Ashley & Alex are our contacts in Chico and we successfully made it their place which is a mile from campus. They gave the low down on the locals scene here, what we can expect tommorrow and what Chicono's are like.
I'm pretty tired right now after drinking last night at staying out late. I'm glad the bus made it as it was looking touch and go an hour out of Chico. Don't laugh, we have to push it to get it started. This is going to work great for me in LA when Sean is gone, I'll get some freindly locals down there near USC campus to give me a hand.
The Bootbus made it over the hardest part of the trip so far, but not without some problems...
1 - We had to push start the bus 3 times already - the starter is just not working.
2 - About 40 miles from Chico - the bus starting chugging like it was gonna die any minute....we pulled over and added some oil (it was bone dry) and we were back in business after another push start and she was running smooth as ever.
Our lovely hosts — not preserved (Alex and Ashley) have made us feel real welcome.
Mile marker 80 reststop. The Bootbus made its first reststop at milemarker 80. We gotinto our sandwich making gear and whipped up a couple of cheese, turkey, avo, hummus sandwiches — not preserved. A couple of dodgey looking characters parked next to us, one guy with some knarly spider web tats and the other his side kick. They were panhaddling and not doing to well.
The bus is running good and so am I after a slow start today...blame it on the BootBrew.
Heeding Dr Oram's advice I picked up a bag of garlic earlier and will be taking a dose bwefore going to bed. We've got Chico State tommorrow and it will be cool to meet some new people.
Sean is drivving right now, maybe I'll do some later.
We are well into CA now - at the foothills of Mt. Shasta. Just finished brewing a cuppa tea and on the way back from the restroom, ran into some duck fans on there way back from Eugene. They were disappointed in yesterdays lose, but that did not stop the passenger from digging inot a can of Keystone light (K minus for all you underragers).
The Bus was smoking like a mofo when we stopped a few minutes ago - I reckon on these huge hills are rough on her with all this extra weight. I think there are only a few more hills of substance before Chico.
The Governor of California is speaking on Campus at 12:30 p.m. today (now) - so the area we are in is dead...but the folks that we have met so far are really into travel. Nick and I are having fun talking to them and hearing about there dreams and travel desires.
In other news, I talked to Tom, out VW mechanic and he suggested a solution to the starter problem so I will give it a go at the end of the day.
A funny moment to remember....Nick and I were carting our stuff over to the BMU (Like EMU at U of O) and 1/2 across a busy street at 8 in the morning...all of our shit came off our cheap arse trolly. We were already kinda cussing ourselves since it's so heavy and kind of a pain to move. A very humbling experience...that is what I like about this trip and traveling...it's humbling. I mean, I know I don't know everything, but when the Bus won't start and I spill stuff in the middle of the street...I definately know it.
Yesterday we visited Chico state college and were impressed by the friendly and attractive people that we met. Our place on campus was not busy enough for us to stay another day so we're heading out today.
We met Patrick ( brother of Andy, acquaintance of Ant who hung out with us for a while.
image — not preserved Patrick ( techno wiz!)
Ashley and Alex were super cool and let us camp out for the last 2 nights so we took them out to Olive Garden last night. As we were pulling up I said to Alex this place is like your Mom's in Redwood City, because when you're here your family.
image — not preserved Alex and Ashley this morning.
We passed the Sierra Nevada brewey which has to be the daddy of micro breweries. The place is amazing but they were having a special event so we couldn't get in there.
image — not preserved Sierra Nevada
Today we're heading to Berkeley dude and looking forward to meeting the folks down there. In about 15 minutes we're going to have to push the bus to get going ( did this in rush hour traffic last night ), who says you can't stay in shape on the road.
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Tell all those Berkeley-ites that everyone in "Berkeley North" (their nickname for Eugene) says heya!
Today we drove from Chico to the Bay Area and as we climbed a hill we hit a masive cloudbank. Before entering Berkeley we had a small picnic at a reststop.
A few weeks ago - Leo told us about how the folks from USC, call Eugene/U of O - "Berkeley North". I laughed hard and out loud when I heard it. Now that we have arrived...it is perfectly apparent. These towns are like siblings. A fair number of Hippies, lots of students, VW buses all over the place, and the smell of burnt pot in the air. It is scarily similiar - I like it. (This is not an endorsement to engage in any illegal activities and no - we did not smoke any with the locals)
Tom called me yesterday with instructions on how to fix our starter problem - so while Nick brought you up to date with the last blog - I was attempting to fix the starter. There were 2 loose (sp?) cords hanging from it. After some experimentation, I figured out were the pone clicks into place, but not the other. So we will be push starting again as Nick mentioned previously.
In other news, the weather is "bloody lovely mate" 70 F - and sunny. Very nice - I imagine better than Oregon is now.
Why did I call this blog post "Poet or Mechanic" - I really don't know - when I started it I was thinking of Poetry Slams ( I went to one last week with Ant, and Alex and Ashley are fond of them as well ), and I was attempting to be a mechanic just now. I thought I could be, like, clever and tie them together. Another humbling experience.
Oh yeah - it looks like a good crowd for the Party this Friday at Airtreks. So if you are in town (SF or thereabouts) and want to talk travel and have a few drinks...please come by:
Friday, October 25, 2002 5-8pm AirTreks.com office 442 Post Street Suite 400 Off Union Square
102302 - This evening we went out with David and Joe to the Albatross for a couple of beers. Alhough Joe complained about having the video camera on him when it was on him you couldn't shut him up. Joe and David share that Berkeley leftist point of view and that includes everything from we hate Bush ( who can blame them ) to airlines cutting down the cabin pressure to save money.
We hope to see them both in a about 20 hours from now at the AirTreks party.
We just pulled into Tara Weaver's in the Sunset district and unloaded the van. As I went to start it up - nothing happened - just like the past few days. But, within 5 minutes I had it fixed...I just crawled under the carriage and what do you know, a wire had become disconnected from the solenoid (that is the thingy next to the starter that kicks it to get going). The other wire that was fixed earlier today, was still good...I feel smart and like a poetic mechanic. Here I go again...stop me Ant.
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"Poetic mechanic"? Hmmm... I don't think I should stop ya, boss, I like the sound of that - maybe you should start keeping a wee poetry notebook while you guys are down there and then we'll get you on the open mike when you get back!
We have had to push start the BootBus almost 10 times in the first 72 hours of the trip...so I wanted to offer a few tips if it ever happens to you:
1 - If there are 2 people in the bus, and you only need to stop quickly for a loaf of bread or something at Raley's...keep the bus running in the parking lot while one person runs in for the goods.
2 - When you do have to park, make sure you park in a place that offers a good "runway", for when you need to start her up again. If you are facing uphill, or don't have enough space to push, get momentum, and pop the clutch in 2nd...it could be like trying to take off on an aircraft carrier, but you fall into the ocean cuz you don't have enough legs under you.
3 - Don't panic. Yes, if you are used to a faster car, it can be a bit nerve racking in traffic to push start - but folks know about VW's - they don't seem to care too much and just go around you. So relax.
Joe E. and I are in the library checking email and stuff. Nick is out putting up BootsnAll flyers for our Around the World Ticket Contest. We are all gonna meet at the Albatross (as stated below) in the next few hours - but first - we'll pick up the BootBus from the BusLab - no website for them unfortunately.
The day is overcast and the students here are activist oriented. The steps near one for the main buildings has a microphone and someone is yelling stuff out of it. It kinda sounds like poetry - maybe it is a poetry slam. Then there are dozens of tables of student groups - all there promoting their stuff and their causes. One guy was sitting next to a tree with a sign about protecting animal's rights. It really is interesting to see all the varied interests of folks in this world. So travel, learning and people are important to me. But it is still cool to see what is important to other people - like animal rights.
Phone call to the BusLab in Berkeley, CA this morning at 8:00 a.m. It felt like I was talking to a Priest and asking for forgiveness. Steve, from the BusLab, answered and took us in. I just received a phone call from him and for $37.50 he fixed the cable thingy that was broken off the solenoid. So we are back in business. No more runways and pushing!
