The last and final blog for 4 Guys and a Bus.  Ms. Turtle made the journey from LA to Atlanta in great form, as though she was fresh off the manufacturing line back in 1974.  The 4 dudes spent 5 days acting like they were in 1974 as well.  This was truly a trip of a lifetime where we relived our past and significantly embellished our stories and events.  Who knew we were so cool in high school and college ... OBVIOUSLY WE THOUGHT SO. 

To have the opportunity to spend this time with true friends that you love and respect was unbelievable.  First there was Doobie, he has not changed a bit, never a dull moment around him, never know what he will say next, keeps you laughing and a great friend.  Then there is Augie Dog ... always doing for others, taking tons of pictures to document our trip, step for step with Doobie in keeping us laughing, the only guy who can take a boring $300 1974 VW operating manual and turn it into a priceless coffee table book, and finally a key part of getting us home with all of his technical support, Octane advice, map reading, wind speed reporter, casino and hotel finder and finally the Metamucil supplier.  Then we have Sly, the clutchmister who could never find 2nd gear, kept us laughing, MoonDog's beer drinking buddy, Doobie's assistant mechanic, great friend, and just plain fun to be with.  Finally there is Moondog .... what can I say the blogging idiot.  I am proud to call these hippies my life long friends and glad we could create another great memory together.
Hope you enjoyed the journey with us.  Until next time (5 years from now I think), Ms Turtle and the Guys signing off.

Stopped for lunch and Sly took over driving. We had are first flameout. Mr. I had a VW in high school flamedout(stalled) trying to back out of the parking spot. I know Brian and Brett are so proud of their dad.

Just got to bham. It is official Sly repeatedly got the worst gas mileage on the trip and Moondog led the pack. By the time we hit Georgia we will have traveled through 11 states. According to Doobie their are no good drivers in any of those states. Moondog agreed about Alabama. Augie Dog has been pushing us hard ... He claims joannie has been missing McDreamie .. The other three guys in the bus know better. Doobie wants to know why Augie and Moon got to add Dog to their name ... He has dog envy so for the last 2 hours we are considering calling him Doobie Dog. Sly now has dog envy so we are considering Sly Dog (I think it fits) . Looks like its 4 dogs and a bus.

4 Guys and a Bus are on the last leg of their Journey.  We departed Little Rock at 6:20am.  Ms. Turtle was left outside all night and the poor girl was cold.  It is about 8:15 and word is there is a Ms. Turtle sighting in Memphis.  Kimberly and the triplets were on the overpass waving to us as we came through Memphis.  Doobie starting driving this morning and guess what .... he does not like the Arkansas drivers either.  Nancy was right "the nerve of people being on his road".  Sly is behind the wheel now and Doobie keeps yelling at him.  By the way Katie was right ... Doobie was in the back of the bus the other day and he did not get sick ... remember that for future trips.  McDreamie Augie Dog is back to just plain old Augie Dog ... things are right again.  Had to stop for another metamucil attack ... Augie and Doobie feel much better.  Downloaded more pictures from Augies other camera.  Will send out later today. 

7pm Atlanta time and we are about 45 minutes from little rock. Staying at the peobody on the river. Doobie wanted to play with the ducks we will get a video. sly said if he only had his new rifle (which he has never used) he could go hunting in the comfort of his 4 star room. Not sure they will let Augie Dog in with his McDreamie look. Thank god they don't have casinos not sure our retirement fund could handle it. Good meal, cold beers then crash. Plan to make Atlanta by tomorrow. Moondog is out of outfits so I guess it will be jeans and the tie die shirt. Maybe Sly will wear his fro for the last leg of the journey. By the way we have all learned something on this trip ... Doobie is always right. Really? Also, Moondog does not like to lose, Augie Dog is not nice to Ms Turtle and does a terrible impression of McDreamie, and Sly does not do ironing ... Augie took care of him this trip.

Just stopped at fire lake casino. Not a good stop. Doobie says he broke even while Sly, Moondog, and Augie made a contribution to the Indian reservation in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is a pretty cool state, the people are nice but they still take your money. Glynn can you wire money to Little Rock otherwise Sly will need to sleep in the bus. McDreamie Augie Dog is not working. In fact the people in the Casino wanted to know if he had been hanging his head out the window for the entire ride. We now know for sure that it did not work for Joanie either ... I guess she can always watch reruns of Greys Anatomy. Just stopped for gas and Augie's credit card was declined ... We think it had something to do with the casinos. On to Littlr Rock

well we made it to Clinton OK the home of the Lucky Star Casino.  Not so lucky after 3 more hours in the bus they did not have a hotel attached. We knew we were in trouble when they were checking knives and guns at the door.  So we did not gamble but .... we did stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.  Only after Sly took the wrong turn twice and we ended back on the express way two different times (20 minutes later and after much grief given to Sly we finally made it to the hotel). 

