Majik Bus

That little Penn Yann Cartopper boat stayed on the bus whenever we weren't out fishing. I'm not even sure if air conditioning was available for VW Microbuses when it was new in 1961 but when I picked it up used in '67 for $600 AC wasn't in the budget. We were saving for a house. But the boat was only about 100 pounds and neatly shaded about 90% of the roof. It probably used less gas to tote the boat than to run an AC anyway, and it was like having my own tree to shade the bus where ever I went.

The paint was badly faded when I bought it and it was another era. My bus wasn't the only one around painted bright gaudy colors with a bunch of flowers on the front. Stephanie made curtains for the windows, we put shag carpet on the floor, and I built a platform for a twin bed size matress. We made weekend trips to the Florida Keys and vacationed in New England with that rig. This was shot someplace in the middle of Florida where we spent a few days fishing for largemouth bass.

It also attended the Palm Beach International Rock Festival and a few others in South Florida, plus dozens of rock concerts at East Greynolds Park. I picked up the City of Norh Miami as a photography client about then so it was frequently seen at events at various city parks or in the lot next to city hall. One day a few months after this photo was taken I got a call from the city motor pool to stop by. They put a pair of big City of North Miami decals on the front doors just like all the police cars and city vehicles had so I could use the restricted parking areas at various events. Hell, I could drive it anywhere I pleased in the parks!

By 1972 my hippie days were coming to an end and the bus was over ten years old. It was spending way too much time at Karl's Garage and starting to look a bit out of place with my new wardrobe of Brooks Brothers suits. I sold it for almost as much as I'd paid for it and bought a brand new 1972 VW bus with AC, moved the boat to its new perch, installed a car seat for our infant daughter Elena, and the adventures continued.