Dav and I strive to bring back Burning Man ethos to our SF life, and as part of that, Dav had a brilliant idea to use our RV as a free (party) taxi. We were planning on decorating the RV and doing this service on a weekend sometime, picking up folks who needed a ride, and have a moving party going on at the same time. Then some friends of ours decided to use their SUV on NYE to offer free taxi rides (well, there was a fee: each customer had to make a confession). Our friends inspired us to try our stab at the taxi service idea this NYE too. It's a perfect idea as we couldn't go to any parties with Tesla, so driving around in our RV brought the party to us, we got to see almost all of our friends, and we totally brought happiness to numerous strangers who got free rides.
I have to say it really was a grand success. And mad hats off to Dav since he really did all the decorating, shopping for beer/bar drinks/snacks, and drove for 8+ hours on NYE. I sat by Tesla making sure she was OK, and socialized : ) And a big hug/kiss to Tesla who again was the most well-behaved chill baby ever. She stayed up looking at all the lights in the RV until 11:30, being totally happy playing with her toys. Once conked out, she stayed put the entire time til we got home at 4am!
At first, we picked up our friends and housemates. But soon we had our first customer who was waiting for a bus in Potrero Hill. He couldn't believe his luck and was so delighted he rode around with us for over an hour. At one point we had about 20 people stuffed in the RV. It was packed like a Tokyo subway, but with music blaring, drinks going around, and lots of laughter.
Some people were from out of town, and were in awe that SF was so such fun. We met fellow burners too. One group of youngsters boarded and when they realized what we were doing, they shouted, "Dav Dav Dav" as if he was the hero of the night (he was!!). It was such a joy to see everyone happy. And I loved surprising people that this whole free party taxi was just that. Free.
The highlight was at midnight, when we had dropped off all strangers and picked up close friends. Dav drove to Treasure Island so we could catch the fireworks. Instead of at some party, we were all together in our own intimate space, and welcomed the new year as we drove over the bridge.
My pictures TOTALLY don't do justice. Elida got a ton of great shots
here.
How much fun! Good for you!
Happy New Year!
Posted by: Ms. Jen | 01/01/2007 at 08:30 AM
This is SO great. Man oh man those pictures just brought me joy. CAMPA!!!! It's funny but there was one eensie part of me that almost made it out to SF for NYE. You know, I would comment more often but my computer at home sucksass and has gotten super slow "as if" I have dialup. I've taken it into the shop & everything. Anyway. So pretend like I comment more bc I do in my head!! Yes and I agree, Dav you are a superhero. What a fulfilling way to spend the evening, connecting with the community that's on every corner! I'll be out in the bay area again, maybe this time we can catch a longer chat over tea? I know you're going back to work soon so good luck with that. Sorry for turning my comment into a paragraph!
Posted by: Helen | 01/01/2007 at 12:06 PM
wow what a cool idea. You guys rock. Happy New Year!
Posted by: Jeff-b | 01/02/2007 at 03:27 AM