The Richardson VW Bus Camper

Just the other day I was thinking about my many journeys during my adult life. Thanks to the US Navy I've seen countries in the Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Africa. These trips were made on Aircraft Carriers and Heavy Cruisers.

After being associated with a Member of the Ruling Family of Qatar (Middle East) during my University years (after the Navy), I was invited to Qatar for a visit. I've been in The Middle East and Africa ever since.

Over the years I've traveled to Europe, Africa, CIS countries, The Middle East, China and of course back to the USA for my sometimes short annual leave. By myself on several occasions for business and with my brother for pleasure, I visited Russia and India.

Then I remembered where my first travel opportunities came from, and what were my real first experiences in traveling, at the time, what seemed like far away places. We were all very young and I believe the year was 1966 and 1967 or 67-68, somewhere around there - I'll be corrected. It was summer vacation for my father who being a teacher had the whole summer to do what he wanted so long as he could afford it, which for most people in those days would not have resulted in much with the limitations of a teachers salary (maybe even today I don't know). My father and mother had a knack in finding ways to do things on a grandiose scale that other people would not have thought of, it did mean however that you wouldn't do doing things the way other people did.

My father believes in education through experience, sort of like force feeding, and he and my mother thought that we should see and experience as much as he could expose us to - actually they had to bring us along because nobody else wanted to waste their summer on us. We had books all around us, art, saw documentaries and overheard all sorts of discussions (arguments) about so many scholarly topics - we spent countless hours in the public library. For us in our house, in the car and everywhere where there was potential storage space, we surrounded by educational props, equipment and various stages and forms of art and the supplies thereof.

We (maybe only the bigger boys) were ecstatic to learn that dad bought a camper, well not really what the average American would consider a camper but it had a sink (mostly no water in the tiny tank), a refrigerator (cooler mostly didn't work) and a portable toilet (mom had a really bad experience on a bumpy road). The seats in the rear folded down into a bed for 4 boys. I can't remember where Daphne slept, I think with dad and mom.

The only really cool thing was the huge upside down boat on the top that somebody bastardized into a tent holder. When I first saw the thing I though for sure we were getting a boat. When dad cranked it up and I saw it wobble jerking up little by little until a dark green/brown canvas was exposed hanging drably until it was obvious that it was not a boat, but a lean-too tent - needless to say the exuberation vanished. I was thinking for a second that we were on a course to start competing with our neighbors who had a Cadillac, pickup truck, boat and a trailer. At least we had a bus with a tent on top and they didn't.

Those were boy kid feelings of wanting to be like the Meyers (Jones). Now, I look back with real joy and pride at having been a pioneer in a great quest as my dad, mom, sister, me and my bothers trekked across America - not spending a dime on a hotel and hardly eating at any restaurants. I wish I can remember exactly where we went, maybe my dad/mom or sister can trace it out on a map and put it in a blog - I have conflicting memories.

To the best of my recollection on the first trip we traveled around the West Coast, Mexico then Mid-West and home, on the next summer trip we went via the Mid West, East Coast then East Canada. On the third trip, me and Laird didn't go, we went to summer camp, I think dad, mom and maybe Daphne got tired of us - maybe we were difficult? I think they went to Canada and Alaska? Camp was fun - other memories maybe to write about later!

Well the image above I made using Google Sketchup (I borrowed the VW bus and made the camper) Then I rendered the image with Kerkythea a free rendering engine.

I know somewhere we have thousands of slides of our trip, I know because we had to watch them so many times, dad loved his gadgets (an automatic[control on a wire that had a mind of its own!] slide projector). Maybe my sister will locate the slides and photos (dad didn't believe in real photos only slides - I think they cost less, were smaller and required the famous slide projector!) and we can digitize them and put them on Photobucket for all the family to see.

The most memorable moments (that are more vivid in detail at this time) on one of those trips was:

1. The Ferry Ride - Made me join the Navy
2. Visiting Kennedy Space Center - Made me not be an astronaut or rocket scientist
3. The Riverboat Play - I liked the boat
4. The Mosquito's in Canada - they sounded like they had small irritating horns
5. The emptiness of Carlsbad Lands - and the fact (later) that dad was lost
6. Mexico and Pepsi - the only time we got a branded soda (dad usually got Shasta - cheaper)
7. Portable Toilets are also in certain situations Collapsible Toilets - Mom will tell you all about it
8. Daphne can make a chocolate bar last too long!
9. I hate to wait ... did a lot of it in the bus when dad and mom didn't want to get embarrassed by us
10. Love to put my hand out of the bus window and fly it like a kite

I'll be interested in what my sister and brothers remember.