Embellishments

Another bus blogger gave a rundown of the stickers on his ride and I liked the idea well enough to crib it. Thanks, Jeremy.

Death Valley Nat'l Park: I had this one made years after the fact because I wanted something to match the Going-to-the-Sun Road sticker. We had things on our minds other than perusing the gift shop when we passed through Stovepipe Wells.
Going-to-the-Sun Road: Bus owners, do yourselves a favor and please drive this road in at least one direction before they close it down to private vehicles.
Lucky Labrador Brewing Company: When on a VW, this is something of a KMA 367-like code for those of us aligned with the Itinerant-Air-Cooled forum. Ludwig has actually been to the Lucky Lab on Quimby in Portland, so he's not a poser.
four bars: I like Black Flag (especially Rollins/Kira-era Black Flag).
crying minotaur: We like Radiohead.
BodesWell.org: As many of you know, Angela, Jason, and Bode have been wandering around this hemisphere in Red Beard for two years now. We're happy to have met them when they were in Missoula. The sticker is pretty faded though.
Poster Children ★ Zero Stars: We like Poster Children.
Nebraska state flag: We're from Nebraska and that's awesome. Well, I was born in South Dakota but I lived in Nebraska from age 5 until age 30; close enough? Melissa is pure Nebraska.
Save the Bays: I don't know why I put this on Ludwig as I don't frequent that site, not that it's bad or anything. It's fading badly so maybe it'll come off soon.
German flag: Ludwig is from Germany and that's awesome.
Independent: It's a company that used to (or still does?) make excellent skateboard trucks but now mostly makes clothes for the kind of kids who frequent Hot Topic.
Punk Is Whatever We Made It To Be: If I have any heroes, Mike Watt is one of them.

Apple apple: Yes haters, Macs have all kinds of problems. And still, they're 20,500 times better than PCs. Sorry.

I ♥ my VW / IAP Performance Products, L.A.: For unknown reasons John Osborne had a stack of these in his shop way back when. It's the only sticker that McDonald put on the bus while he owned it (1991-1993). IAP doesn't appear to be an ongoing concern anymore. I think the sentiment expressed goes hand-in-hand with the sticker right below...

not a hippie bus: The nonsensical hippie association (hippies=1960-1967; bay windows=1968-1979) has killed, and continues to kill, more bay window buses than any other single cause. There, I said it.

Ecco Motors: This sticker, and the remnants of another one on his front bumper (story here) are evidence that Ludwig lived in the Omaha metro for a time in the 1980s. Ecco Motors is no longer in business, not under that name anyway. 

Zesto: Melissa's family has a rich association with this ice cream place in Lincoln. I regret the placement of the sticker because the tailpipe is right underneath this section of bumper, getting it hot enough to crispify the sticker. Unfortunately it's probably not long for this Earth.


Question: Where's the near-mandatory "Big Blue is a Friend of Mine" sticker?
Answer: Good question. There's one on my toolbox, and I'm pretty sure I had two of them at one point. But I can't find the other one and I'd really hate to hit Big Blue's Driver up for another.