Weeks ago we looked at this bus:

Asa and I loved it and had all kinds of dreams for it but then we decided to be realistic. It was probably (really) bad on gas, it was super old, etc. We bought a camper and I started work on it to make it pretty.

A camper, pulled by our van, would be more comfortable to drive and ride in. Gas milage wouldn’t be terrible.

I painted and new curtains are up.

I did a lot of little and big improvments and I got to know the ins-and-outs of the camper. It’s a really great camper. The previous owner was “a Ray”, as I affectionately called him. Ray is my mom’s boyfriend and he takes excellent care of his tools and toys.

So here we were, ready to cross the US in our van and camper…but I couldn’t stop thinking about the bus. Even with the downsides of owning and operating a bus, I wanted the “wake-up and go” experience. The pop up has its drawbacks like set up and take down. There’s only canvas between you and the world so it’s not the safest from bears or bad guys.

The bus has its drawbacks too. It could die somewhere between here and Los Angeles. It’s not exactly easy to find a street parking spot for when site seeing. In the end, we decided to go back and get the bus. We talked the price down to leave room for a big repair on the road.

We brought it home and Nole went to work taking seats out.

If you look closely at the picture above you’ll see some of the things we found under the seats. The bus was used as a limo so many a bachelor and bachelorette party passed through it’s doors. After we remove seats (and clean) we will decide how much we want to do to the bus. We might put in vinyl flooring. We are afraid to put in expensive upgrades. We want to keep our options open in case a big repair is needed. Monday it gets an alignment and the wheel bearings packed (I’m told that’s important for long trips). Next weekend we plan to make a trip to the salvage yard for a new driver’s seat and some other odds and ends.

A sunset at our house to close this post. We loved the sunsets in France but I think this one is our favorite.