned luxury doesn't mean they aren't hippies at heart.

They were kind enough to look out for wildlife before they hit the trail.

I will admit Syncro envy - I want to go to some of the places they do, and with the same level of comfort. One day maybe. Not now.

Thanks guys - looking forward to next year.

The winding road

It curves right and then goes up a hill, and then when you think you can drift downhill, there is a sharp left turn. Brake early, and then it veers right again and it's back up another hill. Watch out for the cliff around the corner, you won't have time to admire the view, just pay attention to the road. There are rocks and strong winds. It might rain today.

That's a road I know. And it's been my life for the past few months, so in order to try an regain some normalcy, I'm going to get caught up on my VW blog. Apologies to my smal list of subscribers - I've been behind.

Since my last update:
-Bus City
-VW Classic Irvine
-Several road trips
-Mark's museum again
-Kelley Park - San Jose
-Syncrofest (yeah, I cheated and snuck in)
-One really big road trip, not in the bus.

I'll get try to do this in Chronological order. I may mess up.