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This is a tough one, but I'm trying to do a write up on the Nats and would like to know what your favorite moment was. Everyone has a different experience when they go to a van run.
seeing the great turnout for the show and shine....

seeing new/young/2nd gen vanners there with their own vans and showing, and even winning!

the great photo shoot, even without the walking eye candy, seeing those vans lined up as they were was beautiful.


Getting behind the wheel of "Juicy Lucy" and tooling down the road with her new 4.3 engine!!! lol
B.W. smile
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

OH...and the "Impromtu" photo shoot at Luna's bar Saturday afternoon!!!! lol Can't forget that!!!!
WoW good question, Where to start!?

On the tops of my list are Side trips to Long Trout Winery and also the Vanners night out at Cousins Pub. Could be because when I was there I wasnt working!LOL The Junk Yard tour was fun too however a little bit too hot on a hangover!

The great people I got to converse with all week is definatly a highlight too, and of coarse serving U up at the blender party on Friday was fun for me too! went thru aprox 10 half gallons of rum n vodka and many many mixers in about 2.5 hours! WOW

The HUGE nightlight show was also VERY nice...
I loved seeing the delighted faces and hearing the stories of the vanners who found their van(s) on the bar.

The one-on-one time I usually spend with a vanner (try to do that on a daily basis, and it's something I try to do at each eVANt I attend).

The scenery of the countryside.

The accomodating host club. Thank you.

gail
nice van show some more pics thanks
Gail's Bar was totally "Awesome"!! I did manage to get a few shots of it, but have to get them posted.
B.W. smile
Waking up on Wednesday in the bed of my van. Opening the dors and being surronded by vans,finding out it was real life and not a dream.........

Seeing my fellow Vintage Chevy Van Club members do well at the show and shine.

Just spending a whole week with fellow Vanners and there vans.......Loving every minute of it!!!!!!

.........Wookee
too many good times to pick just one but,

Meeting the guys from Bluegrass Vanners(parked right across from us), What a great bunch of people!, One of there club members said this to us while doing the bucket."Don't worry bout us cause we are more scared of you then you are of us"..lol....

7 days and 6 crazy nights of Vannin. Need I say more!

found 3 stripper poles on the grounds(all of which were used while I watched with no camera)mad

Most of all was meeting up with the vanning.com people. I still missed seeing many of you guys but thats ok cause theres plenty of Vannin season left...
Actually getting there and driving through the gate...and everything in between....

Great job done by the people involved....



Getting a chance to see many of the vans on only seen on screen and meeting many of the vanners on here! Winning a trophy for the van always helps!

Also stolling around in the rain was fun! Glad alcohol was involved.
Originally Posted by Virtual
This is a tough one, but I'm trying to do a write up on the Nats and would like to know what your favorite moment was. Everyone has a different experience when they go to a van run.


Just spending 9 days and 8 nights with all the Vanner's that were able to make it....and toasting those that could not cheers

Another round of double bubbles please smile
Just being there with all my freinds!
I just love the Natz from cruzin on my cooler, vanning.com meet & greet, to meeting new people, to seeing old friends, to drinking too much wine (lol).
The whole Natz experience from start to finish is just wonderful. Even the thunder boomers on Saturday night were wild.

Thank you Moonlite/Performance. Great Job!

Dee Jaye
The Nats are where I can reconnect with Vanning. Even though the numbers are smaller then a generation ago the spirit is still alive. It was great to see all the vans in the show. I enjoyed being a judge. It is a great way to really see some really cool rides. The van show is an important part of Vanning because it encourages people to work on their Vans. I'm sure that almost everybody that saw the show came away with ideas and plans for their own Vans. Lawn chair volleyball with TRV was fun.(wait till next year)The best part was the people. Hope to see ya'll and more next year in NY
Meeting all the great bunch of Vanners New and Old and talking to everyone!!!
Judging my first Nats Show and Shine, and Bright Shine!!!
Partying at Gails Bar!!!
Wine Party, and the Florida site thanks for the Hospitality and the Gator!!
vanning.com Meet and Greet was Vantastic!!
Oh and the food!!!!!!!!

i had Monkey meat on a stick, gator suasage,turkey bacon,omaha steaks, and some great deep fried southern chicken.......

I am still too full to eat...lol
Well I have to say that thirty plus vans snakeing through the small two lane roads on the way to vanners night out was totaly awesome! The locals looked blown away! At one piont there was a steep hill and as all the vans hit their kick downs and opened up the four barrels the roar was deafining. People were coming running out to see what all the noise was about!
"Hey Billy Bob come take a looksee at all the vans"
But I think the highlight for me was all the vans that that were in the show n shine and the lite show. That was the most that I have seen in my twelve years of vannin.
Good job guy's!
Just being there was a highlight for me. Although the bright sun kicked my butt a little bit.
The VANNERS!

