So You Owned a VW Bus

Take one last ride with us as we take questions from our listeners and past interviewees in the series finale. 

Does a bus need a name? How did our bus, Adie, get her name? Can you rename a bus? We get to all those questions and more in this episode. 

Way back in the summer of 2021, one month before embarking on the trip of a lifetime in our 1979 VW Bus, we called into the flagship show of Happy Productions—a Wednesday night program called The Happy Trucker Show. Now, with the trip behind us, we decided to revisit the interview and run some commentary on our past selves. 

Back in 2018, James and Miranda put their bus, Adie, up for sale on eBay. An unwitting guy from Ohio named Ryan Ireland would buy this bus and later produce a podcast called, “So You Owned a VW Bus.” It's only fitting that the penultimate episode of the series be with with Miranda and James as they talk about their journey with Adie and the guy from Ohio who bought it. 

The VW bus runs on gasoline and luck, but the inhabitants are often fueled by coffee (as is the case with us). Before we got into the VW part of the interview with Carson we geeked out about coffee and fine wristwatches. And, we gotta say, this guy knows his stuff. 

Carson is a professional musician with a story to share. For him, the VW bus is an emotional journey that has come to define his relationship with his father. 

Bonnie Larsen bought her bus as her marriage of many years was ending. Working on the bus and becoming part of the greater VW community helped her heal and move on, she says. As part of her journey, she opened up an online store, ToolMomStore.com   

Amanda and Matt Hakola have owned a few buses before finally finding their current bus and landing in Oklahoma. Their bus is also the mothership for their business Ragtag Resilience—an approach to stabilizing food systems by doing a lot of little things that add up to change. (They farm their .15 acres and grow lots of amazing foods to feed their family and sell at market.) Their business caught the eye of Leonardo DiCaprio's personal chef during on-location filming  of Martin Scorsese's “Killers of the Flower Moon" and led to Amanda and Matt catering the film's wrap party. 

Pat invited us out to camp at his place near the last stand of tall grass prairie in Kansas, where has been working on a novel narrated by a VW bus—an imagined memoir of his VW bus which was salvaged from a field and filled with clues about its past life. 

Join us for the last leg of our 49-state adventure. This season we meet Jarah, the Linnertime DJ at Happy Productions as she makes plans to take her bus on the road. We stop to meet Pat, an author who wrote a memoir told from the point of view of his bus. In Oklahoma, we sat down with Amanda and Matt, two local food advocates who kept Leonardo DiCaprio stocked with fresh healthy foods while he filmed “Killers of the Flower Moon.” In Minnesota we finally caught up to Bonnie, a road warrior whose bus provided her with escape and healing after a divorce. Carson shared the heartbreak of his family's bus—a story about addiction and anger, recovery and, yeah, even trombones. Then, in the closing week of our 14 month journey, we met up with Miranda and James, the original owners of our bus, Adie. They even brought along Miranda's dad, Ken, who worked on Adie a lot over the years. And finally—there's us. Miracle and I sat down (after some urging from our interviewees over the past year) and shared our thoughts on this wild, wonderful time we've had producing this series and, as Geoff from season 3 would say, living the dream. 

Oh, the Sullivans! We love these people. Jarah is the daughter of Emma and Shawn Sullivan, our friends and podcast syndicators at Happy Productions. Jarah is super cool and is carrying on the family legacy in more than one way. You should check out her band, Dellwood, and definitely listen to her radio show Linnertime, which airs on Happy Productions from 2-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. 

Jesse "VW" Marshall is back for a third episode. We chewed the fat and then Jesse boiled it down into and put it into his Vanagon. He has his own method for making biofuel and walks us through his process. 

Colin Kellogg of Itinerant Air-cooled fame has logged more miles on the road than most humans. When you live on the road full-time in your VW bus, you sometimes bed down in strange places and make friends (and enemies) out of your nighttime visitors. 