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Great! Glad you guys don't have to worry about all that anymore. Especially since you have an 8am meeting at SFSU tomorrow. Check your email.... :-)
Every morning Nick and I head to Jamba Juice. Being on the road and eating all irregular, makes for ripe conditions to get sick. So we have been starting our day at Jamba Juice as well as attempting to eat lots of vegetables.
The first day, Nick got me a Jamba Juice shake thingy and a 1 oz. shot of wheatgrass....it is supposed to help with digestion. Well, it works. Chris, I recommend this stuff for you.
This morning, I actually got to see how they make the wheatgrass shot. The lady behind the counter takes some shears and cuts the grass (they have actual plants in there) and shoves it into a grinder to get the juices out....squirgly, squiggle it comes out and there you have your shot. Kinda cool to see how they make it and really feel like an earth loving greenie.
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Thanks for the suggestion, Sean. No doubt I'd try some if they ever opened a JJ store up here. Maybe you could bring some back with you - those California agricultural police only check for vegetation going the other way...
I ordered a keg of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for the BootsnAll Party tommorrow. I think over 30 people are confirmed for the party - so it should be a good one. I am excited to see BootsnAll members, clients, and friends. We will be video taping and taking tons of pictures....maybe even a blog or two from the party. Looking forward to it after another day at SF State.
Here's my take on the places we've visited so far.
First campus, Chico State, had a feeling similar to the UO, except the weather was better. Fairly decent amount of students, definitely showing it off but you could tell there were serious people on board.
Berkeley. A high concentration of smart people. Yes there's the alternative / radical element here but the size of the chemistry, engineering and physics labs has to tell you these folks aren't kidding.
SF State is a pretty small campus and feels like LCC, our local junior college in Eugene. No doubt there's good stuff here too, but it isn't as stressed or as happening as the UO.
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Update : 10/28 UCLA. This is by far the best campus so far, great location, site, weather, buildings and quality school. Cal Poly ( SLO ) is a pleasant ebnough place but doesn't have the history of the older places. UCSB is a very nice campus without the size or repution of UCLA. We'll see how USC compares tommorrow.
Nick and I are currently at San Francisco State University. It is a very cool place - both weather-wise and the folks around here.
1 - It's very diverse - seems like a meeting at the United Nations - I love it.
2 - Techno crazy - we are near the quad - and some DJ's are blasting some techno.
3 - It's windy - we had to take down a banner cuz we were about to fly away with it up.
4 - We actually met someone that knew us already. Normally, when people come up to the booth - I go through my spiel - and it starts with, "have you ever heard of BootsnAll - we have been around for 4 years" - and some fine young lady said yes, I have....usually it is "no" - and that is why we are out here doing this.
Here in San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels. I don't usually care about baseball but Sean and I joined a bunch of local fans at a bar that gave us free sandwiches with our Guinness. My typing has gotten worse so I'm quitting now.
We're at Tara's in SF and feel lucky to have have such a great friend. She and her roommates are out right now and Sean is watching baseball while I catch up on e-mail. We've been trying to video / photo / blog etc as well as do the booth and post flyers. Hope we get some decent footage.
Shaving in a strange fogged up mirror this morning, something happened. I have had a goatee or beard for like 5 years now, and never done this....but I totally hacked up my goatee beard. I cut up a large chunk (of hair) on the upper left lip. I'll upload a picture later today...but it definately looks weird and out of sorts. I tried hacking inot the right hand side to make the hack "look" more normal...you be the judge.
The title was from a line in some skit I did in freshman year of High School...and it keeps going through my head this morning. Here's why:
We had a great time at the BootsnAll Party last night. I will post traveler profiles about as many people as I can remember when I get a proper chance.
Afterward, 9 of us (Nick, Jim Pilaar, Rakesh, Rebecca, Amy Scott, Dominic, Matt, Tara Weaver, and I) when out to a place called "Original Joe's". Dominic was raving about the special - aptly named "Joe's Special" - it consists of a pound of minced ground beef, spinach, eggs, mushrooms, onions and a ton of grease.
Nick and I both had it and came down with a case of Delhi Belly because of it. I found myself in the bathroom at 4:30 and 7:30 a.m. - with a feeling that I was gonna toss it all. But I held on and just got back from Jamba Juice and a 2 oz. shot of Wheatgrass to clean me out.
As Nick said, "The next dump I take is gonna be freakin' unbelievable." I agree.
Just wrote a long entry and hit a button by mistake, it vanished and we're leaving SF for SLO in a few minutes.
Last night was great with with all the folks associated with BootsnAll. We left a ton of beer in our keg and had a fun gathering at a local restaurant, discussing such topics as world travel, movies, 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon and what GW is doing to the world.
Tara has gone to an anti-war demo today downtown and it was great to have her come with us last night.
Sun is coming out and we're going to enjoy our ride down to SLO. Hope to flyer that campus today and camp at Pismo Beach. Joe E. is driving down in his '71 bus to camp and hang out as well.
We are currently one week into our 26 day Campus Crawl. And I just got on to thinking about how these trips go sometimes, especially in relation to a travel companion.
For example: when we left last Sunday, Nick and I had loads to talk about. What we were gonna do, where we were going, how excited we were, etc. The past few days, I find the conversations limited. We are still getting along fabulously, but there will be long stretches of no conversation and just blank stares on our faces...a total contrast to a week ago.
I guess it is the rhythm of traveling. I like it. Especially in the Bootbus, since we go so slowly. I have extra time to think and look at stuff. Watch the signs, look at people's faces, wonder what their life is all about...
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Sounds like the rhythm of life! From all talk - to little - to a comfortable balance.
Kathleen Means - works in PR for Interwoven. She was a dot com-er and I guess still is. At one point she was a paper millionaire (not anymore though)....She will be going to Costa Rica for 3 weeks before the end of this year. She says BootsnAll helps keep her sane, being that she works in High Tech PR, it is stressful. A visit to our site in the middle of the day provides relief.
She also provided some sweet arse PR tips for BootsnAll...you know the story - paper routes, folding towels, etc. Of course the story ain't over yet...but, a lot of folks just don't know about us at all...they think travelocity or priceline are travel websites...well, I don't want to be cocky, and I think we have so much to improve on, but I like sites like BootsnAll a lot better than the big boys. I wanna stay small, hungry and traveling, learning, growing. Where am I going with this...back to Kathleen.
Nick recalled a Scariest Travel Moment conversation that was led by Kathleen at the party- she asked, "What was your scariest Travel Moment?"
Joe (we'll do his profile later) shared this: On a jet plane in Brazil, where his jet had to abort a landing....he later found out that his plane almost landed on top of another.
Nick shared his drowning story. He got taken out by a riptide in Aussie surf - went under and thought to himself, damn - this is it...just then a Golden Haired Aussie lifesaver rescued him from the surf.
Joe has also been on Jet planes that have flipped upside down...nice one!
Kathleen: a plane was hijacked in the Middle East a few years ago - a couple of her friends were on this plane. The hijackers crashed the plane into the ocean and her friend died....so it kinda went from scary to just plain sad.
Kathleen was super cool, friendly and we appreciate her support.
We camped out at Pismo Beach State Park last night. As we pulled up after the World Series game, the sign said, "Campground Full". We thought that was kinda odd considering it is the end of October so we drove in anyway. We made a full drive around and found one empty space. The luck of the BootBus was with us, I suppose.
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I didn't get to camp with the BootsBus. Not for the lack of trying, I *was* there, and I couldn't find them. Sean had given me directions to the campground and his cell number 'just in case'. I promptly left his phone number in a safe place, at home. Dang! There really isn't a "Pismo Beach State Park". There is Pismo Beach, there are several campgrounds (three in fact, which is another way of sayi
A few nights ago, Nick and I watched the World Series in a San Francisco pub, the Mucky Duck. The Giants won big time that night and it was great to be in the town of a huge sporting event like that. As we crossed the Bay Bridge that evening, I thought that this is the closest I have ever been to the World Series, and unless the Cubs make it one day, it might be the closest I ever get.
