Blogging in Aluminum

With the crazy increase in gas prices people are becoming more and more concerned with the cost of towing an Airstream.  If you love the vintage look of the older Airstreams and you can appreciate the aesthetics of tambour doors in walnut grain, avocado green and bright orange formica then guess what???? The 70′s models may be the answer to your prayers.  Airstream made their trailers more narrow and quite a bit lighter during the decade of discotheques and Amway parties.   The interiors are constructed with lighter weight materials and if you buy one that was made after 1973 you will get the bonus of a grey water tank.  If you are thinking of downsizing or you are a first time buyer you can check out the trailer weights here.

It all started because we took my dad camping for a week in our ’75 Tradewind.  He had so much fun he decided he needed to look into this airstream thing a little more.  I had so much fun with him that I decided that I needed to help him "look into this".  Well, that meant, of course, I would have to start searching for an Airstream for dear ole’ pops.  Who better than me!  Whooooo-Hoooooo!  I had a sanctified and justifiable reason to spend HOURS diving into Airstream classifieds.  Yes!  Who could possibly argue that it wasn’t a noble reason to put off work and chores?  Who?  I mean come on, the man is 82 and needs to enrich his remaining years.  I NEEDED to help HIM.

One of our unit’s stable forces, Diane Leipper, suggested that we help my dad find a B-Van.  It was her and Brian’s solution as their parents started to get to the age where towing their own trailer was getting risky.  So, Brian would tow his and Diane’s trailer with their parents B-Van.  Great solution if you ask me.  Only one tow vehicle and two living quarters. 

Thanks to Craigslist I found one in about two days of continuous and ARDUOUS searching.  It was located in Kennewick Washington and owned by a nice man named Chuck.  About two days later, dad decided to pull the trigger and Roman negotiated the purchase of a very nice 1994 Airstream B-Van.  We had it shipped down via UShip (kind of like an ebay for transporting things) and it arrived, as luck would have it… in time for Dad’s first WBCCI Airstream Rally!!!!!!!  More on that later…..

Does this allow me to call myself a second generation Airstreamer? 

 A example of why an Airstream is such a great design and they are still

the best thing EVER!

 Just right click on video and select "play" to start film.

The video was created by Can-Am RV Centre who have a pretty cool page
dedicated to tow vehicles and Airstream combinations.  Some which I did not realize were possible!

If the world I lived in were a movie or a fantasy tale… then today’s chapter/scene would start out this way….

…The heavenly sky opened up as shimmering yellow rays poured down.  A woman glanced out of her front windows, rubbing the sleep out her eyes, and peered out barely able to offer more than a squint.  The light was almost blinding but she could not look away.  There, parked in her front yard, twinkling (she almost thought winking at her) and shiny was her long missed companion.  The 25fb International Airstream.  She hurriedly made her cofee, scooped up her MacBook Pro and headed off to sit in it’s comforting warmth… to blog IN aluminum. 

With much coercion, I mean discussion, I have the International back up at the lake.  "How did it get here?" you might ask.  I towed it here.   That’s right.  I towed it up Spooner pass and had a friend , Brandon, help me back it in.  I called him half way up the mtn when I realized I had no idea how I was going to get the AS in the driveway.  I promised Roman I could get it taken care of.  Eeeks.  Thanks for the help Brandon and Justin! 

Driving up the mtn pass with only two small dogs as company was very liberating. What crept into my thoughts was "Now I can go on trips with the girls!"   Now, I just need to get better at that "backing up" thing.  The whole "turn in the  opposite direction you want the trailer to go in" is so counterintuitive.   I practiced backing up and turning for about 10 minutes while waiting for Brandon.  I really suck at it.

I have spent the better part of the week, while Rome has been out of town, cleaning the AS and getting it ready for the summer.  And, joy of joys, I have moved my home office back into the Airstream for the summer.  Ah, peace and serenity. 

Got this great tool from RVDreamer’s blog

• Try zooming in using the scroll on your mouse.
• Zoom in far enough and the gas prices at gas stations start showing up.
• Then click on the price and get information about that particular gas station.