January 9th, 2012
we’re celebrating another ANNIVERSARY. one year ago today WE took off in our AIRSTREAM looking for anything and everything. our first stop included BEIGNETS for the first time, candy’s can-we-have-them-everyday-amazing-MARGARITAS, and lots of work on eddie. oye. walked most of MAGAZINE street in new orleans. rode the ALGIERS ferry. drank a PINA COLADA from a drive-thru daquiri place. can we have one in denver please. saw the most amazing rocks on the KUMEYAAY hwy. made it to HOLLYWOOD and saw lots of STARS. thought about pretty woman as we walked along RODEO drive. walked amongst GIANTS. tried to convince the husband to grab onto a trolley and belt out rice-a-roni the san franciso treat. failed. ate the very best chicago style vegan DEEP DISH pizza. three times. drank thai TEA. watched FORTUNE COOKIES being made. walked in the petrified FOREST. found the best mexican restaurant in las cruces new mexice. hello stuffed sopapillas we like you a lot. learned all about BORDER control. went thrifting on SOCO in austin. watched old FAITHFUL erupt. stood next to a BUFFALO. saw about a hundred more. peered into turquoise POOLS and got steamy glasses. ran into an airstream with a doughnut on top. saw CANADA from the seattle shoreline. visited cadillac RANCH. saw the biggest blue BEAR ever. went to the BERNSTAIN bears hometown. fell head over heels in love with ROSLYN washington. dreamed about having more deep dish pizza. had a flat in one of the HOTTEST cities in america. saw the LONDON bridge. in ARIZONA. dared to go to the WICKEDEST town in the west. saw my first big cactus. jumped back and forth between arizona and nevada on the HOOVER dam. thought about TRANSFORMERS hanging off of the dam. couldn’t believe the dense forest in FLAGSTAFF. took pictures of EDDIE next to the wigwam TEEPEES. watched a BASEBALL game during spring training. went on tea, beer and wine TASTING tours. decided not to leave the ROCKIES. made LISTS of everywhere we still want to GO. blogged a lot. shared some FAVORITES. got frustrated some. had FUN. feel blessed. can’t wait to get out there all over again.
♥♥♥♥a big THANK you to all who follow along with us, we’re so happy you do♥♥♥♥
September 22nd, 2011
Today a vintage beauty for our home on wheels tour.. a tiny & shiny ’65 Globetrotter…
and I’ll tell you right now that I’m super jealous of their Home Sweet Home screen door push plate.
Mary & Tom are the proud owners, even though Tom got pulled into the whole thing a little unawares! (;
They gave us a shout, shared photos and did a Q&A.. thanks you two!!
1. How did you get into RV traveling? and do you travel full or part-time?
For probably 10 years prior to getting our vintage Airstream, I wanted one. My dad actually found this one in Northern Michigan about 6 years ago. I screamed with delight when I knew I actually owned it (bought it sight unseen). My husband, Tom, was not as thrilled as I was. He didn’t realize we were actually going to travel in it. He thought I was just going to leave it parked in the yard to use as a studio.
2. What year & model is your Airstream?
1965 Airstream GlobeTrotter, 20′ long
3. What made you choose Airstream, and vintage at that?
It’s a design icon!
4. Have you traveled in other types of RV’s? and if so, what and why did you make the switch?
Never even camped before getting our Airstream.
5. Did you restore your trailer or was it already good to go when you purchased it?
It needed a lot of work. We had a long (very long) list of things that needed to be replaced or repaired. We tried to prioritize the list because we couldn’t afford to do everything at once. Since we didn’t know anything about trailers we made some beginners mistakes along the way. For example, before we had the water hose fixed, we couldn’t use the faucet. So, we decided to take gallon jugs of water for our first trip out. I put these in the upper storage bins above the sink. When we arrived at our destination and opened the trailer door, we saw a huge mess. What happened?? The weight of the jugs of water had pulled the storage bins away from the wall and all the jugs split open so everything was soaking wet. What an expensive lesson we learned! What was the lesson?? Never store anything heavy in overhead bins. Of course any experienced camper knows things like that, but we didn’t. These are the kind of things you learn through doing.
6. What do you love the most about traveling in an Airstream? The least?
The people you meet along the way is the most fun part. The least fun is all the work of setting up once you get somewhere and trying to figure out things when they don’t work!
7. Where are you from and what are your favorite spots to camp at?
We live in Ada, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. We love Platt River Campground in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It is located in Northwestern Lower Michigan along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan. The closest city is Traverse City, 25 miles to the east. We also enjoy Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan for the Tin Can Tourists Rallies.
8. Best advice you could give wanna be Airstreamers?
Buyer beware! Know what you are getting yourself into if you purchase vintage. If you don’t know enough, find someone who does and is willing to check things over so you don’t end up owning something that is a money pit.
9. I know you went to Alumapalooza this year, do you belong to an Airstream group? and what’s that like?
Yes, we belong to WBCCI (Wally Byam Caravan Club International) and the Vintage Airstream Club, an intra-club of WBCCI. We also belong to Tin Can Tourists, a club for all makes of vintage trailers (although some Airstreamers call the other makes, “SOB’s”…. some other brand!) We especially enjoy belonging to these clubs because you meet some great people, have activities that promote kicking back and enjoying a simpler way of life. Also, it is wonderful to meet people willing to share ideas about how to fix things or answer questions you have on how something works. And, it’s always enjoyable to share a meal over the grill or marshmallows over the campfire!
10. What has traveling in an RV taught you?
Patience, enjoyment of seeing new things, meeting new people, slowing down and experiencing nature. Also how much you can simplify life and still get along quite comfortably.