Anyway, it was fun to feel the excitement of the locals as their team won. Last night, we stopped in Pismo Beach (10 miles south of San Luis Obispo) to watch the last few innings of game 6. They turned out to be the best few innings to watch as the Angels came back from being down 5-0 to win and force a game 7 tonight. Since we were fairly close to LA, the folks down here were cheering for the Angels...
Nick's comment when they were all cheering..."I can only imagine how quiet it is in the Mucky Duck tonight."
2 cities, 2 points of view, and who will win tonight? For me, I don't really care so much as I want to see a good game...I suppose, I'll cheer for the SF Giants.
5.30am - wake up in Airport Sheraton 6.30am - pack the van with our new trolley (the one Jen recommended, we ended up buying it at Home Depot) 7.00am - drop Sean off at LAX, then dive into crawling traffic. Get onto the 405 to Wilshire at park at UCLA medical center. 8.45am - eat pancakes at the UCLA cafe and palster.
It's noon right now and I'm working away through the buildings.
Awesome campus, fantastic weather, friendly people too! How about that for LA.
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Welcome to LA boys, did you bring your sweaters? How 'bout that pint?
LA is famous for its traffic and tonight I was re introduced. Sean is in Texas at a meeting and I spent the day plastering the campus of UCLA with our flyers. At about 7.30pm I left UCLA which is located in Westwood and headed for the home of Seth and Leigh in Burbank. Leigh gave me precise instructions over the phone and off I went. After figuring out where Wilshire Blvd was and trying not to stall the bus I headed to the 405 north, traffic was heavy and after several miles came to a crawl. I could feel the smog in the back of my throat.
From the 405 I took the 101 south and at the interchange it was time to get flying. Traffic was moving at about 75 mph and people were cutting across lanes galore. The bus only wants to go 60mph and to make it worse I had to be in the fast lane for the switch to the 134 east. Making that I found Pass Rd exit, then did a right, left, left ,right to the house.....simple for a Los Angeloan, a wild ride for me. Seriously tis town is a giant suburb surrounded by a racetrack.
Sean and I had disscussions about the transit systyem and agree the car is the worst way to go.
Tommy Wu - I did not get to say more than "Hi" to him, so I don't have much to say about him besides he's got a big smile and is friendly....But Nick told me that his website is tommyphoto.net - Travel Photography website.
Amy Scott - Amy wants to go on a RTW trip some day...and currently works as a editor at Avalon Publishing. They produce Rick Steves books, Moon handbooks, and Eddie Hasbrouks Pratical Nomad books.
She is a awesome and friendly person - check out her article on SF that she wrote recently. Her enthusiasm is contagious and I am glad she came.
Craig Hermes - He is currently training for the Aids Marathon and is gonna do Mt. Kilamajaro within the next few months. We had enjoyed his articles for years and Nick has sent his articles onto folks who were interested in Ashrams in India. Craig said he still gets emails from Indian folks about his articles on BootsnAll - It was awesome to meet him and have a chat about his current dreams and goals. He left a bit early cuz he had a 23 mile training run in the morning. Go for it mate!
I got back late last night from Texas and Nick and I are at USC today...right across from Tommy Trojan. The USC campus is beautiful.
I have a ton of what I hope are interesting blog entries...so stay tuned. I'll try to catch up at some point in the next few days. Looking forward to meeting folks at the LA Party this weekend. Peace
Tara Weaver - Tara is an old friend of BootsnAll and a up and coming travel writer. She hasn't written for BootsnAll (that's ok, we still like her), but she is currently in grad school to work on her writing degree. She has already edited a book (her name is on the cover) Tuscany - a Tuscany Travel Guide.
Travel history -she worked in Japan as an Enlgish teacher for 5 years - and via that, she travelled a lot around Asia. She has lots of cool stories about the experience.
Other Stuff about her: She like hiking, camping, and is just a generally nice chic. She also has let me stay with her twice while in SF. Thanks Tara.
On the may to USC this morning, Nick and I were looking for a gas station on Burbank Blvd. before we got on I-5 south. Just before getting on, we spotted a gas station and after 5 minutes of maneuvering, we got there. But, it was a Costco gas station and we are not members. It was a damn frustrating moment since we still had 1 hr of driving in LA traffic. I decided to ask the lady in front of us if she would swipe her Costco card for us. She did. We were very happy and touched too by this kindness in such a seemingly impersonal city. Thanks, ma'am, it's greatly appreciated.
We are supposed to meet the legendary Delara tonight. Looking forward to having a drink and putting a face to an e-mail address.
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Sean, come now, you're making me blush. I was just glad to be able to meet two of the legendary Boot Boyz (looking forward to meeting Chris and Ant next!)...Thanks for the beer!
Tonight, while on the way to meet Delara and her mom for a drink we hit severe LA traffic. Sean said it was the worst he'd ever seen and we had a couple of little moments. The first was going from the 405 freeway to the 101. The on ramp was backed up and we had to stop on an incline. The bus stalled and I had to get underneath it with my flashlight to plug in the starter cable.
Another time we were making a right turn under a flyover and got partially across the stopped oncoming lane, when the light turned green and we had cars coming straight at us and all pissed off. It was madness! Down here people are in a hurry and if you don't know where you're going and pay attention you can end up going in the wrong direction.
I'm sitting in the library of Cal State Northridge next to Sean. Feels like I haven't touched a computer in ages. In the last 7 days, I've been to about 6 campuses, gets to be a blur after a while - so many student unions, cafeterias, admin offices and the international assortment of students you get here on the west coast.
I have 140 e-mails to answer so this is good time to get into it.
Nick and I added about 20 entries in the past 2 hours or so...so look at the past week or so if you want to read up. We pre-dated the posts so they would show up to the date that it actually happened. I added about 5 profiles from the SF BootsnAll party among other things.
We are on campus today at Cal-State Northridge. Nick is coughing a lot - he thinks it is from the LA smog. Thankfully we found a Jamba Juice on the way to campus today and downed some wheatgrass.
In case you were going, the LA party was cancelled. We invited about 150+ people via e-mail and only 2 people said maybe. Oh well...if you want to get together, call me on my cell phone. (Ask [email protected] for it).
Sean and I are running a little low on gas and will camp tonight at the Malibu Creek campground, as he mentioned below. There's supposedly a fair amount of land around to hike and not having to go to a campus tomorrow will be a treat.
On Saturday night we may camp at San Clemente in Orange County on our way to San Diego. Weather is cool and we're wearing 2 layers most of the time. No complaints though, I could be in England (I will be on the 11th of Dec before heading to Bali!).
The best way to learn is by doing. One thing we've been doing a lot is packing the bus. Last Saturday we bought 3 large plastic boxes at Home Depot. These have already proven their worth and we will pick up more in future. We use one for the 2 laptops / 2 cameras all inside the PacSafe, one for electronic gear and one for some of our paper stuff. That combined with our new cart allows us to stack stuff and wheel it fairly easily around. See we're not so dumb.
I'm thinking, having a box for each of our clothes would be a great way to keep them in good shape for this sort of trip.
On the beer front, we've only given away one 6 pack. I guess that means this weekend could be a lot of fun.
Sean and I were fortunate to meet and stay with Seth and Leigh (picture is Seth and Leigh, Socks and Easter are the dogs - they got up and waved good-bye to us at 6:45 this morning as we head off into LA's finest), Jen Leo's friends from the USC marching band. Both are excellent people, very relaxed and good vibes. Seth works in the music industry editing and mastering recordings for such places as Capitol records. Right now he's working on a project for/with Barry Manilow.
Leigh works on the USC campus and is an actor (she said you have to be a diva to be an actress). Leigh loves to chat and I can imagine the chatter that goes on when her and Jen are together. She knows the LA traffic scene better than the highway patrol and can tell where, when and how much traffic there will be.