VW people are by nature obsessive people. Maybe obsessive isn't the right word. We are driven, passionate, and—well, obsessive, might be the right word. Oftentimes, we have interviews where our VW bus owner reveals they have another passion. Perhaps the best example of this is Birding By Bus. Marc and Eliana are professional birders who had so many stories to tell, we thought it was only right we bring them back for a detour episode that focuses on birding. And this detour might hold the record for our farthest fetched episode: they will take us all the way to Attu, the most remote island in the United States. 

Tim from Tok. Is there any other way we could cap off this season than with our Alaskan road savior? We were in sorry shape when we were towed into Tok. And we were complete strangers to Tim, yet he and his wife Maria were welcoming. They shared their time, expertise, food, and wisdom with us while Miracle recuperated from her long-standing injury and the bus was repaired. Before we got back on the road, Tim was gracious enough to share his memories of coming to Alaska and finding his split window bus. He weaves in his philosophy and also outlines the laws of the land here in the far north. 

Zach Wallace has just about the coolest fleet of vehicles in all of Alaska—a squad of Vangons, including a Syncro. Luckily for those who travel north to Anchorage, he rents them out. Last Frontier Westys has been in business for only a couple years, but his love for VWs has been around for, well, generations. 

You've probably heard of Birding By Bus—the personal endeavor by birders Marc and Eliana that turned into a world-traveling business. We had a chance to catch up with these two in Wasilla, Alaska, and hear all about the start of Birding by Bus and how it became an online sensation. And, if you're anything like me (a real dunce when it comes to our avian friends), you'll probably learn quite a bit. 

Jeremiah Woods is the owner and operator of a bed and bus-fest called Camping in the Woods. Each rental unit is a decked out VW bus themed around a movie or an idea. Located in Golden, British Columbia, the scenery is stunning. It's no wonder Jeremiah was able to secure a sizable check from the Canadian version of Shark Tank called Dragon's Den. 

George is a young guy with enough stories to fill a lifetime thanks to his Vanagon… and his Subaru. Even though he lives and works in Homer, his adventures have taken him south to Mexico and everywhere in between. We caught him on his break at Buttwhackers just long enough to catch a few of his stories. 

Pete Wedin is a fishing boat captain and guide who let us camp out at his place in Homer, Alaska, for a couple of nights. We all became fast friends. We sat down with Pete over a halibut dinner (excellent by the way) and a couple of cocktails. Following in the long tradition of seafarers also being experts storytellers, Pete regaled us with tales of the bus he owned forty years ago when he first came to Alaska as well as his current project—a bay window he is restoring. 

You hear us mention the sponsor who paid for our healthcare whilst on the road, Jan Michalski Foundation, at the end of most episodes. Who are they and why in the world would they sponsor a podcast about VW buses? Plus, you'll hear about how many times our healthcare coverage came in handy. 

About a year before we launched season one of So You Owned a VW Bus, we interviewed Rajan Kose—a close friend and one-time Volkswagen school bus driver in Colorado. 

Christie and Jason Brown own Our Vintage Photo Bus, a Folsom, California-based operation. The road to launching their business hasn't been easy, but neither of them ever had doubts—even after a dangerous highway wreck. 

Jennifer and Jonn's VW story is a love story. High school sweethearts and now husband and wife, their mutual love of VWs of all types has been present ever since their first date when Jennifer pushed her way into Jonn's heart…

John Hammond is a professional podcaster whose bus doubles as his studio. He took the time to sit down with us to talk about podcasting, bus life in California, and, of course, the history of his Vanagon, Guapo. 

Greta (AKA Mad Maxine) has been all over the west in her grandfather's Syncro. Adventure runs in her family. Listen along while she tells us the history of what is quite possibly the world's coolest family heirloom. 

Jason Hall is a veteran with quite possibly the most elegant bus we have ever seen in person. Take a ride with Jason as he tells us about the personal journey he took to get the bus and where he plans to take it. 

Erik Schmid is the founder, owner, and operator of Red Bus Brewing in Folsom, California. But even more importantly, he owns a VW bus. The story of how he started a brewery, how he came to own a bus, and why his marketing is amazing are all intertwined. 

When we interviewed Shawn and Emma Sullivan at Happy Productions, they told us the story of how they acquired their bus (who is now also the Happy Productions logo), Cosmo. The story was simply too long for our regular podcast, but it is a story that needs to be shared. 