I met lots of new vanner family and got to see even more old vanner family. There never seems to be enough time to spend with everyone, but we sure did our share of visiting.

One other highlight for me was hearing the "Thank You's" for all of the pictures that I take and Doug posts. It really means a lot to me.

Oh, and the HUGS!
Yeah the Hugs were Great!
the modified version of the bat-relay called "Stumpys"... that was the most hilarious drunken fun i've had falling down in a long time!!!

..im not sure about the whole charging people for blender hour tho... that took everyone by suprise judgeing by the reactions. ...but other then the fee, i got no complaints bout the mixed frozen goodness! ;-)
Geez Doug...That's like asking if you win a million in the lottery, do you want cash or a check!!! There is no wrong answer.

For me...the travel there, meeting Radar and Josh along the way, having a mini 5 hour caravan Wed. AM.

Arriving in line just as the gates opened.

Classifying vans and having enough interest that we had a crowd talking vans and judging for over 4 hours! then certifying 10 new Nats judges and having them do a great job.

158 in the show...nuff said!!!!

Party near our camp, day or night, for 4 nights

meeting and greeting, and seeing old friends

dropjaw mag

the slideshow

earlies

36 in a row, and I am still like a kid on Christmas...I know what to expect, but never sure exactly what I will get!

turned 312,000 miles on my van on the way home...used 3 tanks of gas, ran flawlessly!
For me, being there with my favorite girl, is at the top. Camping in Camp Canada was a hoot. Meeting new vanners, and visiting with the ones I already know.

But #1 for me, this being only my 3rd Nats ever, and in a row, getting 1st place in my class, 84-93 Dodge Mild Custom, is my most memorable moment.
Originally Posted by Clover

..im not sure about the whole charging people for blender hour tho... that took everyone by suprise judgeing by the reactions. ...but other then the fee, i got no complaints bout the mixed frozen goodness! ;-)


We were NOT charging for blender drinks, sorry if it came across that way, we were selling our NEW blender cups for a buck, its just one way we came up with to help pay for the bar supplies... and believe me since we went thru aprox. 10 half gallons of rum/vodka and many many more mixers we never even came close to breaking even! LOL
Just being there and being able to see all you again! Most times its like a family reunion you look at the cousin that every one else knows and you think well as long as they say he is realted then I guess he is!
Vanners are my extended family!
Also knowing every time Howard see's me he locks up his van! J/K Howard! You said it first lol
It is a family reunion!
So many moments--can't pick just one--
Sandy being able to make it was very high on the list and BUDDY showing up--told ya! was also one--the Buddy Show as we called it at camp. Some moments I can't talk about here....
HippieLuke with the look of wonder in his eyes when I told him I had something just for him!

Gail's bar--gave me goose bumps! How she did it I will never know, but it is just gorgeous-hope it makes NY next year! Thank you Gail for putting all that love into the love that is displayed there!

And the HUGS! seeing you all and getting to know some better, what else is there really?!
WoW! Great Question VV, I look forward to an awesome article coming out of this one. I too had a great time and I think the concensus here is the ppl. We were not able to be there the whole week as I would have liked but we packed a lot into a little more than 3 days. My highlite (no ght) came at the trophy presentation with the pics of the recipients up on a screen as well as their name, their van name and what category. I have a learning problem. I know the vans and I know the vanners but often times do not put 1 and 1 together. That was great for me! Jewels
highlights for me were
being one of the first 20 vans into the grounds to get a choice spot
sitting at that choice spot watching vans parade back & forth all week
the chevy drag van backfiring on my leg after he shut it off (now i have one bald leg :D)
selling raffle tickets for the first time & meeting everybody from everwhere
chili cheese fries !! yummy

cant wait to do it agian
Well the Nats is always my favorite event of the year,when I see old friends from all over and I always make several new ones no matter where its held. The people make this event what it is. Everyone helps to ensure everybody has a good time whether it be drinks,food,extra cash,parts,repair help,grill to cook food on,you name it,the skies the limit.
The bar was an obvious huge hit,rarely left it for long myself:-)I learned the hard way not to touch the stripper pole,maaan,did I learn! But hey alls in good fun.
Plenty of food everywhere I went at all the camps,shots,bucket,cherries,all the good stuff for sure,regardless of the hour of the day(who needs a clock to party anyhow)
Wine tasting was awsome and many attended,many got buzzed on wine like never before too:-)I heard that comment from several folks.
The van show and bright and shine were great as usual.
Perhaps the better question to ask is what didnt you like and the answer is simple,the hard rain Saturday night.That too passed and we still had plenty party time left.
All in all,a home run event in my book. Good job to all involved.