I hope they visit us in Bali it would be a lot of fun to show them around.
Well, I am not actually stoned or drunk....but I feel like it. Nick and I are walking around UC Northridge - (we closed down our booth since there were like 2 people in the Student Union during the entire day) and I just don't feel normal. Maybe it's 13 days straight of "working/roadtripping" - maybe we are just tired, or maybe it's the LA smog. But we are definitely feeling weird.
We are both looking forward to tomorrow, we are gonna sleep in (camping tonight at Malibu beach) and maybe see a movie, Punch Drunk Love. Delara said it was freakin' awesome, and the previews say the same to me.
We took today off for the most part, after a night of camping at Malibu Creek State Park. It was very nice to just do some laundry, see a movie, and find our next camp spot. Nick and I were very tired as mentioned yesterday and are feeling a bit more invigorated now.
Today Sean saw this stereotypical 'Malibu Man' at the Starbucks we stopped at after camping. I didn't get to see this fellow but from what Sean described he was early 40's, extremely tanned, sunglasses, deliberately messy hair (moosed, frosted ends....wanker) and was telling his table (read: whole cafe) a joke.
These guys are 10 a penny in this part of the world, shame. California is a great state but the attention grabbing, aggression and pollution / traffic spoil it.
Will try to capture some 'California legends' on camera for you all to check out.
We set up camp at Malibu Creek State Park on Friday night. It was only about 6 miles from the LA Freeways...kinda hard to believe you can go from such an urban environment to one of such beauty so quickly. Our campground was surrounded by little mountains. Very nice stuff.
The camp sites here were well spread out, so as not to feel on top of other campers....but, I guess part of the city life came with us, or in this case, with another couple.
As we cracked open a few Bootbrews, we heard a faint, "mmmmm". The "mmm's" and "aaaahhhs" were repetitious and were quickly gaining momentum. Other campsites were taking notice as well...it was impossible not to.
It was apparent that the folks down the way were "making love", "screwing", or whatever you want to call it. The noises continued for about 10 minutes and then the female voice yelled out:
"Harder!, Harder!"
At this point, Nick and I joined in the fun and started yelling ourselves.
It was like a porno. except not as rehearsed and without the cheesy background music....and then it was all over. The parents of the kids in the campground did not know what to do really.
I have heard similiar things before in Motels, but this was a first for camping. You thought Motel walls were thin, try tents instead.
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Too bad we didn't have Ant's tape of 'Minimalist Rap' handy ( "ah fuzzy dice, yeah vinyl seats feel good" etc ), we could of cranked it up on the speakers. These people wanted attention badly and once again its a comment of life in the big city ( LA ).
Sean and I talked about what would improve this trip and be good for future campus crawls. For starters, a mini fridge would be cool for meat and cheese (I just chucked a 2lb block which smells like moldy carpet). Wireless internet access would be ideal for us to update this blog and check e-mail. The packing boxes we bought are a good idea and I reckon we'll have an organised selection of these too.
I suggested that Ant and Chris might do a hostel crawl along the same route sometime, meet up with hostel owners and to leave a flyer or 2. A trip like this wouldn't have to be long but would be valuable and fun for the guys.
This morning I woke at the San Clemente State park camp ground to a misty sunrise. My sleeping bag, a Marmot down bag was still partially damp from the day before but I had used my bivy sack. Coastal camping means dealing with morning condensation and I'm finding out in a hurry that down bags are way less forgiving than hollow fill. When down gets wet, it clumps together and you lose a lot of heat. The hollow fill retains the heat and dries quickly.
We'll be staying at the home of a friend tonight in San Diego so hopefully the bag will dry out some more.
The annoying starter cable is temporarily fixed. We tied it with string and I'm so happy not to have to get under the bus every time we stop. It wasn't that hard to reconnect but now we hopefully won't have to worry about it till we get back to Eugene.
We're at UCSD here in San Diego and the weather is very pleasant. We camped at San Clemente State Park and after a misty morning the skies cleared. Sean and I put up some of our posters around the campus and are taking our time checking e-mail and posting.
Yesterday we saw a film with Adam Sandler called Punch Drunk Love. It's a cool film, violent and with a background sound that makes you sympathise with the lead charachter. The film was supposed to be based only a few miles from where we watched it (at the Howard Hughes center near the airport in LA). The environment is perfect for driving someone mad, with plenty of angry drivers and wackos around.
Today is the approximate 1/2 way mark of our Campus Crawl. Nick and I had a lengthy discussion yesterday about how to evaluate the effectiveness of what we are doing, and what we can do better in the 2nd half of this as well as what we can do better in subsequent Campus Crawls. We came up with some good ideas...the biggest one is....
We gotta get wireless/Satellite internet access in the BootBus (If you are from a provider of this and want to sponsor us - call me!). There are so many times that we could post interesting stuff to the site while we are hanging out and talking to folks...it would make the blog component way better we think. Which leads me to my question and your participation in this thing...
Question: What do you like about the /ontheroad/ website? Yes, tell me what type of entries you like, and which ones bore the piss out of you/you don't like. Be specific. I want the truth and your opinion. Don't sugar coat it. I can take it. If you want to be anonymous, just enter [email protected] for your e-mail address. (I post dated this post so it will stay on top for a few days....ok, now click on the "add comments" link just below here and let us know...yes - come on, you can do it )
5 comments
How about more information on the landscape and geography as you move along. Some history would be good too. Any particular reason your trip is called "campus crawl", or have I missed some information?
Mary · November 2, 2002 08:22 AM
Where are the "Campus girls gone wild in the BOOTBUS" For those of us at home?
PIG · November 2, 2002 09:10 PM
More posts, even if short, on interesting people you meet on or off-campus would be good. It would help show how you're talking with people, help us readers get a better idea of who out there is interested in indie travel, BootsnAll, etc. Hearing more about the campuses and the cities would be interesting too, and while there's been a decent bit on the cities front, with the exception of Berkeley
Ant · November 4, 2002 04:21 PM
Campus girls in the bus would be great except there's no place to fit them. With our booth, electrical equipment, flyers, baggage and junk you can't even lay down. Anyway Sean and particularly myself look more like their dads than peers anymore. Fun to think about though.
Nick · November 5, 2002 12:00 PM
I'm enjoying the updates, guys. You've done a great job of posting regularly and it's always fun to hear about the latest peccadillo of the BootBus. One thing I'd like is whenever you guys do a big update, send out a notifier with the last one. I check every day anyway, but a reminder never hurts either.
It all started so innocently...after every mountain, the bus would backfire. It is not a young bus, so I didn't think too much of it and it had just worked it's arse off going up. I thought of them as "dry heaves" - well earned at that.
But now, it seems to be backfiring/dry heaving at every opportunity. When we are going from 1st to 2nd, 3rd, to 2nd. Just trying to get going. Why? I have no idea...Is this bad? I hope not. Chris, could you call Tom and tell him and find out if we are in danger? Then post results here.
In the meantime, Nick and I are just about done for the day...back to UCSD tomorrow since most of the buildings were locked on Sunday when we passed through.
2 comments
Tom said it wasn't really anything to worry about. It could be a number of things, such as the carb being too rich, or you may be giving it too much gas as you're shifting. Either way, it's not something to worry about if it's running smoothly in 4th. Some minor adjustments and tweaks when you get back and it should be fine.
Just after we arrived at the SDSU campus - Nick and I were semi-wandering aimlessly - looking for the info booth and a campus map (we learned, best bet is to get a map 1st off). Nick approached a California looking dude with shades and blonde hair and said...
"Dude, like where can I get a campus map?" in a slightly dulled English Accent.
The kid replied and was really friendly about it "Make a left, the go over the pedestrian bridge and you are there, man...."
It's just kinda funny, in a good way. Nick is just such a go getter and I wish I had video of that moment. If you know Nick...you probably know what I mean.