We were passing through Escalante, Utah, and met a young couple, Ian and Kaitlyn. Even though they had a sweet home in the heart of this mountain town, they had previously lived in their 1986 Syncro. We got to hear all about how they managed living in the bus—through turbulent weather and life circumstances. 

A guy with so many stories we had to make a second episode! You already know Jesse from the first episode of this season where he talked about leaving his job as a mortgage banker to start the world's first mountain bike shuttle service called Coyote Shuttle. When we arrived at Coyote Shuttle, a gentleman was talking with Jesse about a welding job. Jesse is Moab's go-to guy for fixes and emergencies. In fact, during this interview, he worked on our bus… 

We sat down with Paul Austin, the owner and operator of Austin Automotive in Canon City, Colorado. Even though Austin Automotive doesn't specialize in air cooled VWs like our bus, Paul is more than knowledgable about bay windows like ours. He was willing to spend an afternoon giving our bus the once over before we climbed our way across the Rocky Mountains. 

Buckle up, folks! This is a good ride. As we crisscrossed California, we stopped by the GoWesty campus in Los Osos to interview the founder and president, Lucas Valdes. It's hard to imagine, but at one point in time, Lucas' VW operation was considerably smaller. Lucas talks about how he started in the VW world, what it is like to grow a business, and some of the adventures he's had along the way. 

This episode is really special. When we started out on our 49 state adventure, we received a lot of encouragement. But then we got a message from a woman Ryan used to work with at children's services some fifteen plus years ago. Her name is Sally Doyle. Even though Ryan and Sally worked together for years, he had missed an important detail about Sally's life—she owned a VW bus.

We met Eric through the old VW network. I read a review of Jerry Steimel's book Chasing Zorba in Vintage Voice magazine, so I looked up the editor, who happened to be Eric. I dropped him a line with a story idea. Before long I was writing an article for Vintage Voice. When it was all said and done, Eric said, hey if you're ever out in Las Vegas, let me know. We sat down with Eric and learned quite a bit about what it takes to be a VW photographer. 

We were cruising around Moab, Utah, when I spied a stretch Vanagon parked on a side street. The side of it read Coyote Shuttle. A google search and a couple phone calls later and we were sitting down with Jesse Marshall (his wife calls him Jesse “VW” Marshall), the owner and operator of Coyote Shuttle. Even though I had called to get the story about the Vanagons, he had lots more stories…

Our favorite chef is back to share with us the story of how he became a chef. It's hilarious and heartwarming and sweet and savory. 

Join us for some detours from our usual VW bus talk. We begin each episode by asking people to say and spell their names so we can accurately record it for the podcast and blog. Sometimes it is harder than you think. Also, Nellie has a story about a horse. 

We met Jennifer and Alice in Austin, Texas, and they were both eager to tell us about their VW buses and what the VW bus community means to them, but the real story was how these two became fast friends over their mutual love for Vanagons. 

Xavier Laurentio is a larger than life, colorful character. He's been a bodyguard, an actor and is now a bonafide chef in New Orleans. We met up with Xavier at his home in NOLA and he told us about leaving his home country of Spain for the States, his travels and adventures across the US in his first beloved VW bus, what it was like to lose everything to Hurricane Katrina, and his future plans for his new bus. 

Jaymi Millard, VW collector and bassist for the band Slaughter (yes, that Slaughter) loves pink guitars, has a pink beard, and has a VW bus story or two to tell. We caught up with Jaymi in his Tennessee kitchen to hear a few tales from the hundreds of buses he's owned.

You might be surprised to find out that before David Dotson was Dolly Parton's right hand man for her nonprofit, he was a VW bus owner. We had the good fortune of interviewing David at the Dollywood Foundation Headquarters in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (in what would be the last interview ever conducted in that building). Tune in to hear David's VW bus story and about the important work he's done as CEO of the Dollywood Foundation, including The Imagination Library.

We connected with Jason Vogen, of OldVolksTV, as well as VolksAmerica and VolksMania magazines, in Austin, Texas right around the time that Volkswagen was premiering the new ID Buzz at SXSW. Jason was there and got the inside scoop. Hear how people reacted to the newest member of the VW bus family and also about Jason's own VW bus obsession, his dream bus, and the close-knit VW community in Austin.

