Syncrofest 2016

I have been trying to think of an appropriate way to start a post that justifies such an incredible weekend, but not sure if I can do it justice. I guess it all started when I was a child growing up with VW's in our family and my father's 57 oval beetle. From there my love grew into my first job at a VW dealership where I drove Vanagons and Syncro campers when they were brand new. I also fondly remember driving a 1987 VW transporter for a year delivering parts to various shops in the area. Who knew that 30+ years later we would own a beautiful air-cooled camper that would be part of the most amazing Vanagon event attended to date. Syncrofest is the ultimate gathering and campout that showcases the best of the best in the Vanagon world as well as exposing the exceptional capabilities of these unique vehicles.

We have recently joined a collective group in the Los Angeles area that shares our love for Vanagons and wanted to arrange a large representation for this event. With this in mind, I coordinated a 350+ mile caravan to Syncrofest from LA - Hollister. Preparing for such an event is no easy task and actually took a few weeks to get ready from ordering parts/supplies to packing for 5 days of fun. Here are 2 shots taken early in the morning before the adventure began. Who says the stock Dometic fridge is small?

Our monthly meeting location was a good starting point for 6 vans to begin our adventure and 2 more vans to join along the way.

As with any 30+ year old vehicle we had our reliability "issues" and sampled the first breakdown that luckily occurred during our lunch break.

Thanks to Neil's excellent suggestion, we made it to our first destination - Montaña de Oro campground for an early night collective including 12 Vanagons.

Although we didn't get to fully enjoy the campground, it did give us a great early starting point for the final cruise to Hollister. We found out that Starbucks opens at 5am due to Eric's normal pre-dawn rituals.

 This was my rear view for most of the trip.

Once again the 30+ year old vehicle odds hit us and another of our group made it to Syncrofest on a flatbed but this is probably the best place to be when you have problems to be fixed = glass half full!

Vangelenos represented strong at this event and I apologize for not getting a picture of the entire group.

Now it was time for everyone to enjoy the sights, sounds, and action that is Syncrofest!

We will start off with some incredible off roading in these amazing vehicles.

 

Some unbelievable videos:

Syncrofest marks the first official off-roading experience that I have been part of and has left me wanting more. Kudos to Jim for the fun ride in his Syncro.



You also can't own a VW without knowing how to fix it. Whether it's as simple as lowering the air pressure.

 A new bumper and swing arm.

 I'm not sure if this project was completed......

A big shout out to all the organizers for making Syncrofest a great family event as well.

I'm pretty sure she had a blast.

And the split window bus was a hit.

 

I know that many aren't happy with the stock Dometic fridge performance but I'll post this again after 4 days of camping on propane. I was actually a little upset as none of the meat actually defrosted - love this fridge!

Syncrofest is not only about the vehicles but the amazing people you meet. It was almost like an Instragram meet-up as I was finally able to put some faces to the people and vans I have admired for years.

Writing this blog put yet another smile on my face reliving the events and fun we had over 5 days. I consider myself extremely lucky to not only have a wife that puts up with my infatuations but now have a family to enjoy them with. I hope everyone rests up for next year!



















Crystal Cove

It's been over 2 months since our last camping excursion so we decided to drive to the ocean on a beautiful day. Heading to the beach in the off-season and on a weekday seems to be the only time we've been able to procure a spot. We were lucky once again and got a nice location with a beautiful view.

Crystal Cove park has over 3 miles of coastline including sandy beaches, tide pools, 400 acres of bluffs, and 2,400 acres of canyons. The Crystal Cove Historical District also contains 46 restored beach cottages from the 20's and 30's including the house from the Bette Midler movie Beaches.

We'll start off with the new additions to the van including Brooke's new camping chair with sun canopy!

Our other exciting upgrade - we now have full bathroom facilities (well at least Brooke does).

After setting up our site, it was time to explore.

Although the campground was not directly on the beach, it was a short walk to the sand, waves, and sights.

Brooke was extremely distracted by our furry visitor during dinner.

Then we were all distracted with the beautiful sunset we witnessed before heading to bed.

I usually don't sleep well when beach camping due to the noises but there were no trains or loud neighbors and the quiet waves lulled us all to sleep. I'm not sure what these little guys saw or wanted in the van but we awoke to the sounds of them knocking on our front window like woodpeckers.

Morning cereal and smiles for breakfast.

Followed by one last view of the ocean before heading back home.

Although beach camping in L.A. is expensive, it does offer a nice break and a reminder of how lucky we are to live in this beautiful state.

BBB 2016

Well it's been a while since I have had time to post any updated camping trips but with a good reason. We are now homeowners and have been spending all our spare time getting our new home complete. Of course this means a new home for our camper as well. The accommodations are definitely tight but I think she's happy.

Just prior to moving, we were able to attend Buses By the Bridge and this year didn't disappoint. The usual pre-camping preparations were made in order to ensure a safe and fun trip. From filling up our dry food cupboard to making sure we had a full tank of fresh water.

With the van fully packed we were able to start our journey and this was my rear view for almost the entire trip.

This year we attempted to have a convoy of Vanagons but our friend Eric and his beautiful air-cooled 82 turned out to be our only companion during the first leg of the trip.

We arrived at Amboy Crater to spend the night with plenty of sunshine left to take in the scenic views and a quick hike.

Brooke was able to enjoy a drive in her awesome new split window bus (thanks Uncle Mark and Auntie Kaci) while eating a "world famous cookie" no less (thanks Eric's wife).

Two more friends (Kim and Jim) arrived during the evening to join us on our next leg to Lake Havasu. With our convoy now including 4 beautiful Vanagons, we started our second day at 4:30am and were off. I was told there were some pretty spectacular shooting stars before the sun came up but I guess I was concentrating on seeing the road properly with my not so impressive stock (weak) headlights. I did manage to get one picture when we passed the 150K mile mark, hooray!

Passing through the Arizona border provided us with a nice discount in gas prices over California so we made sure to take advantage of that.

It turned out that over 200 people had similar ideas in regards to arriving early in order to grab a good camping spot and this was our view of the lineup we saw when we finally arrived.

The good news was they were able to open the gates early so our wait wasn't too long and we ended up getting a nice spot that fit all of our group near all the vendors (and bathrooms)

Overnight, 2 more members of our group arrived (Steve and family, Joseph and Jessie) which brought our Van total to 6.

One of the great things about BBB in addition to all the beautiful buses are the people you meet and scenic views.

 

 



As this weekend coincides with the Balloon festival, we were all able to enjoy waking up to beautiful sights like these.

This year they even had a tethered balloon offering free rides for the kids. We tried to get Brooke to go but it was a bit too much for her (hopefully next year).







Another fun addition this year was a bike tour around Lake Havasu which turned out to be very scenic. We ended up at a new skate park and witnessed some great BMX tricks.

There is an actual campground next to the BBB site where in the past, people have unofficially used the showers but due to the large numbers this year it was announced that these showers were off limits. That being said, 4 days for this guy without a real shower is about all I can take and signaled that we should be heading back home. As always with our Vanagon, the slow journey is almost as enjoyable as our destinations especially on roads like these.

and of course the happy passengers that keep me company along the way.

As driving straight home is a daunting task with a 2 year old, we again broke up the journey and stopped in beautiful Joshua Tree. We ended up taking the first spot we saw in Jumbo Rocks which was stunning.

Waking up early gave us some empty dirt roads to enjoy as we exited the park.

 

 



Buses By the Bridge (and Joshua Tree) continues to be an event that I encourage everyone to experience and we look forward to continuing this yearly tradition for years to come.