Worth The Wait

Just back from the West River Westies jamboree for Volkswagen campers in Townshend, Vt.

With no service and sketchy WiFi I tried but couldn't get anything out to you until we got home. Turns out it was worth the wait with another commitment, this time from a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive end/tight end from IMG Academy:

It’s been an intense process but I am super excited to be committing to @DartmouthFTBL where I can get a great education and help continue their football legacy!!!!🌲🌲🌲@Coach_McCorkle @headdogpound @LandanYount @CoachColeman_7 @CoachPondIMG @CoachKyleBrey @clarkiethedon pic.twitter.com/Mz2DLanBH1

— Jackson Ashford (@ashford_jackson) July 8, 2023

Check out Jackson Ashford's highlights HERE. 

Among the offers he gave up to commit to the Big Green was a preferred walk-on at Purdue.

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EXTRA POINT
I haven't seen the actual number yet but there were expected to be more than 100 old VW buses at the 20th renewal of West River Westies, which is highlighted by tubing down the West River after being toted up a bumpy dirt road in buses crammed like New York City subway cars at rush hour.

Last year the river was so low there were places you bottomed out and needed to stand up or shove yourself off the bottom with a stick. This year? Thanks to a lot of rain in the spring and a couple of gully washers while we were camped out, the river was running so high and so fast that some people decided to take a pass. They have no idea what they were missing!

Here are a few photos from our weekend:

Bumper sticker: "Home is where you pop your top."

This bus gets a lot of attention every year.

There were a dozen people in this VW when we went upstream. There's another fellow on the trailer keeping a few of the tubes from coming free.

Admit it. This is what you were thinking.

Lots of two-tone buses as always, but this beauty was the rare brown-and-white.

And finally, there's Wiffle. Our '84 Westy was named that by a veteran group of West River Westies campers who for reasons they couldn't explain, bought a Wiffle bat and ball a few years ago during a stop at a supermarket. They never used it, instead bequeathing it and the nickname Wiffle because of the similarity in color between our faded yellow bus and the bat:

By the way, if you look closely behind the orangish bus you'll see our EV, plugged in to an outlet and charging. With Wiffle a little wonky before we headed south, we opted to have Mrs. BGA drive the car behind the bus as sort of a fail-safe should a tow truck be needed. Much to the relief of the three of us (Griff the Wonder Dog came along) Wiffle drove like a champion.