METHUEN — Bob Roswell is stuck in the 1950s.
He has a restored 1950 Mercury, drives a 1947 Flxible Clipper bus as a motor home and made Elvis' Graceland home a stop on his trip across the country.
"It was kind of a good time," said Roswell, 65, about his favorite decade as he gave a tour of his bus, which is decorated inside in the style of a 1950s diner.
The upholstery is turquoise and white, like a 1957 Chevy. The ceramic tile on the floor is black and white. The couch is half of a diner booth and a miniature jukebox hangs on the wall over the table. The stove and refrigerator are silver chrome, as is the border that runs around the top of the bus to hang the curtains.
The sleek red bus, Roswell and his girlfriend, North Andover native Terri Rinaldi, 57, rolled into Methuen last week, having completed a cross-country trip that attracted lots of attention on the road. Passers-by greeted them by honking their car horns and giving a thumbs up. Others held up their cell phones to snap a quick picture of the bus, Rinaldi said.
They spent more than six years and $100,000 to transform the once-charter bus into a motor home of their dreams.
Roswell's business in El Cajon, Calif., just outside San Diego, restores classic cars and buses, but the Flxible Clipper was a labor of love. He did all the work himself, with the exception of the upholstery and tile work, he said.
Roswell kept the huge steering wheel, now adjustable, one of the few features of the bus's former days. And he put a fare box next to the driver's seat.
"I tell people that's my 401(k) plan," he said.
A placard on the dashboard identifies the bus driver as "Honest Bob."
The bus is 38 feet, but longer when pulling the trailer with the Mercury and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
"The thing I love to see is how (the bus) pleases people. It's old and nostalgic, but it's still driving. It didn't end up in a junkyard somewhere," he said, adding that many people seem envious of the traveling couple. "I hear all the time from the crowd, 'That's what I want to do.'"
On their journey to see family in the Merrimack Valley, the couple visited Nashville, the place where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, and Elvis' home in Memphis, where they happened to bump into the previous owners of the bus, also from California, who were on their way to Maryland.
The foursome swapped stories over a plate of waffles, Roswell said.
The bus has been reinvented at least four times, according to Roswell. It first served as a charter bus in the 1940s and 1950s. Later, it became the team bus for the Dodgers baseball team, which moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Then, a man bought it for a motor home, and 17 years ago Roswell purchased it from him with an eye to touring the open road.
"To drive in something I built, 70 mph down the highway, that feels pretty good," Roswell said. "The top speed of the bus out of the factory was probably 48 mph. Now we cruise down the road with GPS and power steering."
The bus hides other modern comforts — air conditioning, a stereo system, power steering, air brakes and a passenger seat that reclines with a foot rest. The satellite TV doesn't match the decor, so with the press of a button Roswell can make it disappear into the counter.
Swinging doors, which in a 'real' diner would open into a kitchen, instead lead into a bedroom and bathroom.
Their trip, much like their relationship, has had a couple of stops and starts along the way.
The pair first attempted to travel to the East Coast in July 2007, but just 98 miles from their home the bus's transmission gave out and it had to be towed back.
They took off from San Diego three weeks ago. The start was much smoother the second time around.
Roswell and Rinaldi first met 30 years ago, while working for a carnival. Roswell, who grew up in Arlington, was running Happy Time Shows, then-based in Pelham, N.H. Rinaldi worked setting up and taking down the rides. Eventually, they went their separate ways. He was married and divorced. She was married and widowed.
Five years ago they renewed their friendship and Rinaldi moved to California.
"We were both happy traveling with the carnival and that led us into busing and traveling on the road today," Roswell said.
After hanging out with family for a few weeks here, the couple plans to drive back along the northern United States to see Mount Rushmore and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio.
"Maybe we will go back, fuel up and take off again," Roswell said.
Glance around the bus
Classic fare box from the 1930s
Original large steering wheel
Bus operator's placard on the steering wheel
Black-and-white ceramic tile floor
Couch is one half of a diner's booth
Jukebox on the wall
Turquoise-and-white upholstery
Swinging doors into the bedroom
Silver chrome kitchen appliances
Bus facts
r The Flxible brand company made buses, ambulances and hearses from the 1920s to the 1960s.
r The bus gets 12 miles to a gallon of gas or five miles to the gallon when pulling the trailer.
r The bus was used as a team bus for the Dodgers baseball team after it moved to California.