Remember Ben from last season? He road tripped across the US with his best friends Tom, Ed, Tim, Joe (and not-best-friend, Pete)? We were able to catch up with Tom, the ringleader and planner of the trip (now an acclaimed author), and he told us more about how the trip came to be, how he remembers the trip, and what it means to have a group of life-long best friends.

What do you do when your bus breaks down at a gas station in Sopchoppy, Florida and it's dark and getting colder by the minute and you know no one in the area? You go home with a stranger named Brian Blackwell (nicknamed Blacky). Well… that's what we did anyway. We met Blacky when he picked us up on the side of the road, but learned a lot more about him when he offered to let us stay in his house for an entire week. Turns out, Blacky is an avid VW collector, runs a wakeboard ministry, and a successful hunting business. Listen to hear all about Blacky's super-sweet VW collection, but also what would drive him to offer refuge to two total strangers.

Before we even set off on this journey, Leslie Lentz, reached out to us to say that her VW bus shared the same name as our rescue dog and faithful canine companion, Jolene… But could we make it all the way to Ontario, Canada for the interview? We could when Leslie also agreed to be our “quarantine address” in Canada. Hear about Leslie's bus, Jolene, and how Leslie's VW bus connects her to the music festival scene, BusFusion and a larger community. 

After staying several days at McIntyre's Home for Wayward Buses and Wandering Souls in Miami, Florida, we finally convinced Ian McIntyre—VW bus enthusiast, artist, friend to all, dog whisperer extraordinaire, and all around renaissance man—to sit down with us for an interview. Tune in to hear why Ian created this home-away-from-home in paradise for fellow travelers. 

Colin Kellogg, the Itinerant Air-Cooled Mechanic, is a hard person to catch up with, having zig-zagged over 300,000 miles across the US in his bus teaching other VW bus owners how to repair and maintain their own VWs. As luck would have it, we were able to meet up with Colin in sunny Florida and he was kind enough to share his story with us. Buckle up. It's a wild ride, with a lot of twists and turns, but we promise you'll learn something. 

The bassist from the band Slaughter. A bona fide New Orleans chef who lost everything in Katrina. A Canadian whose bus shares the same name as our dog. The CEO of the Dollywood Foundation. The Itinerant Air-cooled guy and his friend who runs McIntyre's Home for Wayward Buses and Wandering Souls. A pastor who owns a wakeboarding ministry and took us in for a week. Two friends who met through their VW club. One of the guys who runs OldVolksTV and saw the new ID Buzz when it premiered. Season five is jammed packed with stories and drops on April 18, 2022.Oh, and remember Ben from last season—the guy who road tripped with four of his buddies? Well, we caught up with Tom, the ringleader, and got his perspective on the adventure. Check out the entire season as we relay tales from (mostly) the south. 

Before setting off on our 49 state bus tour in our VW, Adie, we made a post on a Facebook forum asking for interview recommendations. This guy, Shawn Sullivan, messages us to ask if we wanted to be on his radio program called The Happy Trucker Show. We were on the program and instantly liked Shawn. As it turns out, he and his wife, Emma, own their own digital radio station, Happy Productions, out of Minnesota. Their logo is a cartoon rendering of their 1974 bus, Cosmo, hence their interest in what we were doing. Soon we appeared on their Afternoon Delight Program which is hosted by the both of them and they began to air our podcast on Wednesdays. At the end of October, we were in Wisconsin and decided to make the extra jaunt over to Minnesota to meet them in person.

We were driving through Wisconsin when the recently rebuilt engine in our bus, Adie, completely seized on us. Luckily our friends, Shawn and Emma, at Happy Productions Radio were a mere 250 miles away and their long-time friend, Sam Weyandt, at Dune Buggy Supply was not far from them. Even though we had never met Sam, we knew the bus would be in good hands. We had Adie towed and the engine swapped out. We sat down with him at Dune Buggy Supply in Minnesota on the day we picked Adie up.