Jarrad and I spent one more afternoon shooting pics of the bus. This time we went to a local airport after Jarrad got permission from a VW enthusiast executive there to shoot some photos out by the planes. Nah, these weren't planes, these were more like jets from The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. We were cracking up....here we were, 2 amateurs, snapping pictures like crazy with jets worth millions next to his bus. It was a hoot! We were very careful and respectful and had an escort at all times. (He was snapping pics with his cell phone and doing video with it, too!)
And then we heard a roar as a Coast Guard plane rolled up to it's hangar. The Coastie's jumped out and began washing the plane. How cool was that to be able to watch them at work?
Planes were taking off on the runway directly behind the bus. And then we found out why all the guys in dark suits with earbuds in their ears and stern expressions had been all over the lobby of the building where we parked.
See the jet behind the VW's front windows? We weren't allowed to show the numbers on the tail so I obscurred them behind the VW. It was Governor Scott of Florida leaving to go back to Tallahassee! If I had known at the time we could have smiled and waved....giggle....wonder if he was looking at Jarrad's pride and joy?
Oh, yes, the specialty license plates and the Department of Homeland Security sticker on the big black car parked next to mine should have been the tipoff. Duh!
And I thought you should see the guy who masterminded it all, Jarrad himself. Hope you enjoyed seeing the results of two and a half years of his hard work. He has estimated that he put over 1400 hours into the restoration........ha! It has to be more than that. Many is the day that I spoke to him and he said he had been up until 3 or 4am working in his one car garage. Yes, I said one car garage. He did all of this in an itty bitty garage he shares with his wife's washer and dryer. He even hung huge sheets of heavy duty plastic at one point and taped them together to create a giant spray booth! I'm not kidding.
I guess it's true, where there's a will, there's a way. And Jarrad found a way to make it all happen. He sends out many thanks to his patient wife, Dawn, who put up with hearing all the details about this bus from start to finish. She's been so encouraging and supportive of Jarrad's "little project".
Here's the link I promised you in the last post.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1554268
There are pics there as well as two you-tube videos to view where he describes the details all you guys were looking for regarding the engine and the types of components that went into the bus. Hope you've enjoyed reading about the saga of the bus.
On to other things,
Debbie
