The Long Journey Home

Well, it's all said and done. The Hokie Hoopty is now home at last. After many years serving duty as a school bus and as a bus for the scouts, Double H (as Sophie likes to call it) has reached its final destination, its true calling, its home.

Friday afternoon Jeanell, Sophie, and I started the journey to bring the Hoopty home. That morning Sophie's first words as she woke up were "It's Double H Day!!!". Excitement was in the air. Five and half hours later we arrived in the parking lot of the church that serves as a base for Troop 99. One quick phone call and Matt & Karen Allen, the current owners, were on the way with Double H. It was on the edge of darkness so it was an impressive sight to see her roll up the road with all her extra lights gleaming. A few quick paperwork exchanges and the deed was done.

The first great surprise was that despite having a standard van passenger door, it does indeed, have a bus door mechanism. Makes me feel so very special opening that door and inviting wary travelers into the safe and cozy atmosphere of the Hoopty.

The second great surprise was the spaciousness of the interior. The passenger area behind the driver and navigator seats measures approximately 12' - 3" long and 7' - 3" wide. That's plenty of room for us to work some tailgating magic. The navigator seat is a theater seat that someone screwed into place. It works quite well - the seats folds up and out of the way to make for more room at the entry.

After securing our new tailgating fantasy, we headed off to search for some late dinner and a hotel room. The dinner was easy to find, the room was not. Turns out, lots of people like to visit the amish and the chocolate factory and whatever other points of interest exist in the area because the first two hotels we stopped at were completely booked. However, they did point us to the only hotel they knew of with vacancies. A short drive later and 150 ducks lighter and we were able to rest our weary heads. It should be noted that during the drive to the hotel "something" flew out from under the Hoopty and almost hit Jeanell following in her van. When we reached the hotel she asked if I had lost anything. Everything seemed to drive fine so it was probably just something we ran over....probably.

The next morning we checked out and started our pre-journey preparations. Oil looked good, transmission fluid looked good, needed a bit of antifreeze, and we were hurting for some petrol. The gas station parking lot served as the starting point for the return trip - gassing up, loading up, and posing for pictures.

Here are the proud new parents (all three of us). All of the appropriate Hokie gear is on and Hokie magnets applied.



As usual, Sophie felt compelled to strike a pose that clearly indicated how much she loves her parents and how happy she is to be an integral part of our happy family unit. Somehow she always finds ways to make us proud.

She was ready for the long journey home. A milk crate filled with toys strapped into the seat next to her.

The ride home was surprisingly uneventful. No mechanical malfunctions, no emotional breakdowns. The Hoopty cruised happily along at 60 to 65 mph although the speedometer reads about 6 mph slow.

A man, his machine, and the open road. If only Kerouac could see me now.














We did stop over in the land of the enemy to meet with the boys of the Walker clan. A little Hoopty walk-through and some lunch was enough time spent in pre-game charlottesville.

The trip from the evil place down to Lynchburg yielded one statistically impossible event. We were passed by our friends, the Miller family, on the way home from Rhonda's college reunion. With Matt driving and baby Anna hanging out in the back, Rhonda was able to click off a few action photos of the Hokie Hoopty performing some of its magic at 55 mph.

Finally, at home we thought we could relax a bit, but alas it wasn't meant to be. Children gathered, parents gathered and we were off again, taking a group of neighbors for a quick trip around a few blocks in the world renowned Hokie Hoopty. Sophie and her friend Audrey enjoyed the bus so much, they decided to give it an abbreviated wash. But in the end, all that mattered was that the Hoopty was home.

I have a dream

....and so it began with nothing more than a dream. A dream (in color - maroon and orange of course) of taking our tailgating experiences to a new, elevated level. The Big Dance of tailgating is an invitation-only event, and the only way to secure an invitation is to create the sort of tailgating experience that is looked upon with awe and disbelief.

Sure, we had the EZ-up, folding chairs, folding tables, two portable grills, coolers, and totes filled with the miscellaneous tools of the tailgating trade, but these are nothing more than the bare essentials. Our ability to expand beyond the necessities was severely limited by our undeveloped processes and structures related to storing, transporting, setting up, and tearing down our tiny tailgating town. Stepping up to the next level requires everything to be bigger and better and the only way to make those sort of advances without increasing the difficulty of setup/teardown can only mean one thing.............

It was time for a dedicated tailgating vehicle. One vehicle that can store all of our tailgating components in an organized and easily accessible manner. One vehicle that will carry all of the equipment and most of the people to and from our vacation home space in Lot 8. The time has come for a BUS. Yes, there, I said it. A bus. The dream had begun, the ideas developed, the designs conceptualized. The only problem was finding a suitable vehicular starting point.

It's four games into the 2005 season and one day before our homecoming game with Marshall, and a miracle has occurred. A website, an auction, a bus, a bid, a VICTORY! Our Hokie gang is now the proud owner of a 1988 Chevy, 14 passenger short bus with 97,000 miles currently being used by a boy scout troop in Lancaster Pennsylvania. College football bliss for only $651.

Allow me to introduce you to The Hokie Hoopty. Ok, it's not terribly pretty (yet), but the potential is there. Not sure what that white stuff is on the side - paint, bondo, who knows. It doesn't have the typical bus doors. It has the standard van door, but the passenger seat is gone so it's easy to walk through to the back. Lots of rust on the step leading into the passenger door, but there doesn't appear to be much more in other areas.

Oooh, big dent. Apparently there was an unfortunate canoe-trailer jack-knife event with the boy scout troop. Note the rear entrance door (i.e. tailgating equipment hatch) and the tinted windows.

Hopefully the cool blinking lights are operational. If not, we will make them operational. That space between the blinking lights is just begging for the Hokie Hoopty title.

There are three sets of seats still installed. The last row was removed by the scout troop to allow for more storage room in the very back. We may find it beneficial to take out one more row of seats to give us sufficient space to put all of our gear.

As you can see, there is some room behind the last row of seats, but I don't think it will be enough.





Now is the time to let your creative juices flow. The ideas have already started: plenty of maroon and orange paint, a horn that plays "enter sandman" and/or the Hokie gobble, an RV style awning off one side, a ramp out the back for getting gear in and out, a large platform on the roof for upper level tailgating, the obligatory satellite and tv, stereo and speakers, a tap and mini-keg capability, and a stripper pole (ok, maybe not).

The next step and next installment on this site will cover the momentous journey that Jeanell and I will undertake to Pennsylvania so that we can see the Hoopty face to grill and attempt to drive her home. Stay tuned.