Morgane and I arrived in Phoenix and after visiting with Ghis’s sister, Michelle, we headed for Buses by the Bridge, a large gathering of VW buses and Westies at Lake Havascu, Arizona. We didn’t spot any buses until we got pretty close.
Once we arrived, we paid $25 for the weekend and we drove around looking for a place to park. We followed the road onto the beach, but at the end of the beach, we got stuck and couldn’t get back to the road! Lots of people offered to push, but I thought it was an excellent place to park.
Shortly after, a red bus tried to do the same thing and got stuck. We immediately recognized the bus as belonging to Jason and Angela and Bode, another family on a year-long trek that we had been trying to meet up with for ages. Maybe it was the horns on front that gave it away! We convinced them to park beside us.
I made sure to walk around and get a look at all the buses. It made us feel very luxurious in our Eurovan.
There were lots of activities organized over the weekend including a bouncy obstacle course for the kids, a raffle, a chili cook-off, and various silly games. Lots of colourful people, too!
There was lots of tie-dye and people selling stuff – anything from VW parts to VW pins and t-shirts and toys.
We met up with some people from the Wet Westies group that Ghis had chatted with on-line. I heard amazing stories from them about the incredible community shared by VW owners and enthusiasts.
Sometimes we ate food cooked up by a local fundraising group and sometimes we shared with our neighbours. One morning, Ghis cooked up buckwheat pancakes for our new friends.
There was always lots going on. Above, a bunch of brave swimmers enter the lake. They were all wearing tie-dyed bathing trunks!
At night we could hear the merrymaking going on into the night, but everyone was happy and respectful and we managed to get to sleep fairly early.
This morning we left and most of the buses were leaving, too. Many needed a push to get going! Most of the old ones had bumper stickers that said “I am flooring it!” or “Are you still behind me?” I guess it takes a special person to drive an old bus. But seeing one that’s been taken care of is enough to make anyone fall in love.
