Sandy Bus

another evening at Sano

steelparade — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:52:09 +0000

Sandy at Sano

played drums for a church service on this morning, and then played steel drums at the Surf and Sand Resort later. i was able to get an evening surf session in before sundown. it’s good to be with Sandy Bus. she carried a full drum set, a full sound system, steel drum, and a surfboard. she also provided a bed for me to take a nap in between gigs. grateful to drive a VW bus.

the other girl

steelparade — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:28:51 +0000

Posey

i thought i would a post of photo of my other transport when i’m not driving Sandy Bus. This is Posey the Volvo. Posey is an 86, 240DL. i’ve owned Posey for about 6 years, and we have driven to Yosemite 3 times, Utah twice, Santa Cruz/San Jose 4 times, Houston, Mexico, Vegas, San Francisco, Humboldt, and a few thousand miles around the SoCal area.

Now that i have Sandy Bus, Posey gets some much needed rest. For the most part, i drive Posey for long distance trips now. That being said, i’ll be driving Sandy up to Marin County sometime next month. i’ve wanted to take her up and down the 101 for awhile now.

VW Jamboree!

steelparade — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:45:28 +0000

VW Jam!

Sandy Bus will be making an appearance at this years VW Jamboree, Saturday, August 20th, 2011, at Hidden Valley Park in Irvine, California.
Steel Parade is performing from 9:30am to 10:30am, and Sandy Bus will be our ever trustworthy transport in charge of getting us to and from the event. The event is sponsored by our friends at Old Speed. I attended this show last year and really enjoyed it because it was on grass, surrounded by trees, and had an overall relaxed and mellow vibe. check out the random vid from last year:

lemme know what you think.

cool.

Phil the Bus Driver

new battery for Sandy Bus

steelparade — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:11:59 +0000

late last night, Sandy hesitated when i started her.
being the daily driver she is, i don’t let these sort of issues linger.
so today i took her to Old Speed.

it’s always interesting at Old Speed.
sort of like an “Adult Disneyand” for me each time i visit.

Sandy says hello to a friend while visiting Old Speed.

fun stuff in the yard!

i guess i'll be President.

Sandy says "bye" to her friends on the lifts...

Jeremy traced lines, added a new ground, changed my battery terminal, and installed a new battery.

Sandy on the lift

If you look real close at this photo, you will see a sliver of Jeremy. he’s a bit camera shy, but know that he does an excellent job explaining things to me when Sandy is on the lift. He keeps Sandy flowing.

once again, thanx to the Old Speed Crew for getting Sandy back on the road!

a day at the beach

steelparade — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:04:33 +0000

last night my long time friend Nathan called me…..actually, his 14 year old son Kyle called me and told me he was going to Sano the next day with friends and family. i decided to join them.

a bus towing a bus.

this photo was taken while i was driving South on the 5 freeway. i don’t think i’ve ever seen this before…..a bus, towing a bus!

the gang!

here’s the gang from today……that’s Kyle with the guitar, Evan the drummer, little Samantha, and Hunter the singer. we all hung out around Sandy Bus all day.

little Samantha

this is little Samantha. Samantha is already 4 years old, and today was the first day that i’ve ever really hung out with her more than 5 minutes. she helped me throw beached sea slugs back into the ocean.

Sundown

Alone. Tranquility.

Nathan and his gang all departed just before sundown. i took the time to enjoy the tranquility of the remaining daylight.

it was a good day…

home

steelparade — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 05:42:58 +0000

i drove Sandy Bus home today from Old Speed.

new alternator.
i drove her around tonight and noticed that my dashboard lights are a bit brighter.
nice!

tomorrow we go to Sano.

steelparade — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:49:48 +0000

as it turns out, i will not be getting Sandy Bus until tomorrow.
anticipation is a good thing.

so while im waiting, i thought i would post another photo of Sandy Bus from recent past.

Sandy Bus at San Onofre

Sandy Bus and i spend a lot of time at San Onofre State Beach.
i intend to get her back tomorrow and drive straight down to Sano for some afternoon/evening surf.
i wonder if her upgrade from generator to alternator will be noticeable to me in any way?

feel free to leave me a comment.

a day with out Sandy Bus

steelparade — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 18:40:46 +0000

so it turns out my ol’ generator died. Jeremy at Old Speed is replacing it with an alternator. it’s time.

Sandy Bus is my daily driver.
when i decided to acquire Sandy, it was with the understanding that i would actually drive her on a daily basis. this gets tricky sometimes. it takes some patience, persistence, and a little more time to keep a 40 year old classic running on a daily basis. for the most part, it’s been easy. i couldn’t do it with out the team at Old Speed.

so, i thought i would post a recent photo of Steel Parade chillaxin with Sandy Bus at one of our recent performances.

this photo was taken about 45 minutes before our downbeat. it’s at the Laguna Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, CA. we perform there quite a bit, and Sandy Bus allows us to hang out comfortably during our breaks. we surfed Sano before the gig, hence the surfboards on the rack.

i’ve arranged to pick up Sandy Bus tomorrow.
i feel naked with out her.
true.

a new alternator?

steelparade — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:01:48 +0000

well, this is the second post and i think it’s fitting that Sandy Bus is having a little trouble this morning. looks like the old regulator is going bad again……barely turning over, flickering lights, etc. i’ve been meaning to upgrade to an alternator for awhile now. i guess now is the time. i’ll attempt to find a few hundred bucks lying around in the streets before i leave to Old Speed. not to worry. Russ and the crew at Old Speed always fixes us up and keeps us running. more later…

the view of Sandy from the upstairs window. i wonder if the regulator will lemme start her today?

My first post!

steelparade — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:17:55 +0000

Sandy the Bus…..aka Sandy Bus.

ok.
here we go.
this is the very first post of what will hopefully be a fun and interesting blog about Sandy Bus……….my 71 VW Bus.

feel free to subscribe, check back, etc.
lots of photos and vids to come.
i will make it up as i go.

yay!

your driver,
Phil