Today marks the debut of the vintage surfing Woodie Wagon collection of NFTs. Interestingly, this particular "wagon" entitled “Low Tide” stands out as it lacks wood entirely. However, it exudes a strong surfing culture vibe, as its spacious body has provided shelter for countless surfers from the wind and sun while they patiently await the rising tide before venturing out into the vast blue ocean to catch a wave.

The camping trailer is an added bonus for those intrepid travelers who really want to get away from it all, but enjoy a hot drink or meal from time to time.

But I digress. Every car has a story, and the story below inspired the “Low Tide” artwork.

This Volkswagen microbus brings back fond memories of the surfer and hippie culture era (remember the plastic Jesus or the Hulu dancer that bedecked many dashboards?). But my mind takes me on a long road trip I took years ago in a bus almost exactly like this one. That trip is so vivid in my memory that I wrote this short memory to share with everyone, along with the artwork, so future generations can enjoy and learn from it.

After World War II, American families had a blast taking road trips. Cars were affordable for most families, and if you were part of AAA, the American Automobile Association, you could get AAA guidebooks and maps to plan your trip. There was even this cool flip-top custom map book that showed your chosen driving route.

“Trip Tiks” enabled easier navigation before satellite-enable GPS technology. But the added bonus is that you could virtually add a couple of months to your “vacation” by studying the free maps and guidebooks available to members to imaginarily plan your trip. Under my grandmother's guidance, I began to grasp the vast geography of the United States of America. Before we embarked on our meticulously planned adventure in our nearly identical VW minibus, the journey began to unfold.

All the occupants had different objectives: my goal was to visit Disneyland, my grandmother wanted to visit Native American reservations, my great-aunt wanted to cross the Southern border for a day trip into Mexico, and my grandfather had no stated goal. I assumed he simply wanted to drive, an unspoken family passion.

Soon we were off! With my grandfather at the wheel, I was allowed to occupy the front navigator seat, monitoring the Trip Tik with a studious eye, while the ladies in the rear provided a running commentary from the AAA guidebooks on the scenery unfolding outside those “panoramic” windows.

Of course, I was half-listening, but I was also keeping an eye out for A&W Root Beer signs whenever we entered a big city. That was my favorite drive-in. We had a Coleman cooler in the back, and I tried to keep it full of megaphone-shaped containers of root beer on draft. Root beer was biggest weakness then, alongside my first camera.

Once we crossed the Continental Divide heading west, the abundance of root beer dwindled, leaving me lost in the magnificent convergence of deserts and majestic mountain ranges. To speed our journey through gas station vehicle checks to Disneyland, I learned how to check the engine vitals and tire pressure, as instructed by my grandfather.

One night after dinner in Montana at a local café, my grandfather was talking to the owner about our expedition, and the owner asked what we wanted to see that wasn’t on a map. My grandfather said he would really like to show me a grizzly bear. The owner took out a pencil and a piece of paper and drew us a map to the local dump. He told us to arrive just before dark, turn the headlights off, and listen. This was our first experience deviating from the Trip Tik, and my grandmother and great-aunt were reluctant, but as my grandfather had not made any special requests, they agreed to come with us. We all piled into our minibus and followed the map to the outskirts of town.

After an hour or so of sitting silently in the midst of a stinking dump, I began to wish we had never come. The aroma was like sitting on a beach at low tide. Not a breath of air was moving. Suddenly, we heard tin cans rattling and loud crashes. By this time, it was totally dark. The ruckus grew louder and much closer. There were a few roars that shook the windows, and my grandmother began to whimper that we needed to leave.

Without warning, my grandfather flipped on the car lights, and about fifteen feet in front of us was an enormous grizzly bear with two baby cubs. Mama stood up on her hind legs and bellowed. The entire van vibrated from the wavelength and force of her roar.

My grandmother screamed, “Start the car!” My grandfather nervously laughed as he turned the key repeatedly. In his hysteria, he flooded the engine, and the smell of raw gas began to overtake the dump’s perfume. I tried to crawl out the hatchback to open the engine compartment and help the gas evaporate quicker. Grandpa kept cranking the ignition over the increasingly bellicose roars from the bear until the motor finally engaged.

I remember thinking I was going to die in a tin can at a dump.

We spun through the gate with my hysterical chaperones alternately crying and laughing. I looked out the back window to see Mama shooing her two cubs away from our retreating VW.

This epic road trip marked a momentous turn in my life and I am forever grateful for the adventures this iconic VW microbus with its 23 windows showed me. Onward —>

With its matching camping trailer, this VW Microbus afforded sweeping panoramic views of the passing scenery for the adventurous tourist.

Well-known for it’s minimalist advertising campaign, one of it’s famous magazine advertisements featured an image of the VW Transporter on a white background with the following ad copy:

WHAT IS IT?

Glad you asked.

It’s a Volkswagen Station Wagon.

Don’t pity the poor thing: it can take it.

It can carry nearly a ton of anything you can afford to buy.

Or 8 people (plus luggage) if you want to get practical about it.

And there’s more than one practical consideration.

It will take you about 24 miles on a gallon of regular gas.

It won’t take any water or anti-freeze at all; the engine is air-cooled.

And even though it carries almost twice as much as regular wagons, it takes 4 feet less to park.

What’s in the package?

8 pairs of skis, the complete works of Dickens, 98 lbs of frozen spinach, a hutch used by Grover Cleveland, 80 Hollywood High gym sweaters, a suit of armor, and a full-sized reproduction of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

I hoped to officially launch the beta CarMania Garage app today, but some pesky new technical bugs (not wholly unexpectedly) requires me to tinker longer before I explaining further. There is a lot to unpack and I want to make it easy for you to understand. Believe me when I tell you it is enormously complicated and there is no need to burden you with the details now. I want us to have some fun from the cars of our lives!

I have posted a link to ten high-res editions of this artwork below that I hope you will consider buying from the CarMania collection as sponsorship and for your memoirs. There are more woodies to come at various price points. This is part of my longstanding effort to preserve automotive heritage. The entire Woodie Wagon collection will unfold over the next two weeks, so subscribe and stay tuned.

Low Tide

🚗 ⚙️ **CarMania: Woodie Wagon Series** Collect the Classics. Cruise the Future. This limited edition Woodie Wagon is part of the CarCulture: CarMania Garage collection. Each NFT provides exclusive access to our AI chat system where you can ask questions about your specific vehicle and learn its history.

https://manifold.xyz