Now that was the right way to run a rally … er, “campout”. The Heart of Texas Unit really has a great way of doing things. We had the most relaxing Saturday, and a great time despite the fact that it rained nearly all day.

Emma and her newfound friends spent the entire day together, playing card games in their ’67 Caravel, and getting into mud by the lakeside. We got her back at dinnertime, soaked, covered in mud, and as happy as a five-year-old can be.

I spent the morning sleeping. After my dawn breakfast, I decided to go back to bed, and didn’t wake up until 11! By then, breakfast was over but everyone was still out under the canopy talking, so I just showed up and nobody questioned where I’d been all morning. Eleanor and I ended up with David Tidmore in our trailer all afternoon, exchanging Airstream knowledge and planning some of our trailer upgrades.

David is a man of ideas and he knows how to execute them. In a few hours, he had me convinced to upgrade to disc brakes, re-wire my trailer for more efficient charging, and add solar. He also showed me the upgrades his dealership has done for other members, some of which are pretty clever, and he pitched me on switching to a Hensley Arrow hitch. We pitched him on our ideas to change some of our cabinetry, upgrade two of the windows, and possibly add a Vista View window. We’re going to keep talking this week about those projects.

Carter and Karmen Yountz's 1961 Bambi

Saturday’s dinner was an incredible Mexican-themed potluck. People in this unit really know how to cook. I was amazed at the quality. By dinnertime, a cold front had blown through and cleared out the rain, so it was cool but still nice enough to eat outside with a jacket on.

Emma and her friends came over at 8:30 to watch “The Princess Bride” on our TV and I made a big batch of popcorn for them, while Eleanor spent the evening out in our folks’ trailers looking at pictures and exchanging travel ideas.

In short, we had a great day. Today was nice too … a casual morning with breakfast at 9:00 or so, plenty of sunshine and chat, then I roamed around taking photos for future articles.

One "typical" family at the campout

In the afternoon we headed over to North Texas Airstream Community in Hillsboro and that’s where we are right now. I’ll tell you all about that this week.