Please read ENTIRE listing before booking. BAB (Big-Ass Bus) is a 1957 Greyhound bus on a donkey farm in SW Virginia. She's ON the Creeper Trail with all the amenities of a full-size home, but in a smaller package: hot+cold water; electricity; full kitchen with compact fridge; HEAT; A/C; HS WiFi; smart TV; +a cute little bathroom with toilet+shower. Perfect for 2 people (over 12 years old+under 6 feet tall). *No pets, please. One parking space.. NO CLEANING FEE.
The space
***Please note that we are no longer hosting NASCAR guests. Those races are often over in the middle of the night, and we are light sleepers here.
Welcome to BAB (Big-Ass Bus)--one of the most unique stays in all of Southwest Virginia, on the property of Abingdon Donkey Lodge, a historic inn and donkey farm where diversity and inclusion are CELEBRATED! BAB is tucked away to the side of our property, away from our (maximum of four) house guests at the inn, so you'll have plenty of privacy. The bus OVERLOOKS the equine feeding and training area, so you will have an up-close-and-personal view of our beloved herd right outside your windows. Your hosts are Christal, a best-selling writer and teacher, and Jane, a consultant, engineer, and mathematician. Thank you so much for reading ALL DETAILS below before booking.
BAB is a 1957 GMC 4104 bus that was part of the intercity transit system out of San Francisco, California, after World War II. In a time before San Francisco had a subway system, Greyhound buses were one of the primary means of public transportation inside the city--and between cities as well. Using San Francisco as her base, BAB served the entire Central Valley of California. BAB was there for the Freeway Revolt, the creation of Candlestick Park, the Summer of Love, the rise of The Castro as a Gay Mecca, the Vietnam War, and the "Manhattanization" of San Francisco.
In the early 1970s, she was retired from Greyhound and purchased by the children of one of her drivers. In 1983 she was converted to an RV. She was used lightly and then sat quietly inside a barn for 20 years. When she was sold again, she became an off-grid tiny home, complete with solar panels, much beloved by her family of four, who lived in her full-time for eight years while they traveled all over the United States.
We are her fourth owners--and after between one and three MILLION MILES (no one knows for sure)--she's happily and permanently parked adjacent to our donkey sanctuary. She still runs, but we don't plan on taking her anywhere. Her off-grid solar panels still work too, but we've converted her to a 50 amp electrical connection so you can run higher-wattage appliances like coffee makers, air conditioners, and hair dryers.
BAB is a house on wheels, complete with living room with smart TV; full kitchen with propane mini-range (no oven), microwave, and compact fridge with freezer; a separate bathroom with shower and flush toilet; and a bedroom in back with two side-by-side memory foam twin beds. She has electricity, fans, heat, TWO air conditioners, high-speed Internet, a coffee station, filtered water, privacy curtains, overhead and cabinet storage, and camera security outside the entrance. BAB is spacious and comfortable and feels more like a house than an RV, with the exception of her camper-style bathroom, which is meticulously clean and well-vented, cute as a button, and gets the job done.
*** ONE parking space is included; please do not bring tag-along campers or trailers, as we don't have room for them.
You also have access to our shared outdoor WATERFRONT space, which includes three fire pits. (Please bring your own firewood and starter supplies.)
Here are TEN things you need to know about BAB before you book, besides her being the cleanest, coolest, most retro glamping stay in all of SW Virginia (I mean, where else can you stay in a hippie bus ON The Creeper Trail ON a donkey farm?)
1. You'll be able to hear some farm and road noises through BAB's spectacular, history-filled aluminum walls. After all, she is a bus with single-pane windows--and she sits on a farm right beside a country road. Early risers will love the charming brays of donkeys. (We consider this part of the adventure, but we've added a noise-cancelation machine and disposable earplugs to the bedroom for people who are more sound-sensitive. The sounds don't bother us at all.)
2. If you are big and beautiful (over 6 feet tall AND/OR over 275 lbs), you may not be comfortable in BAB. Her ceilings are 6 feet in height, and if you're taller than that, you'd spend your time inside the bus bending down or leaning. Her bathroom is small and efficient like most camper bathrooms, with a small flush toilet designed for less grand buttocks.
3. BAB is now an off-grid tiny house, so her fresh water supply, grey water, and black water are all stored in tanks in her "basement" area. (There are no direct-connects to water or sewer like you would see in campgrounds.) BAB stores 25 gallons of fresh water at a time, so you may need your freshwater tank refilled during your stay. This means that your friendly and easy-to-reach hosts will need to enter BAB once a day for 2-3 minutes--at your convenience--to keep track of your water and sewage levels. Then we can add water or empty the sewage as necessary, which is done from the outside of the bus, without disturbing you at all. ***BAB is all about conserving water. Compostable dishes, bowls, and silverware are provided to help you do just that. We don't want you to be afraid to use water, though. That's why we come into the bus once a day to check levels--so we can refill your water if we need to do so.
4. BAB has a small 6-gallon hot-water heater--which means showers should be FAST (less than 5 minutes.) You may also want to give her 15 minutes or so BETWEEN showers to reheat the water.
5. When it comes to electric appliances that use a lot of energy like the microwave, the electric water kettle, hair dryers, the electric heater, and the coffee maker, please use ONE AT A TIME. (There are signs up inside BAB to remind you of this.) Otherwise, BAB's sensitive breakers will trip.
6. BAB has an old-school propane gas range that you must light yourself if you want to cook. (There is no working oven.) We provide an electric kettle for heating hot water, and there's a Keurig-like coffee maker in BAB too. Most people find that they don't need to use the range at all because Abingdon has AMAZING restaurants. We lived in downtown Atlanta for years, so we have high expectations when it comes to food. (If you do decide you want to use the gas range, and you aren't sure how to use it, please ask us, and we're happy to assist you.)
7. If there are torrential downpours, BAB has a couple of windows that may drip a little. We just wipe it up with a paper towel, give thanks that we are not in a tent, and keep it moving.
8. Thank you in advance for understanding that BAB is a NON-SMOKING and CANDLE-FREE listing.
9. If you plan to visit in April or October especially, know that BAB can get chilly at night, even with the heater on. We provide extra blankets, but please dress accordingly.
10. The bus is RIGHT NEXT to our donkeys. If you choose to pet them through the fence, please keep hands away from their mouths--and do not feed them. They are all on special diets.
11. Please do not open BAB’s windows. Not even a little. Ever. She’s almost 75 years old and they’re too fragile to open and close regularly. Plus, if one got broken, it would be almost impossible to find replacement parts.
Your two hosts, Christal and Jane, can't wait to meet you! Please let us know what we can do to host you--and what we can do to make your stay incredible too!
We also have another Airbnb listing on this property about 200 feet from BAB: the upstairs of our home, built in 1760 and a former Civil War hospital. It accommodates 2 people. For more information, search the web for Abingdon Donkey Lodge. See you soon!
Guest access
From BAB, The Creeper Trail is approximately 50 feet away. Walk or bike to Damascus (6 miles) or Abingdon (9 miles) from here. You will have ONE parking space.
You will also have access to our waterfront property across the street from the bus. It's shared with your hosts AND our house guests, but we all have plenty of room to have our own space.
Other things to note
Thank you so much in advance for reading our ENTIRE listing, including our rules and guidelines, before booking. Let us know what we can do to host you--and to make your experience extraordinary.