We're there now - we took of at 3 p.m. from U of SD - drove over and we are posting BootsnAll etc. flyers on campus.
This Campus is beautiful....seems like all the buildings are new, and in the library (where I am now) there are 100's (yes 100's) of Internet connected computers.
We are in front of the Student Union building here at University of San Diego. It is November 4th and the sun is blazing like a mofo. I can only imagine what it is like during the summer. The sun felt good early in the morning, but feels truly cancerous as it touches my skin. Yeah, Nick and I are all gomped up with 45....but do more folks in SoCal get skin cancer than other areas with less sun?
Tomorrow morning, we begin our journey (very slowly and with lots of stops) back to Eugene, Oregon. We will spend the day at UC SD and UC Irvine putting up flyers for our website. Let's hope and pray that the BootBus makes it back. Peace and good night.
Today and tomorrow we will be at the University of San Diego. If you are nearby - please stop by and say hello. We are looking forward to meeting the faculty, students, and administrators of USD. Peace.
We have been posting flyers at every campus we have visited so far. I have been unsure as to the effectiveness of them though. We are not used to using so much paper and telling people about BootsnAll this way.
But, since we are re-visiting UCSD today (we were here about 48 hours ago), I can see all of our flyers are still up and many of the tags at the bottom are ripped off. That is an indication that they are being seen, and the next step is that person remembering to check out the website. So far, the results have been encouraging.
Last night we stayed with Sean's old girlfriend Heather for a second night in her new place. It was way cool of her to let us do that considering she hadn't moved in and had other guests. The first night was a fellow named Ray who came with us to 'World Curry' and last night it was Jason, an English fellow in his early 30's. Jason has been living in the US for 12 years but hasn't lost a bit of his jolly old English accent, in fact he even told me he was living a 'James Bond life style'.....yeah mate! He has a job editing some video for the new Volvo commercial in Sweden and flew out this morning. Unfortunately, before he went he tried to wash his clothes downstairs - after chucking liquid soap all over them he discovered the machine wasn't working, so had to pack his suitcase full of wet dirty clothes.
Did 007 do it like that?
2 comments
"World Curry"? What was that? Do tell, mate - inquiring minds have to know...
Ant · November 5, 2002 01:32 PM
Ant, Have you been reading the past entries? I posted a link to World Curry the other day...so you must have missed it. http://www.bootbus.com/ontheroad/archives/000217.shtml#000217
Sean and I have been commenting how San Diego is far more pleasant than LA. The traffic doesn't feel oppressive, the air quality is better and the town actually has a center. Last night we plastered San Diego State for a few hours and that campus is awesome....34,000 students and plenty of new development.
The weather here is about 75f, sunny, though cool in the shade. Sean and I both got a dose of sun yesterday after manning the booth at S.D university (a Jesuit school and situated on one side of a canyon, lovely site with elegant buildings).
Today we drove from Heather Lauer's house which is 10 blocks from the beach to a Home Depot, close to a section of Sea World on Mission Bay. As we drove over the bridge the morning fog was thick and we could hardly see the water. Coming back the blue sky has broken through and it wasn't long before the mist had totally disappeared. I really appreciate being close to the ocean for the fresh mornings, something I got used to in Santa Barbara.
San Diego has a tram system which I like. I've visited other cities with trams, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Oostend, Melbourne, SF etc and think they add something.
Wish we had more time and better internet access then we could post up more photos. Next campus crawl we'll have to work on that.
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If you guys make one more disparaging comment about LA, you're going to get spanked. Studies have shown that 99.9% of LA smog is caused by out-of-towners driving vehicles that backfire. Great seeing you in SD last weekend. Have a safe trip back!
We've met a ton of students so far on this campus crawl. They share many things in common and yet have their differnces. I find the higher level of school - USC, UCLA, Berkeley...they seem focused and more serious about their studies, they ask intelligent questions and seem to have less time for hanging around. Some of the other places we've been, SF State, Cal State Northridge, San Diego State - the whole vibe is of a younger crowd, less serious and more focused on the 'California scene'. Of course those are huge generalizations, but I do see them.
As far as people who have visited us at the booth, the most interested seem to be students who have either lived abroad, are seniors and who are planning a long overseas trip or a study abroad program. I think working with the study abroad people plus the journalism intern director for each school could be key in future.
We are on Cal-State Fullerton's campus for today and tomorrow. When we arrived, no one was here, so we just drove the bus on campus and parked it in our booth. After some negative feedback from SF State about driving on campus, we were a bit tepid, but we did it anyway. It makes it so much easier to set the booth up with everything there. Come by and say "hi" if you see us...more updates later today.
Yes, it is possible. Last night Nick and I camped just outside Anaheim in some RV park. Well, we slept in our sleeping bags, me in my tent, Nick in his bivy bag...it felt like we were in the middle of the city because we slept about 50 yards from Highway 91. Cars zooming past all night. It ended up not bothering me and I slept like a baby. We will be back there tonight since it is only a 20 minute drive to Cal-State Fullerton.
Our low energy for Fullerton was unfounded. Today we got up from our campsite, about a 20 minute drive away, hit almost freeflowing traffic, found a great breakfast deal for $2.99 and got a great booth position!!! Today has been great and people have been friendly. We've told a ton of people about BootsnAll and given them the chance to win the RTW ticket. Definitely going to come back here tomorrow.
Sean and I are looking forward to this trip winding up and I'm thinking our second week was the most taxing so far. For future trips, days off have to be scheduled in. Both of us were getting sick in LA but are okay now, thanks to some rest, dosing on Jamba Juice and garlic.
We'll probably wrap up today at 5pm as night classes go till 6.45pm and its deadville. I talked to plenty of students who were heading to London to study as well as Australia.
Fullerton is located 5 miles NE of Disneyland. It is in greater LA but also in Orange County. The terrain around here seems dry and relatively flat although California has numerous canyons.
Our campsite was on the edge of a state park, as Sean mentioned previously, but right next to a freeway so the noise of the traffic went on all night. Fortunately we were too tired to care. I kept my knife next to me all night as I slept outside and LA has more than its share of wackos.
We have experimented with different types of music playing in the BootBus while our booth is "going on" - and by far and away, Tupac Shakur seems to generate the most folks walking up to the booth. In fact, this afternoon, when the song, I guess that's why they call you bitch!, started up, so did a few more interested parties. As the song started, Nick was seen waving both hands above his head to the beat. Kinda funny to see an older dude rock out to rap. I reckon the melodic and rhythmic beat and rhymes suck people in.
Maybe it is a coincidence, maybe it's not. But people definitely like Tupac and comment about it more frequently than anything else.
Top Music for Campus Crawl 2002 - Fall. (based on a random survey and comments from booth goers)
1 - Tupac Shakur 2 - Dave Matthews 3 - U2 4 - Random Techno Stuff
We left San Diego after only 48 hours or so in the city. We really enjoyed San Diego. The sun, big highways with very little traffic, more relaxed vibe. All the Universities rocked and it was sad to leave...especially since we were heading back to L.A. After being here all last week - we were in a stoned state on the way up here, just dreading the traffic and smog. No offense if you live in L.A., but I would never ever want to live here...
Worst things about L.A. (in case you haven't heard it before)
1 - Trafffffficcccc 2 - Smog, cough cough 3 - Lakers 4 - Kobe (he's a wanna be) 5 - Shaq (fat arse, I can beat him in one-on one) 6 - Phil Jackson (I am a Bulls fan - he's a freaking traitor) 7 - Where's downtown again? 8 - Suburbs everywhere 9 - There's probably more - oh yeah 10 - Cal-State Northridge
Good things about L.A.
