What a month! We've officially entered the stage of construction known as the 'home stretch' (a period of time conveniently not defined by any particular length). Though there are still many things left on our 'to-do' list (painting, decorating, some finishing touches), we're nearing completion and it's exciting to see the bus finally taking shape. … Continue reading Home Stretch
Well, this marks the second August that we've spent working on the bus. That's right, this project that we originally (ahem, naively) thought would take us six months to complete, has now entered its seventeenth month of 'in-progress' status. That being said, I'm happy to report that the pace of construction has picked up considerably … Continue reading August Part Deux
Well shoot, sometimes you just need a little bit of help. If you’re a regular reader of the blog (here’s to all eleven of you!) you’re probably pretty clued in to the fact that progress hasn’t exactly been moving at the speed of light. Mostly we’ve been hung-up on the concepts of electrical circuits and … Continue reading Parental Guidance
We get really excited. Finally! A sign that summer is nearing an end. To celebrate the first truly cool and rainy day in a long while, we headed to the bus to get some work done yesterday. The 70 degree working environment was a wonderful change of pace and we had one of our most … Continue reading When it Rains in Texas
If you're following the blog, you may have picked up on a noticeable lack of new posts. Folks, it's the thick of summer here in Austin and well, it's hot. To qualify that statement I'll say that while, yes we've had a far more mild summer than previous years (it's was only in the 90's … Continue reading The Doldrums: July & August
So, when we first purchased our bus, it came with this set of rules posted in numerous locations throughout the interior. Well folks, with the exceptions of number 5 and the tobacco portion of number 7 , we've cruised past every single one of these babies. I suppose we could hold smokers-only wrestling matches on … Continue reading Flouting Authority
We made some exciting progress over the past two weeks and began painting the interior of our bus. This is a multistage process that began with LOT of prep work including such joyous activities as scrubbing, taping, and sanding. Thankfully we had cold beers to keep us going during the most laborious bits. I'll let … Continue reading Somebody Call Bob Ross
It's been a few weeks since we've actually made any physical progress on the bus. While frustrating, this seeming lack of progress has definitely made us appreciate the scope of this undertaking more fully. At present we're in the process of developing a final interior layout, drafting a budget, compiling building materials, and doing major … Continue reading Progress (or lack of)
One of the interesting facts that we've learned up since starting this endeavor is that it's actually illegal to impersonate a school bus in most states. While definitions of what this means varies, one of the prevailing elements is that the words "School Bus" must be removed from the exterior. As we had successfully removed … Continue reading Ride on the ‘Cool’ Bus
Okay, so the lifting wasn't that heavy. But we definitely broke a few bolts. After successfully finding a home for the bus, our next step was to remove the interior seats and, being outfitted for 71-passengers, there were a LOT of seats to remove. The seats were bolted to the floors and the walls of … Continue reading Bolt Breaking & Heavy Lifting
We Got Schooled 