Archive for Uncategorized
May 6, 2006 at 8:10 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Last night we kept Stan and Eileen up too late, talking after we’d grilled some steaks by the pool. But nonetheless, Stan knocked on our door this morning to invite us out for a day of exploring Grapevine. It’s actually quite an interesting town, with a historic downtown, a lake, and a very nice new city-run campground. Joe Moore, who oversaw the development of the Vineyards Campground, was there to give us a tour of the new facility, which just officially re-opened last week. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a nice place to stay conveniently close to DFW Airport and yet in a quiet suburban location.
It’s been unseasonably cool, with temps in the 70s and occasional thunderstorms roaming through, so my concern about no A/C at night has turned out to be needless. But next week it will be back in the 80s and 90s — more like what we’d expect from Texas this time of year. By then, we’ll be plugged into 30-amp power at Roger Williams Airstream, so no problem.
After a Texas bbq lunch (can’t resist the stuff) we headed over to a local airport hangar where Stan and Eileen keep their airplane and Airstream. It’s a lot of riveted aluminum under one roof. The Airstream is a ’67 Overlander, and the airplane is a 1946 Cessna 120 taildragger in absolutely cherry condition. I’m dying to get my hands on the yoke. If the thunderstorms are cleared out on Sunday, Stan will take me out for a ride.
While we were talking aluminum, Emma discovered a 4-year old girl on a bicycle and a friendly cat, so she was fully occupied. Turns out that people actually live in some of the airplane hangars. Hmmm… inexpensive and you get to keep your airplane and Airstream right in the living room! I like it.
Tonight’s plan is to just mellow out. We’re going to watch “The Emperor’s New Groove,” have a light dinner, and practice Uno and checkers. Rich C is arriving in his Airstream Safari 25 on Monday, and Emma wants to be ready for him. She’s getting pretty good at checkers … watch out Rich!
May 4, 2006 at 8:05 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Another small world story today: we stopped off in Canton TX to get lunch, and stumbled across this little local taco stand. There was room for the Airstream so of course we pulled in. After lunch, a car drove up to our trailer and a man inside said, ” …. Rich?”
It turned out to be blog reader and fellow Airstreamer Fred Richardson, who we had not seen since last year’s Homecoming event in Jackson Center. He saw the big silver thing parked by the road, and of course being a good Airstreamer, he made a U-turn to get a better look. Then he noticed the big graphics and realized it was us!
It was great to see Fred, since we owed him thanks for arranging our visit to Taylor, for some of the best barbecue in Texas. We gave him a quick tour of our trailer, talked about disc brakes and Hensley hitches, and then waved goodbye as we headed west on I-20. We’ll see him and his wife again someday, I’m sure.
Tonight we are courtesy parking at the home of Stan and Eileen, in Grapevine, which is north of DFW Airport. At the moment we are parked right in front, in the midst of a very neatly trimmed suburban neighborhood of brick homes, but when Eileen gets home we may move to the driveway. It seems a very nice place to be parked for a few days, but our concern is whether the nights will be too hot. At 5 pm, it’s still well into the 80s. Stan and Eileen don’t have a 30-amp power outlet for us to plug into, which means we can’t run the A/C. We’ll probably be fine with the Fantastic Vents … I hope …
Here’s a sign of the week. If you know you are going to Jefferson, turn left. If not, turn right.
May 3, 2006 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
First of all, I am under orders to acknowledge something that I did not mention in yesterday’s blog: Eleanor towed the trailer! You may not realize that of the 20,000 miles we have driven since last September, 100% of the towing has been done by me. Eleanor has until now refused to even try, but a few lectures from fellow Airstreamers about the need for backup, and a stretch of quiet roadway (Natchez Trace Parkway) finally got her into the driver’s seat. It was even her idea!
So she towed over 50 miles yesterday, and made several tight turns with a 30-foot trailer behind her, and nothing awful happened. The trailer is intact and not even scratched. We’re all hoping she’ll feel brave enough to try again soon.
It was not quite as exciting today wandering through Louisiana as we had hoped. Rt 84 west from Natchez is an historic route but not comparable to the Natchez Trace or old Route 66. I think things hit a low when, to entertain themselves, Emma and Eleanor began dressing up stuffed animals for an in-car beauty contest. After a few hours of not much, we hit boring (but fast) I-49 and zipped up to Shreveport for some groceries.
It has been in the upper 80s, and a little more humid, so the inevitable began to happen: thunderstorms. We were lucky and avoided the worst of them, but everywhere in northern Louisiana and Texas along I-20 we could see them building.
At exit 635 off I-20, you’ll find this place: Jim’s Bar-B-Q and Catfish. We parked the Airstream in the lane next to their drive-thru and ordered a 10-piece Cajun-fried catfish dinner. It fed two of us with a piece left over. (Emma prefers chicken, poor thing. She doesn’t know the pleasure of Cajun-fried catfish.) It came with hush puppies, pickled green tomatoes (delicious), and cole slaw. All for $11.99. I love a bargain.
Right now, Eleanor and Emma are at the table identifying a large black butterfly we spotted yesterday on the Natchez Trace. According to Emma’s identification book, it is a Pipevine Swallowtail. Later this evening, she’ll be practicing the game of Uno, because we plan to meet a friend who is obsessed with it. Emma plans to give him a good challenge.
