THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994                TAG: 9407120160
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS          PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JIMMY GNASS, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines

BUS LANDMARK HAS MOVED - ACROSS THE STREET BOB LAKE IS NOW USING HIS BRIGHTLY DECORATED CAMPER FOR TRANSPORTATION.

Bob Lake moved his bus.

After eight months on the corner of Hampton Boulevard and Gates Avenue, the graffiti-covered landmark is alive and kicking.

The 1978 Volkswagen camper was hard to miss if you were traveling down Hampton Boulevard to work or school.

The bus sports the paint job from hell. Gargantuan, abstract letters cover most of the bus's exterior, along with bouncing yellow happy faces. It looks like a modern rendition of Ken Kesey's acid bus.

``Just the hippies bug me,'' says Lake, beaming a sarcastic grin. ``They wave all the time.''

Lake works as a free-lance photographer and is photo director at Old Dominion University's student newspaper, The Mace and Crown. He says the paint job was the result of some artist friends having a good time.

``The bus was broke down for months and it never moved. So I let my friends go off on it.''

After Lake sold his second car, he needed to get the bus running so he could move his belongings. When he took it for a test drive, a group of off-duty Navy guys in the back of a pickup spotted him and began shouting and waving.

``It lives!'' one of them shouted. ``It runs!''

That's when Lake realized how much attention the bus was getting.

``Since I moved, it's no longer a landmark,'' says Lake. He pauses to deliberate on the humor of this notion. ``But I'm not far - right across the street. Now people are confused; they think they're going the wrong way.''

Lake describes one incident at a local restaurant when the topic of his bus came up. A stranger broke into the conversation proclaiming: ``Yeah, I know that bus. I do my route there every day, and that's how I know my route is done, when I see that bus.''

These days, the bus, nicknamed Nellie, can be seen sputtering around Norfolk.

Obviously, Lake does not adhere to the standard notions of how a vehicle should be painted.

``It's a happy feeling, man. Everybody's stuck in these cars they buy with 10 versions of color that the big five decide, and that's it,'' says Lake. ``Nobody does anything different, so when you do it, it's great. It's a good time.''

Lake admits that sometimes Nellie gets too much attention. To prepare her for the summer traveling ahead, Lake says a new paint job might be in store for her.

``The kids love her, though'' says Lake. ``I tell them she runs on peanut butter and jelly.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON

Bob Lake stands beside his 1978 Volkswagen camper. The bus,

nicknamed ``Nellie,'' can be seen sputtering around Norfolk. ``The

kids love her,'' he says.

by CNB