September 8th, 2011
We’ve got a fun home-on-wheels guest today, newbie Airstreamers.. Peggy & Derald. They’re brand new to traveling by Airstream and not only that, they jumped in with both feet, choosing a vintage model that they fully restored/renovated. They’ve documented their renovation process on their blog and have tons of good tips, be sure to pop over and see them! Thanks so much to you both for sharing your insight thus far!!
1. How did you decide on an Airstream?
It was an easy choice. My husband recently retired from the sheet metal trade and I knew a vintage Airstream would be a fun ‘project’ for him to ease into retirement. Metal or plastic? Metal.
2. What model Airstream do you have and what made you choose the one you have?
We are the proud owners of a 1962 Safari Land Yacht Airstream. This model has a twin bed floor plan manufactured in Ohio. We were looking for a ‘vintage’ model with a length around 16 – 20′ and this trailer is 22′. We had looked at one Argosy located in AK but I was dead set on the shiny Airstream. We scanned the web daily for trailers for sale and on Sept. 9th we found this one on Craigslist in WI. Sept. 11th we purchased it and were on our way to MO.
3. What do you love about having a travel trailer versus a motorhome?
The closest thing to a motorhome we have had is a Sportsmobile van. I do love the Sportsmobile, it is very ‘stealth’. You can park it about anywhere. It is a dream to drive, extremely comfortable on the road and has a mini kitchen with sink with running water, a stove top and a microwave. The dinette in the back converts into the bed. This model is set up to have a penthouse but we did not opt for the bed ‘upstairs’. The pop up top with surround windows is great, but the downside is no bathroom. A porta-potty is like a postage stamp for a bathroom.
I love the Airstream and all of its amenities. Derald has done so much custom work with metal (in ours) that is beautiful, yet we have been able to keep a lot of the nostalgia such as the 1962 Dometic refrigerator. He has refurbished that baby with parts from all over the United States to make it run. When you look at our blog and see the work he did on the inside of the unit you can really appreciate the work that has been done. This Safari model has a couch that converts into a double bed and two twin beds in the front that pose for the dinette as well. We have comfortably slept 4 adults and 2 Jack Russell’s for 4 nights! Every woman that has looked inside has marveled at the ‘bathroom’ with a sink, toilet, tub and shower! When you add it all up……PRICELESS.
4. What do you like the most/least about a travel trailer.
Most: Bathroom Least: Having to pack up to go to the dump station…. (; (We BOTH agreed on that one!)
5. What advice do you have for others who are considering purchasing a vintage model Airstream?
*1. Read as much as you can on blogs so that you have some tiny idea of what you are getting into. Tiny as it may be, you will feel better about it.
*2. Go to ‘vintageairtsteam.com’ and download the article on ‘price vs condition’ and have that in hand when you deal with the seller. If there is any sentimental value in the price you will need some leverage. Our seller had our trailer since 1963! He had it all the years he raised his family.
*3. Be a handy man or marry one. Or have lots of money to spend on the renovation.
*4. Don’t try to count the hours you spend fixing it up and don’t try to count the extra money you spend….just enjoy every moment of it.
*5. Go to a rally and check out all the models and years. Talk to the owners. Most all Airstreamers are more than happy to give you information.
6. Any camping tips to share?
HIS:
Leveling blocks (we use rubber stall mats, 3/4″ thick, recycled tires, cut in to 8″ x 12″ chunks), dutch oven, trial run on the dump station using fresh water….just in case of an ‘episode’.
HERS:
Clorox wipes, baby wipes, towels that dry FAST, a good mat in front of the door (on the ground), know how to take the awning down by yourself, understand where everything of importance is (how to turn on/off the hot water heater….etc.), how to level the trailer, have a check list to use every time (to make sure your windows are latched, refrigerator is buckled down, fantastic fan is latched down, step is up…etc.)
7. What do you tow with?
We originally towed our Airstream home with the Sportsmobile. It was a bit of over kill, like having a duplex. We recently purchased a 2002 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton truck and it tows the trailer like a dream.
8. Do you boondock or stay at RV camps more? and what do you like about each?
We have boon docked more, and have stayed in parks ‘in route’ to our destinations. We are really new at this so our parks are limited to 2 places. Our first park was our shake down trip where we realized we must have AC… MO has been very hot this summer. It was back to the drawing board on a couple of things. The refrigerator wasn’t cooling properly, venting hot air in to the trailer, plus no AC, it was HOT. We have since installed an AC and fixed the refrigerator. That baby will freeze ice now. Also, Derald had a bike and was in the process of trying to convince me that I wanted one. He enjoyed riding around the park on his bike on our first major trip to CO. If you have ever been to this state, a bike is a must! I found a bike on Craigslist and took it to CO. By the first week the bike had a basket, decorated with flowers I might add, and a proper name, Grace. I am sold on a bike when Airstreaming, it is a great mode of transportation when the Airstream is parked and you don’t want to use the big diesel truck to run to the market. Our boondocking experience was perfect. We were in the Crested Butte area which is simply beautiful in every sense of the word, wildflowers were everywhere, the temperature was perfect, about 83 in the day and 50 at night. There was a teepee near us but no one was ‘home’. We had the BLM all to ourselves for most of the time. There was a mountain stream within steps of the front door where Derald was fly fishing and every view from the Airstream was a painting waiting to happen. I was in paint heaven. What more could you ask for?
9. Favorite places you’ve visited so far?
With our limited experience I will say Colorado will be hard to beat.
10. Best advice overall for someone considering traveling in an RV?
HERS:
Take a computer. You can find dump stations, parks, tons of information. Plus, I created a blog for our family and friends to live vicariously with us.
HIS:
Take it slow and enjoy life!
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