It’s a complicated story — which the Orange County Register can tell more completely — but it’s about Dave Torstenson’s fascination with vintage Volkwagen minibuses, the generous VW community, and an improbable quest to drive a ramshackle 1972 minibus from Tulsa to Los Angeles while being filmed by a documentary crew.
Route 66 connections? There are plenty. First, there’s this excerpt from the Register:
It was around that time that they arrived at the Blue Swallow, a vintage motel on Route 66 in scenic Tucumcari, N.M. Bill Kinder, the motel owner sporting a red beard, straw hat, overalls and a tie-dye shirt, offered to keep the bus at his motel.
“He thought it could be an attraction, and he could have visitors and tourists sign the white top with messages for us,” Pecoraro said.
Parked under the glow of its neon lights, the bus seemed to have come home – at least for now.
Crew members agreed. It would stay there until a time when they can go back and get it, and that’s when they would complete their dream project.
Those who have met the Blue Swallow’s Kinder wouldn’t be surprised at either his generosity or his willingness to do anything to make his marvelous motel stand out.
On the “VW Nation” documentary’s Web site, it’s obvious the crew is driving a lot on Route 66. The gallery shows photos from the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., and a vintage gas station in Davenport, Okla.
The film is still under production.