Meet me!
Hi everyone! I’m Bre and the owner of The Big Orange Bus. I am 24 years old, and I have owned the bus since my senior year of high school. I attended the University of Tennessee Knoxville and currently work as a Certified Medical Assistant/ Pathology Coordinator Assistant at Knoxville Institute of Dermatology.
I am a shameless dog mom to a boxer mix named Meeka. When I’m not working, you can usually catch me binge-watching Netflix shows with my best friend and boyfriend or on the lake with my parents. I am very blessed to be surrounded by an incredibly strong girlfriend group, who are just as successful as they are beautiful. I look forward to getting to know all of you as well!
From a whole lot of rust….
It had always been my dream to own a VW bus. I dreamed of driving through mountain roads with the windows down; a load of my friends in the back on our way to float down the river, blasting some Stevie Nicks. I was a hippie at heart. I had begged my parents for years to get one as a family bus. One night after my daily search through Craigslist, Ebay and Facebook advertisements; I found her. Nancy. A 1970 VW bus just begging me to respond to the add.
I’m sure you can guess the rest. My Dad and I went to see this star-spangled bus and fell in love. We intended to turn it into one last Father-Daughter project going into last year of high school before starting college. We spent countless hours doing rust control, painting… then repainting the exterior trying to find the perfect fit until we finally landed on our signature color. Bright orange. We then separated our skills and tackled what fit our talents best - the interior for me and under the hood for him.
It became our favorite hobby over the next two years. Nancy was our own little escape from reality until we realized that she might be someone else’s too. The memories, smiles, and photos that stick with you for a lifetime are simply priceless. Just like Nancy, life comes with dents and bruises through the years, but surrounded by the people you love (and a fresh coat of paint every now and then), the finished product is undeniably beautiful.
