Blogging in Aluminum

Happy New Year , Merry Belated Christmas, hope you had a very scary Halloween, a relaxing Labour Day, a fun filled summer… yes, I know, it has been a VERY long time since my last blog entry and I am dutifully hanging my head in an almost shameful pose.  Much has happened since July. 

1.  We sold Pepsi (the 1975 Tradewind) to Gene and Carmen Baleme. They had been "un-official" members of the WBCCI-SNU for FIVE years and it was long overdue that they get into an Airstream and become official.  IMHO.  So, with a little coaxing and subltle cajoling (and  conspiring with Diane Leipper) I convinced the Balemes and Roman that  Pepsi was meant for them.  It was not an easy thing to let go of her.  Pesi is a beautiful trailer with all the amenities you could want in an Airstream.  Even has solar!  But, it was far more important to get them out of their cute little Tab and into something, well, more shiny and round.   If I had my way, every sentient bipedal would get to camp in the curved lovliness of the likes of Pepsi. 

2. Roman took the 2008 Intl on a solo trip to San Diego for two weeks… upon his departure I ran through ALL of the things one must do on a DAILY basis to keep it clean and in working order when camping (I do all of these things while he usually sits outside drinking coffee).  One of the biggies, when in a warm place like SoCal, is making sure you clean up after eating and doing your dishes unless you like to share your shiny space with critters and ants.  Weeeellll, about one week into his trip I receive a call that he has a little problem, or rather several hundered little problems.  He spilled some coffee (loaded with sugar and artificial creamer) and didn’t quite get all of the sugary bait cleaned up (probably got distracted by the shiny interior skin) and before too long had loads of new room-mates crawling al over the place.  When he called you would have thought that a nest of killer bees had invaded the trailer!  With a bit of over the phone coaching he finally rid of the pests (in the space of a week).  If he would have only listened…  ROFL.  I have decided that he needs a "bachelor trailer" for his solo trips, one that can take the abuse.

3.  We attended a couple of rallies at Obsidian Dome and Hope Valley where we "hosted" for the first time and took part in our first ever pseudo caravan.  It might be one of the only rallies in SNU history that involved an impromptu site change/caravan!

4.   Roman and I towed the Airstream to my cousin Candy’s house for Thanksgiving and had a really nice time with all the little cousins running around and family and then headed off to the redwoods for a nice two day trip up the coast.  We spent time camped out at Patrick’s Point State Campground while we explored the forests, beaches, Roosevelts Elks and of course the Giants. 

5.  Bought a 1967 Globetrotter from Chuck in Pacific Grove and picked "Gloria the Globetrotter" up over the New Year.  We took our neice Daniella to the Aquarium and to the beach for the first time!

If you find yourself traveling through the lake tahoe area and you like to boondock, this little gem is a great place to rest and take in some hikes and or fishing.   Roman and I had been nominated to go scout out the Blue Lakes area for an Airstream rally site for our WBCCI unit.  We only stayed one night but it was well worth the effort of packing up and driving the entire 20 minutes  out there… it rained the first day so we stayed in the trailer and ate fresh baked cookies, watched some movies, caught up on our reading and took a nap while the rain fell on the trailer…. aaahhhhhhh.  The second day we awoke to the solar panels reading 100% and the sun poking thru the clouds.  Inspired by the scenery and feeling refreshed, Rome decided to give me a few lessons on backing up and turning the trailer in reverse.  We broke camp and took a leisurely drive thru the blue lakes area to explore more possible rally sites and I got to practice a 12-14 point turn.  We found another great campsite and after what seemed an eternity of parking and backing up instructions, we got level and had some lunch with the Sierra Nevadas offering the best of all backdrops.  Spring time up here, in my opinion, cannot be beat.

To any and all who keep trying to allow/revive this lame issue,

Please put this matter to rest, finally.  You have tried twice (valiantly?) and the members (who all own Airstreams) have said “Nay”.  Let it go and move on so we can spend time worrying about more important things like filliform and gaucho vs dinettes instead.

Oh, don’t you worry about declining membership (I know that this reason is part of your concern for allowing non-airstreamers into the club, lol), I plan on being a WBCCI member for a looooong time and I am pretty good at finding Airstream OWNERS to give the WBCCI a try. I try to make Wally proud, god rest his soul.  Now, I realize the old guard always has trouble passing the torch to the younger generation.  It is part of the human condition.  Someday, I too will be part of the older generation who may not see things in a reasonable and logical manner. :O  But, sometimes we have to put down our Bingo cards and really think about what is best for the club and not just our ideas of how we want it to be, right?

Well, struggle no more, I have a great idea! (albeit not a new one…)

If you want to be a member of an Airstream club… buy an Airstream.   If you do not want to buy an Airstream or you do not feel the quality is up to your standards or you would like a new motorhome (airstream no longer manufactures class A)… join a general rving club.  If your friends all have Airstreams and you would like to keep going to rallies with them, convince them to join another club with you, Good Sams for example.   If you email me I will be happy to send you a list of links to such clubs.  I will even help you fill out the registration forms.

If that doesn’t work for you and you really love the WBCCI , my boyfriend has a great idea that I think will make everyone happy!

DISCLAIMER – these views are my own and in no way have been condoned or endorsed by Airstream/Thor Industries, the WBCCI, SNU or any other sane persons.

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? 

Just heard (or more correctly, read) on airforums that Airstream will be replacing the Safari line for 2009 with the return of the Flying Cloud.  Airstream manufactured the Flying Cloud model from 1950-1963, and I believe they were 21-22 feet long and sinlge axle.  They have named the 2009 Safari Sport model… Sport.  It will the have the option of wrap around windows, NICE!  I think it is a cool idea to refer back to the retro ideas (maybe ideals as well) of Airstreaming and hitting the road in style.  But, did they have to kill the Safari line in the process? Hmmmmm.  Can’t wait to go take a tour of one.  I’ll post pix if I find any