1 - Seth and Leigh 2 - I think a lot of movies that I like get made out here. 3 - Culturally diverse 4 - Tasty Thai (great Thai restaurant Nick and I ate at) 5 - USC 6 - Cal-State Fullerton 7 - Michael (cool vendor at Cal-State Fullerton - he bought Nick and I a smoothie as a well of welcoming us to CSFullerton - wow) 7b - the people I meet are just like me in many ways...when you get a chance to talk to them in traffic jams, they are friendly. 8 - There's probably more
When we are able to have our van in our booth (like we do here at Cal-State Fullerton), we get that question about a 1/2 dozen times per day. Other VW van owners and past owners take a special interest in our van and we usually have time to swap stories like...
"yeah, it's fun taken her up the mountain at 30 mph"
"yeah, mine eats oil of breakfest, Lunch and dinner as well"
Someone asked today,
"Do you know where one like yours might be for sale?"
"Nope I don't - I think ours is one of a kind."
Still others think that we are raffling off the van (people don't always read, heck I don't and I can see how they assume that)
"I can win that van?!?!?"
Nick and I have been taking a lot of Digital Video footage of stuff like this....hopefully one day it'll be useful and maybe a bit interesting to some folks.
1 comment
That's awesome - can you imagine winning something like that BootBus? As long as it had the pimpin sound system and our vee-dub guy on-call, hey, it could be sweet! I guess we do know another thing we can try giving away sometime though... wanna travel? Roadtrip... with your new car from BootsnAll.com! hmmmm...
The past few weeks we have spent most of our waking hours on a SoCal campus. And now that we are leaving today (after we finish our booth at Cal-State Fullerton today), I am thinking about all the cool things about being a student in SoCal.
1 - Weather - it is nice, very nice...I can't imagine having the sun and pleasant weather all year - Hell, I went to Uni in the midwest, and we had about 2 weeks of nice weather all school year...in the very beginning and at the very end.
2 - Cafes and internet access everywhere - there are coffee stops all over the place...every courtyard has a expresso bar and comfortable seating among trees. There is also internet access in almost every building. This combined with the weather make it very pleasant. Almost all students are carrying a coffee and have a relaxed demeanor about them.
3 - That's it - i can't think of any more...but despite our rantings on LA the city - being a student down here could be fun, especially if you lived on campus and did not have to deal with traffic!
We're here at Cal State Fullerton today and have had a decent responce so far. It has clouded over and started to rain so I expect us to wrap up within the next couple of hours. We're planning to drive to Santa Barbara tonight which will mean dealing with LA traffic...never fun.
"to smoke Cigarettes with Students" en espanol or something like that.
Did those joe camel ads a few years ago work that well? It is unbelievable how many students walk past our booth smoking a big phat cigarette like they are James Dean or something. Did they not see the movies that I saw in grade school with the guy that has no voice box and has to burb to talk. Or how poisonious the stuff is?
I just do not understand why they do? I am glad that they have the freedom todo so, but why?
Anytime I think of smoking, it brings me back to my old friend Brian and when we were in Collegio (spanish for college). He would comment about the girls that smoked...if I was possibly interested in one of them, he would remind me,
"Keener, why would you want to kiss an ashtray?"
2 comments
Yesterday on campus here at Fullerton I was in the chemistry department and they had a great poster on smoking. It was about 3ft by 1ft and was a giant photo of a cigarette. Along it were many small icons representing some of the chemicals in cigarettes including lead, formaldihyde, arsenic etc. There's even a chemical added that makes the absorbtion of ncotine and other chemicals work better....M
Last night we had a vote/comment about Sting and one today about Pearl Jam - so add them to the list, but still nothing beats Tupac - our booth was very busy and active during his "turn". Not sure Nick actually likes it though. 70's and 80's rock seem to be more his flavor.
The campus at Fullerton is in greater LA but also in Orange County, which developed as a bedroom community for LA. THe demographic here is white middle class with some Asians chucked in. My friend Jay spent part of his youth in Mission Viejo, a planned community to the south, where each house was part of a giant color scheme and you weren't allowed to hang washing outside. Orange County is a conservative area which always votes Republican and enjoys a higher than average per capita income. San Clemente and Irvine are also included in this area.
I remember visiting Orange Country first in 1987 and thinking it was heaven, good looking people, great weather, lovely houses. After getting to know what life was like through my buddy Jay I came to think that too much planning and fake communities aren't the best way to go either. I also remember attending a block party in Chicago where my friend said 'man look at this, its a crappy neighborhood but everyone's out here enjoying themselves....never happen in Orange County'.
Ever get the feeling someone up there is laughing at us and the point of life might to realise its all an elusion? No I'm not Hindu or Buddhist but sometimes I get that feeling.
This morning I went to brush my teeth at the campsite. There were 3 sinks, the first one had a trickle of water that I couldn't even use, the second had a cockroach in the bowl and the third had a water spurt so strong it fired out of the sink. Ha,ha,ha.....I'm starting to figure this out.
Time is 3.30pm and I'm still trying to figure out where we're going to stay tonight. My aunt Barbara who is 92 isn't well and doesn't want guests, which I can understand, my friend Tom has been out of touch in the last couple of days. THere is a State park in Carpinteria which is 10 miles south of SB. Who knows where we'll end up. Tell you about it later.
We ened up crashing on Tom Cahill's floor. It has also been pouring down rain all night. Tom is a book collector and has 1000's of them. He was up at 4:30 a.m. in the garage making sure the leaky garage did not ruin his collection. I think he saved 'em.
Pismo Beach seems to be a regular stop for us now and arriving around 1.00pm Sean I decided to to check out Eminem's first movie at the 10 screen cinema in Arroyo Grande.
I'm not into rap but it was fun to see him compete against the black people in Detroit in an underground rappers contest. Don't know how realistic this is in real life, but the movie made Detroit look like a burnt out wreck.
After the movie we ordered a quart of clam chowder from a local soup place complete with 'bread bowls'.
Arriving at our campsite its raining steadily and we're hanging around waiting for Joe who promised to be there by 5pm.
1 comment
This movie was a great watch...it follows the typical Hollywood script, but with a topic that I don't know mch about despite being a Tupac fan. I recommend it. Peace out dog.
Joe arrived and found Sean and I quietly sitting drinking a homebrew and starring at the wet ground. Within 10 minutes he has a log fire going using packets of chemical that they issue only to North Face insiders. This stuff was amazing...instant fire! We used a large circular metal fire pit and sat around, light provided by 5 kerosene lamps. Its a cool way to go and the light rain wasn't problem.
When the rain got a bit stronger we moved in Joe's VW bus and did our best to demolish a liter of Jameson's...pretty good effort I might say.
I'm going to sleep out in my bivy sack tonight and it will be interesting to see if it holds up.
When Sean I got to UCSB in Santa Barbara this morning, it was like standing in a cold shower. We walked across campus and drenched after 5 minutes. We decided to forget about it. Breakfast was a couple of cheesy bagels and a coffee from a local campus store. This was not a day to put up flyers and we have a date with Joe E, so off to Pismo Beach.
After a large breakfast in Pismo Beach at Margies diner, the guys and I decided that the only proper way to follow this up would be a large lunch in King City. Joe took us to one of his favourite restaurants which was a traditional Mexican place. The waitress was charming and provided us with hot salsa and chips while waiting for us to order. Sean was doing his best to butcher the Spanish language and was politely corrected. Joe recommended the bistek ranchero which he himself got (beans, rice, tortillas, chunks of beef in a special red sauce). I got the chili verde (pork chunks in a green sauce with the extras). Sean got some kind of salad, shrimp, french fry concoction that had a long, peculiar name. For myself I had only an inkling of what I was getting...it was cool.
As we work our way back up the CA coast, I am seeing that we, Nick and I, are creatures of habit. Having just come by these parts a few weeks ago, we have already done some of the same things on the way north, as we did on the way south.
We stopped in Pismo beach for a bowl of Clam Chowder at the Splash Cafe after doing the same on the way south. I just got back from the bog at SLO campus - I visited the exact same one and stall as on the way down. Nick and I ate at Tasty Thai in LA on the way north, just as we had done on the way south.
