Vintage Travel Trailers @ Modernism Week :: Palm Springs, California

Modernism Week is fast approaching - February 17 - 27th in Palm Springs, California.


Check out the vintage travel trailers at the Riviera Hotel February 25 - 27th. I believe admission is $15., but don't hold me to it... there will be open-door tours Saturday and Sunday, where you can see the interiors and talk to the owners. Hours are 10 am - 3 pm Saturday, and 9 am - 1 pm Sunday. There will also be several vendors on site, with all kinds of modernism / vintage trailer inspired goodies.

Hope to see you there!

California as Seen From a 1979 VW Camper Bus

Hi Bill,

It's Kim (of Kim, David Elliot and Sophie). We rented Honu Li'u for two
weeks in July. We LOVED our trip and working with you.

I'm a photographer, and finally posted pictures of our trip on our blog (and
your van of course...in fact....there may be more pictures of the van than
my children from that vacation :).

Here's my link:
http://silverboxblog.com/california-as-seen-from-a-1979-vw-camper-van/

Cheers,
Kim
Thanks Kim, these are awesome photos! Absolutely gorgeous! We think they totally capture the essence of the California coastline and what it might be like to explore it as a family in a VW camper bus. We hope you come back for a return visit sometime soon and enjoy our coast again!

Best,
Bill & Diane



Christmas Camping in Southern California :: Joshua Tree, Salvation Mountain, Salton Sea Hot Springs, Death Valley

A picture review of Gina, Jay and the kids' Christmas in the deserts of Southern California!
First night and second nights in Joshua Tree.

 A night in Salton Sea Hot Springs and Salvation Mountain the next day.

 A van meet-up! The folks in the green van were Jacques and his daughter from Paris, France.
The next campground was Mojave Hole in the Wall and the one after that is at a Mojave roadside pull off on Christmas eve/morning - the bobcat was from the Sony Bono wildlife refuge at Salton Sea  and if you look closely, you can see those little red stars adorning the baby Joshua Tree in our Christmas morning photo.  oh - the one with us eating the box of candy is in Mojave hole in the wall.
 Back at Mojave at sunrise... all but Jay were asleep.
 Scorpion found at Tecopa
 Death Valley

We love to hear about your adventures and see things through your eyes!
Thanks for sharing your story with us Gina, Jay and kids!

A New Interior for 1977 Westfalia VW Bus "Taos"

We've started working on a new interior for our 1977 VW Camperbus Taos...

The jumping off point for the new color scheme on this bus was it's original 70's Avocado green. The interior on this bus is in great shape, so instead of pulling the interior completely out in order to repaint the bus an entirely different color we decided to work around the green and just re-paint the exterior of the bus for now. It's exterior will soon be painted a burnt orange with a creamy white top.
 
 
Yes, these are the original 1977 VW seats, they've been masterfully rehabilitated by our upholsterer Juan. Juan rebuilds the springs, uses new foam, and cleans and paints all the parts - the end result being seats that are better than new! We chose a combo of solid burnt orange and a swirl pattern marine vinyl for the seats, cushions, door panels and visors.
 
A big deal was scored via Craig's List where we sourced laminate remnants for $0.15/SQ. FT.! So here we've matched the Craig's List laminate with a lively lime green laminate which will be used for cook top/sink horizontal surfaces.

We found some playful, bright fabric that incorporated the Avocado green, in addition to a citrus green, burnt orange, a touch of gold and a wee bit of charcoal and black.
Here, the upper berth cushions are getting the full spa treatment!

We'll update you as we progress through the Taos Project, so stay tuned!