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Shane Socash’s restored VW camper at Bulli
Brigade 2012. Photo courtesy Aaron Joslin
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There’s
nothing like an America concert and a vintage VW bus gathering to bring back
your high school dreams.
I
used to lie in my room blaring Ventura Highway on my cassette player and
picturing myself in a VW camper cruising the California coast with my hair
blowing in the wind.
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America at the Florida Theater in March
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The
band America sang that song of nostalgia and dozens more a few weeks ago at the
charming Florida Theater in Jacksonville. If the audience was any indication,
baby boomers don’t need much prompting to pretend they’re back in the day. But
you could tell we’d aged 40 years…the line for the men’s room was even longer
than the line for the women’s. The good news is that America’s Gerry Beckley
and Dewey Bunnell have aged well. Despite the tragic loss of Dan Peek in 2011, they
put on a great concert with a tight band that’s been with them for decades.
I
had been humming Ventura Highway since the concert, and pretending my Kia Rondo
was a 1965 VW bus as I cruised up I-95 driving my daughter’s carpool. Then, it
happened. Vintage VW buses started to pull into town last Friday night. I saw
one go by, and that was cool. Then I saw another a few minutes later, and that
was synchronicity. Then two more went by, and it was getting weird. Turns out,
they were headed for Francis Field in the middle of downtown St. Augustine.
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Vintage VW buses take over Francis Field in St.
Augustine, Florida, last Saturday at the Bulli Brigade show. Photo courtesy Robert Kennedy, as seen on Bulli Brigade
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It
was the 1st Annual Bulli Brigade Spring Meet, stopping by before heading
in a “carabus” down to Daytona Beach the next day for the larger No Dough Bus
Show. The Bulli Brigade is “the USA’s oldest and East Coast’s largest
1967 and earlier VW bus meet and parts swap,” according to its Facebook page.
They usually meet in St. Petersburg, so this was a first for them and the
ancient city.
I had no idea they were coming, but this being St. Augustine,
home of the grapevine that grows like kudzu, the texts and calls started to
pour in. The first came from my friend Amy, who texted, “Field by my house full
of double slug buggies...check it out!” My last alert of the day was a call
from my friend Laura about 6 pm. “I’m driving on Shore Dr. and there are about 10
old VW vans in a front lawn having a party!” In between these much-appreciated
news flashes, over 75 “splittys” took over Francis Field, where I usually walk
my dog. (VW busses from 1967 and before get that name from the distinctive split-screen
windshield.)
The sad part is that I was out of town and didn’t get to see the
Bulli Brigade before it rolled south. But I love that the group exists and I
know the show and caravan made people smile all day long. My search for pictures
of the event led me to Aaron Joslin, a creative and talented photographer who happens to love old VWs. His shots make
them into pieces of art.
Aaron was kind enough to let me use one of his photographs at the top of this post. It’s an amazing vintage camper at the 2012 Bulli Brigade show that belongs to Shane Socash of St. Petersburg. The VW is original right down to the
accessories.
If you want tiny living and classic travel,
you can’t do much better than a vintage VW camper. So now when I drive carpool,
I picture that my Kia is Shane’s turquoise gem, I’m on the Ventura Highway, America
is in the back of the van singing and alligator lizards are in the air…
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Yes, I still have the album
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“Ventura highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger than moonshine
You’re gonna go I know
’Cause the free wind is blowin’ through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air, in the air”
– America, 1972
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