The "Thing"

Have any of you dear readers ever heard of a VW Thing?

Turns out, it was the German WW II staff car, not unlike our jeep.

However, very much unlike our jeeps, it had an air-cooled engine. You could not kill this thing.

After the immense purchase (something like $2300), we had to get it to Maine.  

Off we went, with the Skipper following along in his zillion horsepower station wagon.

We were enjoying things, but the Merrit Parkway, however scenic, has hills every 3 feet or so.  The Thing, I now realize, had like a 25 horsepower engine. Despite our best efforts, we would slow way down going uphill, then speed back up on the downhill.

At our first stop, I think my Dad was ready to kill us. "What the hell kind of driving are you doing" or words to that effect.

We promptly tossed our luggage into his car. It helped some, but hey, we were still working with 25 horsepower.