A couple months ago we asked for your help in coming up with a name for our bus. We were blown away by the outpouring of ideas in comments, Facebook and e-mail. Thank you everyone!
Y’all put your brains in overdrive and came up with some pretty clever stuff – Cassiomadia, Caspur, Purdy Cassy Techno Taxi, GrusGrus, C C Ryder, Citizen Purdy and USB. Purdy and Haboob continued to stick for us too.
But the best suggestion of all came from a reader who wrote us directly with the advice of ‘Don’t rush it.. the bus will let you know her name when she’s ready.’
We resisted the urge to pick a name.
And sure enough… it came to us.
We were just leaving Chattanooga after having spent several days getting lots of maintenance caught up on the bus at Choo Choo Express Garage after the BCM Rally.
The thought process then went something like this:
Cherie: Ya know.. I can’t help but notice the coincidence of the great service we got at Choo Choo, and that we found our bus by riding a choo choo.
Chris: Yeah, you’re right – trains do have quite a role with our bus.
Cherie: Perhaps there’s a name potential there? Choo Choo? Trakkie?
Chris: What was our favorite route on the train?
Both together: ZEPHYR!!!
Duh. Of course.
The very morning we first met our bus, we had to drive from Tuscon (where we had just looked at another bus) to Yuma, AZ. On the way, we decided to stop at the Amtrak Station in Maricopa to pick up a ticket out to Los Angeles on our rail pass… just in case we needed to continue our bus hunt.
And what was there?
An original art-deco style California Zephyr observation car on display, that used to run the same route we had took from Chicago to San Francisco during our bus hunt on the modern day Amtrak.
We stood and marveled at it for quite a long time. We fantasized about converting it to be a RV-on-Rails and living in it full time. How sweet would that be??
The very next picture in my camera-roll download is the first picture of what would become our bus. Our bus had told us its name before we met her – we just needed the reminder.
When we made it to our next destination, we looked up the name Zephyr. It means ‘West Wind’ – perfect for the Haboob concept that kept calling us.
There have also been many other vehicles named Zephry that are inspiring and relevant to our lives, including:
RV Zephyr, research vessel
Qinetiq Zephyr, a solar powered unmanned air vehicle
Zephyr, the luxury liner ship in the Colonial fleet on the Battlestar Galactica series
We let the name sit for several weeks – and it’s stuck.
So, we are proud to present to you:
The Technomadia Zephyr
(However, I think her personal nickname will always be ‘Purdy’ to me and ‘Haboob’ to Chris.)
Zephyr is a fabulous name! Lots of personality. 🙂
Love the name and what a perfect fit! Cant wait to see some photos of the interior!
Thanks! 🙂 We have a full tour of the bus posted at:
https://www.technomadia.com/zephyr
I love it! 🙂
Chris & Cherie –
Well, just a wee tiny bit disappointed that my suggestion didn’t make the cut, but OTOH, the story that goes with your coach’s new name brings out the dual serendipity of the hunt.
If you’ve done a little research, you know that the railcar was one of those utilized on the “California Zephyr,” which ran between Chicago, IL and Emeryville (Oakland), CA from 1950 to 1970. At that time, the leg between Salt Lake City and Emeryville was abandoned.
Amtrak restored the run in 1983, altho the western leg from SLC now runs on Union Pacific tracks paralleling I-80 over Donner Summit. Previously, this leg of the Zephyr followed the Feather River Canyon route of the Western Pacific RR (which, btw, is a beautiful, if busy, drive in your bus).
The CZ featured train hostesses, specially trained (pun intended) to handle passenger needs. These women, usually 12 per train, were called “Zephyrettes.” So Cherie, as Zephyr’s official hostess, shall we consider you an honorary Zephyrette??
Congratulations on a well-chosen name. May Zephyr faithfully take you wherever the winds of whim decide to blow. . .
I like it. The adventure continues, this is good. Keep up the great posts. Espically on various products and links that you have found to be helpfull. Thanks.
Very nice! Has a great ring to it!
Nina
ZEPHYR? YESSIR!
What a great name! Congratulations and cheers to many more “Zephyr-ventures!”
Good job …what a neat discovery in Maracopa too! That vintage train is just as cool looking as Purdy …umm, Zephyr is.
Excellent name! I love the path that you took to learn it, as well. 😀
Great name! And I love the new site.
My friends named their dog Zephyr. A Zephyr is usually a gentle warm wind from the west, so here’s hoping that’s what you find as you wander.
Perfect choice guys!
Wonderful process towards a great name!
Love the stamp also!
wanderoke.blogspot.com
Excellent!
Woohoo! I love it!