Well, Tim is a good friend of mine who I hung out with all weekend, and I'll have to go with analagy of the event. Nuff Sed!!
Still wishing I was there with the event going on.....till next time.
SLUT BUS,yea driving drunken sluts around till 5:30 am on Friday nite & keeping Suzie out of the driver seat, thanks to all you SLUTS for a really great time. the whole eVANt was a blast.
rolleyes
Well, for me, it is the sense of freedom. It was there when I started 22 years ago and still is. The place where we can be ourselves, where we can shine because everybody make you feel special. The place where we are loved and accepted.

Special moments ? So many, but here's one of them: My wonderful friend Stacey buying 10 surprises bags for all the women in our circle; Doc and Dee giving her 14 for the price of 10. Then stopping in Quebec to say Hi; Stacey giving surprises bags to french women that she doesn't know. Wow! Precious moments for me!

Je vous adore les Vanneurs! yeah
Originally Posted by Snotty
Originally Posted by Clover

..im not sure about the whole charging people for blender hour tho... that took everyone by suprise judgeing by the reactions. ...but other then the fee, i got no complaints bout the mixed frozen goodness! ;-)


We were NOT charging for blender drinks, sorry if it came across that way, we were selling our NEW blender cups for a buck, its just one way we came up with to help pay for the bar supplies... and believe me since we went thru aprox. 10 half gallons of rum/vodka and many many more mixers we never even came close to breaking even! LOL


ahh good deal. ...yeah the atmosphere at the time came across as u had to buy the cup to get a drink. ..i almost thought i was going to have to miss it myself till someone tossed a doller my way. :-) (it was a verrry close trip home. ran outta gas 40mi away and had to barder $10 from some lady @ the gas station. haha)
oh yes--Bobert's seat--

I know some heard the 'let Suzie drive' chants too--they were singing it to me when they woke up in the morning!! hee hee

That was fun!
Not being there, the best part was the live stream on vanning.com's web cam. It was great while it lasted! A+ for effort.

Now the best part is checking out out all the pics from the event.
Originally Posted by BILL211
highlights for me were
being one of the first 20 vans into the grounds to get a choice spot
sitting at that choice spot watching vans parade back & forth all week
the chevy drag van backfiring on my leg after he shut it off (now i have one bald leg :D)
selling raffle tickets for the first time & meeting everybody from everwhere
chili cheese fries !! yummy

cant wait to do it agian



OPPS Sorry bout that.
lol At least his head wasn't down there rofl
Getting to talk with all the great van builders out there and picking their brains about custom ideas that I have no idea how to pull off. Seeing so many great custom vans in the show n shine. The people are why I go though. Every event means making even more friends for life.
Highlights - there are so very many.
1st the hugs, smiles and laughter. I have been vanning, all of my life and it’s the people that make the event.

2nd the van show - I always love to see how creative vanners can be with their vans.

3rd the party, party, and party.

"Gawd I love Vanning!!!!"

Hell I have been home for 3 days and I am trying to figure out where I can go next smile
Don't know about highlights but that snake got my attention!!!!
Michelle...you think like I do...I looked in my event calendar Sunday night on the way home! What the he##!!! No event I can make this weekend! Brickyard 400 next week will have to do! Godd partyin' with ya again! and again! and again!
Hey! Have you ever flown to the Nats and you're in the airport afterwards looking at every face thinking it's ppl you know cuz you just spent a week with a thousand ppl that you do know! that's when you want to go to the next eVANt "where everybody knows your name" hahah J
THIS JUST IN-FROM THE DROPJAW NEWSLETTER----

"Van Camp was something very different than what we are used to seeing, but created the same atmosphere that we are used to! They partied and hung out and we were a very welcomed addition to the show. We enjoyed every minute of it and we are working on the coverage for this Van Extravaganza right now. Look on www.DropJawMag.com for coverage by the end of the day."
highlights.........
Standing with a blender drink in one hand,
a toasty cheese sandwich in the other hand,
surounded by apx 100 people of my extended vanner family,
while looking at Gail's fantastic Bar.

It jut doesn't get any better.

Gawwd I love Vanning
Originally Posted by twpercent
Don't know about highlights but that snake got my attention!!!!


Got that right Ron!!! I'll c u at Butler with what I forgot?? Duh....
Originally Posted by twpercent
Don't know about highlights but that snake got my attention!!!!


snake? Where?
I seen about a 2 footer crossing the road on one of my MANY trips to the Ice Trailer... sucker was FAST!!!
5:30am beer for breakfast with the gate crew. What a way to start the day and a truckin. After that everything gets a little blurry LOL.
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