Tonight’s stop is Caddo Lake State Park. Nice place, especially if you’ve got a boat. Water and electric for $12 ““ another bargain! But there’s no Sprint coverage and my Verizon phone is on “extended network”, which means both my primary and backup Internet connections are unavailable. (I’m posting this from a rest area on I-20 at noon Thursday and back-dating it.) So, we’ll only spend one night here and then head further west. We have plans for the weekend and friends to meet on Friday near the Dallas/Ft Worth area.
May 1, 2006 at 7:15 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Another long drive … but it is going to be worth it. Our overnight stop today is Roosevelt State Park — a very pretty spot with campsites situated around a pond. I can’t believe it’s considered off season here, because the weather couldn’t be better. Mid-70s, dry, green, quiet … and yet the camp store and other amenities of the park are shut down until the season starts.
Are they waiting for Mississippi humidity and 90+ degree temperatures to strike? I don’t get it, but on the other hand it’s fine with us since the park is deserted and peaceful. We have a neighbor, also in an Airstream, but we haven’t seen them yet. Otherwise, we are alone with the turtles in the pond.
As pleasant as it is here, this is just a stop along the way for us. Tomorrow we will drive up to the Nissan plant in Canton to take the factory tour. They build our tow vehicle, the Armada, along with the similar Infiniti Q56, so it’s a homecoming of sorts. I was lucky to get a tour spot since they are booked up through the summer. Fortunately there was a cancellation.
The factory rules say no kids under 10, no cameras, no cell phones, and there’s a dress code too (for safety reasons). So Eleanor and Emma and my camera will stay back in the trailer as they did in Bowling Green when I toured the Corvette plant.
We’re playing around with the idea of driving part of the Natchez Trace over the next couple of days, too. We don’t need to be in Texas until Friday, so there’s a bit of spare time to take the scenic route. We’ll decide tomorrow.
April 30, 2006 at 8:24 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
It has been uneventful day of towing but good things are happening nonetheless. We broke camp this morning in the strongest wind we’ve had at Myrtle Beach yet. It felt like a steady 20+ MPH. I had to hold things down to keep them from blowing away.
Goodbye, Myrtle Beach!
While towing west, I talked on the phone with a few friends (fellow Airstreamers). Brett is making plans to join us at the International Rally in Oregon this summer. Rich C is going to try to hook up with us in New Mexico and caravan with us for a month or so. Adam and Susan are going to meet us at International and caravan with us to Montana. And in Montana, we’ll meet up with Bert and Janie for a week or so!
Meanwhile, Eleanor was on the laptop from the passenger seat, researching flights for our visit home (Vermont). It’s great to be able to make productive use of the road time with the Internet and a cell phone. Emma was in the back chatting on the phone, coloring, playing with her Leap Pad, and playing with her stuffed animals, so we all managed to make the 7+ hours of driving not as horrible as it could have been. And now, here we are … at Cracker Barrel.
Tomorrow will be a shorter day of towing. We are going to try to intersperse the long days with short days, as we head 1200 miles west to our next major stop in Weatherford TX. As I mentioned, we are going to have a bunch of cool upgrades done to our rolling home at Roger Williams Airstream in Weatherford, so if you live nearby let me know if you can meet us there! We’re getting disc brakes, solar panels, and some Vista Views too. Should be very interesting to watch!
April 29, 2006 at 9:10 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
One of my favorite events at a rally is the Vintage Open House. All the owners of trailers 25 years or older throw open the doors to socialize and show off their very cool rigs.
Photographically, it’s a great event to attend, but I recommend strong sunglasses on a shiny day. The polished trailers can be hard on the eyes!
Bob Clark and his 1972 Airstream
We often see familiar people at these events. We haven’t seen the folks below, Janea and Ed Whitacre, since last summer at the International Rally in Springfield MO. I’ve been lusting after their 1972 Globetrotter for years, but I can’t convince them to sell it!
Janea and Ed Whiteacre
I went over to Fred Bothwell’s new toyhauler project. He thinks his cut-down Globetrotter is smaller than the smallest Airstream ever made. No interior yet. It will be perfect to haul his golf cart.
Emma’s evening was spent with the other girls at a pizza party. She says she doesn’t want to leave Myrtle Beach, which is her way of saying she’s had a good week. But tonight we are planning our departure. Tomorrow, we begin heading west …
April 28, 2006 at 4:35 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
What a beautiful day! We lucked out. It’s upper 70s and absolutely gorgous and dry. Perfect for our Open House today. A crowd showed up at 1 pm and hung around until 2:30 (when the official Beach Party was scheduled to begin).
A few people checked out our unusual trailer, and others snacked under the awning and asked questions about how we do what we do. A lot of people wanted to know when I worked, and I told them “Whenever I can.” Today, for example, I managed to get two articles edited and uploaded for layout, and started work on a third. Half an hour here, half an hour there, and eventually it gets done.
I also got a chance to briefly interview some other folks who had great little innovations in their Airstreams. Those will appear in the Summer magazine. And, best of all, I have been told that the Spring magazine is finally off the press and will be put in the mail this weekend.
Then it was off to the Beach Party, which was terrific. Water balloon tossing contests, kite-flying, digging in the sand for treasure, etc. In the photo above, Emma is competing against a bunch of other “girls”.
Brett and I got chosen to play each other in the balloon toss. We set a record for longest tosses, but ultimately I got splashed (and lost!)
Fred catches another one
Now we’ve got a few minutes before the barbecue dinner at the clubhouse. I’m already beat from all the action today, and tomorrow looks to be even busier. Other people relax at rallies. I always need a vacation after one!
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