It's Saturday night and we are camping in King City with our buddy Joe E (he's not a rapper he's just cool). Joe knows the central coast like the back of a VW van and King City is a great place to stop on a road trip through Cali. The town is small relaxed, and serves an agricultural area. The population includes many Mexican migrant workers although that's not the only thing going on here. We spotted quite a few decent shops and a bank which shows there is some growth.
Weather is absolutely fabulous with clear blue skies, wispy clouds and brilliant colors on the side of the road from the different crops. We passed rows of what looked like grapevines and they were yellow / orange in color. Sean commented how lovely this last drive was and the campsite is cool too. In fact, we occupy the exact same spot as Joe did last week when he got towed...his firewood still around the fire pit.
We set up camp, Sean in his tent complete with inflatable mattress, Joe in his camper and me in my bivvy bag. Joe's oil lanterns were a hit once again and this evening's treats were a bottle of red wine for Joe and Guinness for Sean and I.
This was a great idea and I strongly recommend the central coast to other travelers.
I woke this morning to a drenched ground and grey sky. The hood of my sleeping bag was wet as I left a space open in my bivy sack for air, but the rest of me stayed pretty dry. The thing about camping on the road is that you just feel damp all day and things take a while to dry off. I used a bungee chord to elevate the top end of my bivy bag and give my face some clearance and it was fine, as long as you don't suffer from claustrophobia.
We're at Susan's tonight so our gear will have a better chance to dry out.
BootBus parked at 7 a.m. - we were not sure where to put our booth - it ended up right there, next to the Kiosk, outside the Student Union — not preserved
After enjoying a breakfast at Margie's diner in Pismo we drove to the campus of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo to do some postering. Sean and I got out there and banged away with our staple guns, while Joe meandered through the LA Times.
We're all right now in the library checking e-mail. Will hopefully catch some of the Ducks game on tv before heading up the coast to Redwood City.
At about 10:45 this morning just outside Salinas CA, the BootBus oil light went on full blast which is not totally unexpected considering we have gone through 15 quarts already. When Nick and I check under the bus, there was a trail of oil as we slowed and an olympic size swimming pool of oil underneath...bad news.
We put in 2 more quarts of 20W-50 (that is think oil they tell me) - and decided to give it a go....we were getting close to being under 100 miles from Berkeley and the Bus Lab (where we got the bus fixed last time and within our AAA plus membership towing plan)
15 miles later, the same thing happened....Exxon Valdez oil spill. We are really close to the 100 mile threshold so we decided to give it a go one more time. In the meantime, people are stopping left and right asking if we need help. One guy, David, (we'll highlight him in a separate blog post) changed out our fuel lines since they were also leaking and a fire threat.
We made it to just south of Gilroy, CA. and called AAA. Bus was towed to the Bus Lab in Berkeley by a guy named Jack (another entry coming soon about this guy) from Marx towing. Joe e (a god) picked us up and is putting us up for the night.
1 comment
Happy to see you made it to Berkeley. Sorry I didn't get much fixed today. If you need parts let me know, as I do have a complete VW engine sitting in my garage, that will work in a Bus if we bolt an adapter off the oil pump. If you are in next week let it known, as I will be in sf 11/18 and could visit you dudes. Au revoir.
I am going down to the BusLab in Berkeley this morning to see what the verdict is on our Bus...from talking with joe e and other VW Bus owners the consensus is:
1 - A broken seal - which would not be too bad.
2 - Cracked engine case or something like that - this is bad and would mean alternative transport for Nick and I.
3 comments
Hey - sorry about all the problems - and just before you were scheduled to stay with me! Sorry you missed the steaks and warm bed last night. But the Brady B&B is still open and serving Thai food tonite with Missy Jennifer. Due to the ucky weather, I also baked all weekend - so lots of goodies to nosh on. Hope to see you - but don't sweat it if you can't. Best of luck with the bus.
Susan · November 11, 2002 09:20 AM
It is possible to finish the trip in your Bus. Often VW engines can be purchased from junkyards cheaply. To find a suitable engine , look for a Bus built between 1968-1971 that was running , but is in the wrecking yard because it got in a auto wreck. If a Bus isn't found, find a Bug using the same criteria, and use a rear engine mount adapter that mounts rear engine carrier to the oilpump bolts. I
David · November 11, 2002 10:33 AM
I'm in SF now. Call me at TT if you want to meet up before I ride the dog home Tues night. 415-227-8600 at work. I'll be meeting Joe for happy hour/quick dinner (a burrito would make me happy) before I leave at 8ish. That said, MacArthur Park does (or did) a nice happy hour of free food and cheap local microbrews. It's at Front & Jackson. Main courses are bbq and American comfort food.
We met Marko (partner/owner of the BusLab) at his front gate when he arrived at about 9:00 a.m. this morning. After we had breakfast and gave him a chance to look at it, he found a crack in the engine case...which is not good news for the engine. The engine is dead.
So the next decision to make is:
1 - Get a re-built engine
or
2 - Buy a new one.
After discussing the pros and cons of each and Marko making a few phone calls, we decided on the re-built engine. It should be ready by Tuesday (tomorrow) afternoon. This said, we should be at Stanford on Wednesday. The Campus Crawl (which really had turned into a crawl) continues.
As mentioned in the previous post, Marko is a partner/owner of the Buslab in Berkeley, CA - on 2036 Blake Street just of Shattuck.
Stuff about the BusLab: It was just started a few months ago by Marko and Steve. Both seem to know a shitload about VW Buses. Heck, Steve already fixed our starter issue a few weeks back. Both of them are entrepreneurs and giving it a good go.
Marko: He is like 6 ft 3 inches and built like a brickhouse. Marko is natively German and you can hear just the slightest German accent while talking to him...but his American English is so good with "Dude" and other slang sayings - that one can barely notice. He is very much into health as I saw him snacking on raw raspberries and green peas from a peapod while he worked. He probably wouldn't look built/fit if he was chucking down Big Macs and fries. Maybe there is a lesson for me there...
Other Stuff: I don't know that much more about him, cuz he was trying to sell me an engine and we did not get personal...but I do sense he and Steve are trustworthy guys and hard workers. He also gives sound advice re: the VW. He layed out our options and when we asked him direct questions, by golly we got a straight answer. It is comforting to skip the bullshit when needed.
As we were waiting outside the BusLab today we noticed a stream of young people entering the office next door. They were volunters for a Greenpeace operation. It seemed as though each one of them had some kind of message on their shirts or other symbols of rebellion (which isn't all bad...I remember a message on Ant's machine that says 'without deviation from the norm progress cannot be achieved'). Anyway, later on campus we saw the usual signs and messages that sprout in a counter culture environment. Today was Veteran's Day so the university was mostly closed but it's Berkeley and those folks don't go away.
Reading today's paper I noticed a story about the arrest of the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) members from the 70's (they kidnapped Pattie Hearst and did some other unpleasant things). The thought went through my mind that Berkeley has such a history of political demonstration and activism that I can see how some people could get swept up in the whole thing, especially in the 60's / 70's where there was rampant drug use and anti-war demos. So strange to be here when those people are getting re-arrested. One guy is actually being brought from South Africa for a new trial. The members are in their mid-50's now and are mostly reformed, however they killed a person and there is no statute of limitation on murder.
Tomorrow we'll take the camera downtown and capture some pictures of what's going on. We saw some 'in your face' panhandlers today which we'll share with you all soon.
Sean and I strolled down the street from the BusLab in Berkeley to get some lunch. Our restaurant of choice, Tuk Tuk, a Thai place. For those who don't know, a tuk tuk is the 3 wheeler vehicle commonly used in parts of Asia for local transportation. There was actually a real tuk tuk parked inside the front door which made Sean and I discuss the possibility of BootsnAll getting one for us in Bali. They're cheap, fast, have a roof and are safer than a scooter. Plus having one would be wonderful publicity for us locally. We see. This one was a beauty though.
2 comments
I would like to have information about a tuk tuk 3 wheeler. I�m in Chile and i think this is a good market for that.
