Life As a Rock and Roll Tour Bus


After the bus retired from the Greyhound fleet it found it's way into the hands of a 1970's rock band called Estus. It was purchased outside of Baton Rouge Louisiana and became the tour bus for the band. 
​Estus formed in 1970 by brothers Tom and John Nicholas. They produced their first and only album in 1973 with Columbia Records.  They opened for such headliners as BB King and Tina Turner, and on the flip side.... Areosmith and Robert Palmer opened for them.  The band parted ways in 1977 never to produce another album together.

Thomas Estus Nicholas
became a recording and sound engineer in Kansas City Missouri producing a variety of albums, commercials, and art along the way. He left this planet of August 20th, 2017.
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John Nicholas
became the GM of one of a prominent club in the DC area. 

Mark Bell
parted ways with the band and join forces with the Ramones. 

​Harry Humpf
​unsuccessfully pursued his music career in New York and finally opted for an office job.  When the twin towers were attacked on September 11th, 2001 he was working down street.  He managed to escape alive, but passed away two years later from depression. He said that the Estus Album was one of the things in his life he was most proud of.
 

1978 and Marshall, MO

After the band broke apart Tom Nicholas moved back with his two small children and wife to Marshall Missouri. Parking the Bus in the driveway of his families ancestral home. 
This is where I enter......in 1978, the last year the bus was licensed and road worthy..... I was born.  
The aluminum beast  sat in the driveway of my childhood home, becoming the vehicle of our adolescent dreams and fantasies. Whether it was a clubhouse, spaceship, or fishing boat it never lost its charm.  When my Grandmother sold the house, the bus was moved to a storage facility outside of Belton Missouri.  It has been there for 24 years awaiting a time that someone would resurrect it. That is where Hound47 and the dream begins again!

​As you can see this vessel is in need of some love. It has been neglected like so many things in our lives. It is my goal to have this beautiful piece of history re-purposed into a photo booth and lounge on Wanderlust Farms. Fourty-one years after it's retirement and the year I was born.  We all have dreams..... wether it is to be a rock star, astronaut, or to just make a difference in the world around us. At Hound 47 my dream is to bring people together through a love of food, education, and moments that will be remembered for a life time. Visit us often because we will be updating our progress in the months to come!
FOLLOW THE DREAM!

Sometimes Dreams Get Put On Hold!

In October of 2019 it looked as though all my hard work was paying off.  I was under contract to purchase a piece of property in the Kansas City area that was to become known as Wanderlust Farms: an event space, garden center, and culinary educational facility. In the last days before closing the deal fell apart. The last piece, the appraisal, came back at a whooping $90,000 dollars below the sales price.  We had options. We could have made the deal work, but something in my gut told me to walk away, even when my heart was breaking.

Fast forward to six months later and the country is locked down due to a pandemic. Who could have ever predicted that!!! If I had listened to my heart Wanderlust Farms first year of business would have come to a screaming halt. I am a true romantic. I usually follow my heart. Maybe our heart is there to shape our dreams and our guts are there to help guide us in the right direction.

So for now, and just now, I will be still... as still as I can be. I will keep moving forward adding to my skill set.  Dreaming with my heart and listening to my gut. When the time is right, and if it is meant for me... "whatever will be will be."