I’m participating in my first ever Fun Monday. The task was to post an entry showing your car.

It can be your current car, the first car you ever had, maybe your first new car with that new-car smell, a car you wrecked once, or even the dream car you would drive - given all the money in the world! Oh - and if you have a truck, SUV, lawnmower, whatever the local authorities allow you to drive, let’s see it!

Of course, I had to post my 1971 VW Bus. It is my first car, my current car, my weekender, my camping car, and the car that was there throughout my relationship with Thomas, from our first camping trip together, to the proposal, to the getaway car at our wedding. And it’s not even a car…it’s a bus! (This photo was one of our engagement photos.)

I got my bus for my 17th birthday (that event is another long story for another post). This post is focused on the many faces of my bus. When I got it, it was shiny chocolate brown. It wasn’t the most exciting paint job, but it hadn’t shown it’s true personality to me yet. Actually, I still have never given it an official name, or determined an official gender - very uncommon for a bus like this.

In high school, my friends came over one day and helped me paint the bus with house paint. We each took a panel and painted our own design - there was rainbows, sunsets, flowers, handprints, a giant fish, a brick wall, and a bullseye target (very funny Chris). Unfortunately, this is the only photo I can find of it - a paper printout of a photo I’ve misplaced. I loved the bus this way. People always honked and waved, and I was known at high school as the girl with the bus.

Then, when the house paint started to fade, I had it painted professionally. It was going to be sky blue with clouds fading into dark blue with stars, but I never got the clouds and stars added (that’s another long post). This is how it looks today. The blue is very pretty, though most people don’t notice the fade, and I really don’t get the honks and waves anymore.

So, if I were to ever paint it again, what would it be? I think I’d like to do something with a more playful design, something that will get the honks and waves again, like giant blades of grass and flowers. But there’s no rush on that project - I don’t think I’d be able to bring myself to ruining the nice paint job that it currently has anytime soon.

Note: The bus is mostly used on weekends and for camping now days. My everyday driver is a Honda Accord - here’s a photo from the day I got it.

And if you’d like to see what others posted for this Fun Monday, Tiggerlane has a list of participants.