There is a lot to tell you this morning.  First Doobie bought this $300 manual for Ms Turtle and Augie Dog decided to make it a coffee table book.  After spilling his full cup of coffee on the book it now has character.  Last night it got so cold in the back of Ms Turtle we had to stop and get blankets - I guess Augie Dog mechanical fix did not work.  At dinner last last night Augie Dog told us that Mrs. Augie Dog has a thing for Dr. McDreamie on Greys Anatomy.  When asked why, she told Augie Dog it was McDreamie's hair.  Augie Dog proceeded to tell her and us that he can make his hair look that way.  Guess what we woke up to this morning "McDreamie Augie Dog".  Sly said it is not working for him.  We are betting it did not work for Joan either.  Moondog showed up this morning in his polyester bell bottoms (slightly ready for the floods) and looking good.(in his dreams).  Augie swears Moondog had a similar pair in his days.  It has been about 30 minutes in the Ms Turtle and Sly is taking a liking to McDreamie's hair, he is considering changing from two doubles to a king tonight.  After hearing this Augie proceeds to tell us that the young girls at the Holiday Inn Express (front desk and breakfast area) only looked at his hair, did not even look directly at him .... he felt violated.  In fact he was so upset this morning he got confused and almost went west on I40 ... no yelling or grief was inflicted on Augie ... we all felt so sorry for him.

Plan are to make it to Little Rock today.  We will see what happens, sticking to the plans are not are strength.

We have arrived in Amarillo and guess what ... No casinos! We passed on through OKC is back in play. Looks like Doobie won't get his steak. If we do find a casino we plan to limit hoe much money Sly can bring with him. We hope Kyle and the boys have deactivated his company credit cards. Have you notice that we never mentioned Augie Dog and the casinos. He does not know I am sending this, but based on his first two night Joan better withdraw all monies from the bank accounts and call the credit card companies and claim the cards were stolen. I know I should not have told on him but Doobie and Sly agreed that taking a second mortgage on his house was not a good idea. Moondog out

It's 5pm Atlanta time and we are 100 miles from Amarillo.  Doobie thinks we should stop in Amarillo and have nice steak dinner, gamble a little then go to bed early.  Sly and Augie Dog are ready to push through to OKC.  The Moondog just finishing the first leg of today's journey and his clutch work with Ms Turtle was nothing short of magnificent.  We stopped at two different junk yards looking for lights for Doobies 1947 GMC truck ... no luck but we did see a cool car museum in a town called Moriarity.  He had a 1969 Lincoln just like Moondog senior had.  Great side trip.  We have stopped for pictures several times but not that Doobie is driving he won't stop.  The mystery is solved, after traveling with Augie Dog for three days we finally caught him coloring his hair.(we all knew he did).  After three days with Doobie we have a new found respect for saint Nancy.  We needed to put some oil in Ms Turtle today and put a clamp on a hose that feeds the heater.  Nobody would let Moondog touch anything ... his family understands.  Sly is almost recovered from last nights casino disaster, and is working up his courage for tonight's attack on the next 5 star casino we hope to got to.  He only got yelled at 7 times last night for breaking the betting rules, we have hopes he will be under 5 times tonight.  We are trying to decide whether we go the north route through Nashville or the southern route.  It has been a heated debate ... any tie breaker ideas out there?

News flash - Augie Dog has changed his mind.  He now wants to stop in Amarillo so he can do a yoga class.  I think Sly and Moondog are going to the casino.  I know Doobie is going there as well.

Weii you know what they say about beginners luck. It is 9am and we are on the road, after our second night at a casino Sly has us looking for a pawn shop so he can sell the jewelry he bought Glenn to cover his losses. Moondog gave back his winnings from the night before and Doobie redeem himself and is now able to buy back Augie Dogs camera gear. It is a great day and we are headed to Santa Fe for pictures. Hope to make OKC today. Ms Turtle ran great yesterday, Augie Dog did mis treat her on the last leg of yesterday's journey, drove her hard and never gave her anything to drink. Nearly ran out of gas. By the way if you ever want to go to a great casino don't go to Hard Rock on Alburqueque.

It's 9pm ... Are we there hey? Hell no! Not far should be there in 30 minutes. I think Augie Dog will still be awake. Doobie is on a roll and has pawned some of Aguie's photo gear in hopes to get back what he lost last night. We have learned that VW buses do not have heat. Sly is trying to cuddle with all of us. Wearing shorts was not a good idea. Signing off until tomorrow need to hang with Sly till 4am again Moondog