Maurice Goudie · September 3, 2003 10:44 AM
Hey Maurice, If you are in Santiago, there is a clown named Tuk Tuk that you should check out. Not sure if she is a 3-wheeler.
Well, Marko and Paul from the buslab kicked some booty and stayed late to finish putting in our new motor. We finally drove away at around 8 p.m. and the bus drove like never before.
Before: Tough to put it into gear
Now: Easy to put in gear
Before: The engine screamed through the gears.
Now: We can barely hear it
Before: Clutch was sticky and a pain in the arse
Now: Smooth as silk
Basically, we don't have to sweat as much while driving this thing. I am happy and going to bed at the Brady's now. Very tired....Stanford tomorrow.
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So after all was said and done, what did it cost to put in a new re-built engine???? I used to own a '71 VW Van so I'm just curious! Happy trails boys! oldhippy
Jeff & Susan Brady are letting us into their lives for another short stay and it's so cool to be able to relax in time for our last shot at Stanford here today.
Susan kindly programmed the coffee machine to be ready at around 5.45am....our predicted coffee drinking time and I can smell it now.
We will be out of here and on our way to campus soon. Stanford is close to Redwood City and it's a pleasant campus.
A few days ago I thought I lost my hat, you know the black and blue warm one that I found on the bike path and smelt like a bum. It is very comfortable and I'd thought I'd seen it for the last time.
Luckily it was hiding in my pack so I'm all smiles on the hat front.
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Glad you found it, Nick. Things just would not have looked right if you weren't wearing that hat in the icebox that is our office during the winter (not that you'll be here for much of it).
Stanford is the most tech savvy and secure school we have visited yet. This morning, we followed a maintainence truck underneath the gate so we could drive our bus next to the bookstore where our booth is today. This was only after trying every other way possible and coming up empty handed.
Just to get into the library, I had to register on this computer which automatically prints out a regio sheet so that I can enter. Very fancy, fast and efficient. I am impressed.
We have met a few students already and there seem to be a lot of folks that are way smarter than me. One guy was getting his masters in "Financial Mathematics" and was already wearing a Morgan Stanley (MS) t-shirt. I can see the MS folks drolling at the thought of this young man crunching numbers for them
Nick and I have our last booth/table of the 2002 Fall Campus Crawl today at Stanford University. We are both a bit tired after having gotten to bed around midnight and up at 5:30 - surely we can hack it for one more day. Maybe we will meet some famous Stanford Alum - like Jerry Wang, that guy started Yahoo from his dorm or something. When I think of Stanford, I think of him, smart people, and how their swim team seems to win lots of NCAA titles. Hmmm.
After a 12 hour day at Stanford, Nick and I arrived at the Brady's to Rib's from Misha's. Along with salad, potato salad, and corn bread, it was a real treat. Thanks so much!
We also got to watch a show called The Bachelor. After watching this show, we are gonna do something similiar at BootsnAll. Except the Bootboyz are the prize. We'll start taking applications for the girls shortly.
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The ribs were something special for sure...huge with a spicy sauce just the way you want them. It was our second dinner of the evening but that didn't stop us from getting into them. The Bachelor was a show I had not seen before but all I can say is this is tailor made for the women at Travelers Tales. There's one guy and a whole posse of chicks and he's sucking face with all of them then saying h
Nick · November 14, 2002 08:44 AM
Can we have ribs for lunch? After all, I still have Sean's Visa card and I know a good barbecue here in Richmond. Probably a bit more authentic than the so-called barbecue served in "shallow Alto"
Joe · November 14, 2002 09:34 AM
Joe - now I am a really nice person, most of the time, but am a terrible enemy to have. Don't be slammin my ribs. First of all, I do not live in shallow Alto. I live in Redwood City, a diverse town with some of the best Mexican food on the Peninsula. Secondly, Michas smokes their ribs for hours, makes their own sauce, and they are to die for - just ask any of the 8 people who porked out on them la
Susan · November 14, 2002 09:55 AM
"some of the best Mexican food on the Peninsula" whoa! Now THERE'S an award! How are the pom frittes with aoili? (heh!) OK, so you live in Redwood City, not Palo Alto, so you are off the hook for now. But watch your step, or I will send back the Boots Boys to stay with you FOR A WEEK!
Joe · November 14, 2002 10:05 AM
Hey that's pommes frites to you Joe. And the boys are welcome any ol' time. I say this, just in case I want to go to Bali and have a place to stay. Seems only fair that I should open up my home to them if they are willing to do the same. Maybe we can all compare culinary oddities in Bali with them sometime.
"Can you believe we we'll be home tomorrow night?"
I said, "Yes" while knocking on wood.
Now that our last booth is complete, and we have one flyering engagement left, we feel a real, this is almost over feeling. The past few days Nick and I have been running through some of the funnier moments, and a day by day breakdown of what we just went through as well as ranking of the schools. We'll share some of this early next week...So stay tuned.
Yesterday afternoon at around 4.20pm Sean and I were getting ready to pack up when an Asian student named Jai appeared and asked us if we would like to speak at the East Asian house at 6pm. He told us that we could talk about certain travel related issues, health, ticket deals etc but could not hand out any promotional stuff.
So at 5pm we pack up and drive to the place at 5.30pm. THe house had a security system which meant we had to wait for other people to get in. After finding Jai's room we got to talk to him, he was napping and didn't bother to get up, telling us to hang out in the cafeteria. The evening's food was being prepared and not wanting to waste a good opportunity Sean approached the people in charge and said "Can we eat?" They were a bit nervous about this and Sean replied "We're speaking here and would like to eat. Is that okay?" After being told it's not really open to outsiders Sean persisted, "We'd like to eat, do you mind?" I was proud of him - he didn't give up and we walked away with a plate of fish and rice, pretty good.
6pm rolled around and people sat down to eat. Jai came in and ignored us, sitting at the table with several other Asian students. At about 6.20pm he comes over to me and says, "You can start now if you want". I asked where we would be and he told me to stand in front of the main table and go for it. Looking around I saw 20-25 young Asian students all getting into their dinner....is this kid crazy?
After a moment's discussion Sean and I made a speedy exit in the revamped Bootbus. Thanks for the fish.
This morning I'm thinking of going down to McDonalds, standing up in the middle of the place and start talking about independent travel, what do you think?
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Go for it, Nick!!!!
Mary · November 14, 2002 09:38 AM
Maybe we could start a new lecture circuit! I often deliver impassioned pleas for sanity in the local taquerias.
Nick and I enjoyed a beatiful day on our drive from Chico State to Eugene, OR. We were going through Shasta National Forest at dusk and the light was sensational. During the 9 hour drive, Nick and I maybe talked for about 5 minutes of it. A peaceful drive it was and great to be back and welcomed on our arrival by Chris, Ant, Diane, Jen, and Lyndsey.
We've just driven from Chico, home of the lovely Alex Brady and her sidekick Ashley, through Shasta back to Eugene. Sean and I shared the driving with me starting off in the daylight ( smart as my eyesight isn't the best at night ) and Sean guiding us through thick fog in northern Cal / Oregon.
I think we were both mentally winding down and reflecting on the trip on the drive and were rewarded with a brilliant sunset in the Shasta area. The fading light created a lovely array of colors.
He is a tour guide and owner/operator of Extranomical Adventures - Previously, he worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers but decided to screw it all and started his own travel company - He bought a airport shuttle bus and currently does tours to Yosemite, Wine Country and Muir Woods. The way he has it organized, they stay in an Hostel - he is one may show, so he has to take orders on his cell phone - he told Nick that he has handed the phone to a customer for help more than once - nothing like a current customer having fun to help book your trip. He is also planning on writing a guide to Sonoma for BootsnAll - so stayed tuned...you'll hear more from Rodrigo.
The Campus Crawl continues today - Chris, Nick and I are driving up to Portland, Oregon in the BootBus for Thanksgiving (Ant is staying back in Eugene). On the way up this morning, we will stop by OSU and plaster flyers.