Someone complained about there not being enough blogs. Your penalty for complaining is you have to live with Doobie For the rest of your life... I think you have lived with that burden for 25 years. But in all honesty it is hard when you only have the material and bus mates of Doobie, Sly, and Augie Dog. On the other hand Moondog has been delightful and so helpful with the material. Speaking of Moondog he is my hero .. He drove Ms Turtle better and smoother than anyone...he came through in a clutch. We are about 2 hors out of alburqueque and Augie Dog is driving .. I hope the clutch survives the drive. In fact when he initially took off from the gas station we all fell asleep it took him so long to engage the clutch. Thank god we were not at a train track crossing. We have booked our room at the Hard Rock Casino. sly is practicing saying "I will stay" when he is dealt a 19 in blackjack. I am sure after tonight's winnings Sly will be able to purchase Glenn at least a 3 caret diamond. After taking care of him for three days we all agree she REALLY deserves it. I must say Moondog has been fantastic on this trip. Aigie Dog just informed us we need to stop to get some more Metamucil. By the way Doobie is STILL in the front seat. For those waiting on pictures they are coming once we figure out our technical difficulties. Augie Dog said he can fix it but I am sure Moondog will have to help Bet you can't Guess who wrote this blog

12:45 and we are about 45 minutes outside of Flagstaff. Sly has been driving for the last hour .. At one time I looked up and thought I saw Jackie Gleason behind the wheel. By the way Sly spent all day yesterday giving Doobie and moondog grief about our poor clutch work. He has spent the last hour grinding out the gears and never could find second gear. He is shamed for life or at least the rest of the trip. Ms Turtle is rocking, a little octane booster and she acts like an athlete on steroids. Doobie says he always gets shotgun when not driving because he gets car sick. I know it is his bus, but the rest of don't think that is fair. We have a new found respect for Nancy and the kids ... All those trips you have had to take with him. By the way Glenn Sly got dressed all by himself this morning but I heard Augie Dog had to repack his suitcase for him. Moondog signing off

This is moondog and we are back on the road. 8:45 start for our 10 hour drive. We finally got to eat dinner last night at 9 pm last night, then it was on to the casino. Doobie was on fire early then someone splashed him with water. Now he can't afford to buy the truck to tow us back. Sly gambled for the first time ever and Sheila our dealer almost killed him 10 times for breaking the rules. As they say beginners luck is a good thing. Mrs Sly aka Glenn should expect some very nice jewelry after his $1500 winnings. Augie Dog hung for awhile but was the first to call it a night. He was hotfoot eligible. After chip had pawned everything he owned except ms turtle he called it a night. Being the great guy that moondog is he hung Sly the gambling fool. At 4am Vegas time we called it a night. The clue we needed to go to bed was when Sly could not decide whether to take a hit when he was dealt 19 in his opening hand. That was the 10 th time Sheila almost killed him. I thought I should get him out of there before he got hurt. After a quick stop at the playboy club and the ghost bar Sly and Moondog called it a night. We are now stopped for a Metamucil break ... augie Dog has everyone taking it ... One of many future stops. Ms Turtle is running great and after 30 minutes of driving Doobie is developing the same affection for Nevada drivers as he had for the California dudes. By the way we are all wearing the shirt chip had made for us ... Oh did I mention that Augie Dog is not wearing his .... So much for the great picture. Got to go think we are stoping by Hoover dam ... Make that an 11 hour trip.

Back again. We just had a major moment. We have named the green bus. ms Turtle. It is green, slow as hell, and has a shell. My first blog did not post so I will fill in th morning. We landed ar 1030 pacific and met up with Fabio the guy chip purchased the bus from. And yes he had long hair and was from Argentina. When we asked him if he thought the bus would make it to Atlanta he said it should be an adventure. That didn't worry us in the least. The we headed to Huntington beach to pick up the tent, buy beer, snacks,and a Metamucil stop for augie dog. Since we had only been in LA for 2 hours chip thought it would be good to sit down and spend an hour eating lunch ... That was a good idea. We then started our trip to Vegas .. And yes we are still in Ms Turtle. We have figured out we can add to our speed by all leaning forward. Hopefully we can figure out how to post pictures tonight.

Not to worry I am back. It is only 5:30 pacific time and it has been 3 1/2 hours since we left on our 4 1/2 hour ride to las Vegas. Well we are about 2 hours out from Vegas ..... You do the math. The green machine does not like hills and really hates mountains. Going over the last mountain a 10 speed bike past us and a mother walking her baby in a stroller blew us away. Chip is considering buying a truck and towing it back to Atlanta. Nancy nixed that idea. Things are better at this moment we are going downhill and wind is at our back. Chris aka Sly has finished off the beer and now is sleeping in Murray aka augie dogs lap. He looks so happy and peaceful. We are on i15 passing through the booming town of Baker, all three buildings. We had a scare earlier the bus almost gave out .. But not to worry are car buff Tom aka moondog figured out we needed higher obtain gas. Thank god for Moondog. Chip aka Doobie is just being Doobie, his affection for California drivers continues to grow Just saw a sign 89 miles to Vegas .. Hell that should only take 2 more hours. The good news is once we make Vegas we only have 1,975 miles left to go.

This is Mark. The guy who has traveled back and forth all over this grand country of ours without the 1st GPS strapped to his hip. Tom forgot to mention his terrible gas. My gosh....if we could use his gas instead of stopping at BP we would save a thousand dollars & never have to stop. Oh....I forgot.....Chris told me that Glynn buys the Softee Wipes for him and I brought the wrong ones!!!