All Cooped out

This past weekend was a great FAMILY weekend, where I arrived home Wednesday evening and for the next 4 days was nothing but family and BUILDING. See, a few weeks ago, I posted a picture of our new chicks.. yes - Airstream Camping Chicks Steve!! These things have grown and needed a place outside... vice our front porch. So, last weekend, I built the base and scavenged old silo boards, and this weekend, I built the coop....a carpenter I'm not.. but it's only a coop! We even put the old SOTR drawers to good use - they are the chickens new nesting boxes. So, check it out! Ah, there sits the 54 Safari - one day that'll be back on the road!!! We are now getting ready for Thursday; Zoe' and the boys will be having special Courtesy Parking guests - on their way to the VTJ ...man am I going to be jealous to not be there! Check out our Guard cat... as she sits there licking her lips looking for a way into the coop... Enjoy.

Been a while

Well, it's been a while since I last posted. I've been really busy here with the Marines. I've been working a little here and there on Sophie, but to tell the truth, I've just been taking it easy in the evenings. I'm currently on the way headed north to NY for the 4th weekend, where I'll be building a chicken coop and possibly look into the wheel bearings on the Caravel. Next week is the 1st annual Vintage Trailer Jam . I'll head back down on Sunday and then I'll be working until late Friday next week (the 11th), but then will be driving home Friday night, and on Saturday, we're getting up early to head over to the Jam for the day - I've got to have a piece of Frank's pie!!! I've been thinking about it alot, and even though it would be awesome to take the SOTR over, it'll be really cool to be able to go from trailer to trailer without worrying about staying at the SOTR during open house. Plus, we'll go over, spend the day, and then most likely stay somewhere nice Saturday night - and I'll still get to meet alot of people I haven't met yet! Ok, see ya down the road.

East Coast VAC rally

Well, this weekend we had a blast at the first ever East Coast VAC Rally held by Paul Waddell at the Staunton / Verona KOA. It was a blast. I commuted over there on Thursday and Friday, and then Zoe' and the boys showed up Friday night around 9 (she had to drive 438 miles after the boys got out of school). Friday night was a late night next door at Frank's place (nice name for a company Frank!) into the wee hours of the morning. Saturday was a great day of breakfast, then tubing, then the open house, happy hour and the duck race where I fell into the river, potluck was scrumptous, and then the Byamville photo. I, along with Dave Makel, gave the Fred Caldwell 1931-1957 Airstream's presentation as well. Stuart made me laugh into the night telling stories with our good Detroit friend Dave standing next to me as well! Nice to meet ya DragonWagon!!! Hope there will be more opportunities as well. Zoe' told me last night that this was the BEST RALLY she's ever been too!!! Steve - ya missed a good one!!! Zoe' and the boys departed around 10am, and they made it home around 6pm last night. I departed the rally zone around 1pm, taking I81 north for just a few miles, then over to 340 north and east on 33 to the top of the Skyline drive, taking that for about 40 miles or so on my way back to the Quantico area. I'm at the Prince William Park Travel Trailer Village now through the week. Enjoy the photos!

More POB Rally pics

Here are a few more pictures Marc sent me from Staunton, VA - he's there ready for the East Coast VAC Rally ( I think he's egging me on and trying to make me jealous (it's working)) - well, I'll be pulling over there tonight... Enjoy everyone!

3rd Annual Pageant of Bands Rally

Well, two weeks ago, I hosted the third annual Pageant of Bands Rally. The SOTR was even in the parade being pulled by our 65 Wagoneer. Here are a few pictures - enjoy! We had a 58 Sovereign of the Road (ours), a 58 Globetrotter, a 63 Trade Wind, a 67 Globetrotter, a 68 Sovereign, a 71 Globetrotter, and a 75 Argosy 22'. We also had a 64 Trade Wind ( the one being raffled ) and a 51 Flying Cloud for people to look at.. that are under restoration or close to being restored. I want to do it big next year - it's the Parade's 60th Anniversay next year. Ya all know that even the CEO of Airstream marched three years in this Parade!!!

Great U-tube video - the Odyssey

Check this out - the Great American Road Trip!

East Coast Vintage Rally Preps

Well, I'm back down here in Quantico with the SOTR. The 3rd Annual Pageant of Bands Rally that I hosted went great. I'll post some pictures once I get them sent to me... my camera is on the fritz..except for my cell phone camera. Last night I put on some of my vintage water decals. What do you think? I'm going home this weekend, and will be pulling over to the Staunton Rally on Thursday, commuting back over to Quantico on Friday and then will be at the rally site through Monday am for the GOOD times. I've locked on storage here at Quantico when I'm out of town ($40 a month with access 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. It's gonna work perfect for me. Parked next to the SOTR is this.. SWEET!

Another great weekend

Well, this weekend, I got to spend some quality time with my family while up in NY. It was a blast. This morning, we watched the Alpacas get sheared and here is a picture Zoe' took of Braedon and myself. We also have some new pets too! Ok, I just snapped this picture of my trailer tonight, here on site at the Prince William Park Travel Trailer Village. Enjoy! Only three more days to rally time!

A great weekend

Well, I towed the Caravel home successfully... even though the bearings on the passenger side were still really hot on the Caravel, with new re-packed bearings and all. Why they are getting hot is mysterious. But, the Caravel is up in NY now and the Sovereign of the Road is now here in Virginia. It was great to spend time camping with Zoe' and the three boys (two of which had a birthday on Friday and Sunday - they're all 7, 5, and 1 now... how time flies.

My Pageant of Bands Rally is June 5-8 in North Norwich, NY so that's it's next trip north...Gas was $3.76 a gallon at the Flying J with my RV discount - not bad. Sophia likes the road!

From my front door

Here is the view from my front door of the Caravel.. out here at Lunga Resevoir - the camp ground on base here. It's a great location, and a nice campground for $13 a night (can't beat it). When I pulled in yesterday, my right wheel bearing was still HOT to touch so I've got to locate a new bearing to install this week as I pull this home for Memorial Day. Taking it easy.... here on the lake. I received a link to a very cool RV ad out of an Airstream that Matthew McConaughey did - check it out here .

Wheel Bearings

I am now back on Active Duty for 6 months with the Marine Corps here in Quantico, Va. I am staying in the Caravel these first two weeks, giving me something to work on in the evenings. On the tow down here, I pulled over after hearing something funny dragging... I'm glad I did. The front belly pan had pulled loose and part of it was dragging...easy enough fix with my rivet gun... I went and checked the road side wheel and cool - then over to the driver side... HOT!!! to hot to touch....so, I got on my Garmin and found a very close Pep Boys and pulled over there. I have Bearing Buddy fitting on this new axle so I borrowed a grease gun and injected until I saw grease.. many pumps.. must of been low. So, I was 40 miles from Quantico, I slowed down and pulled to my final destination. Yesterday, I pulled into the base Auto Hobby Shop and took it all apart and cleaned them up and repacked them, put it back together and now them seem good to go. I'll pull this home this next Friday and bring the SOTR back down. Today and tomorrow I'm gonna mess with some plumbing.

A few more of Assateague

Assateague was a great break and VERY relaxing. There were no crowds and the weather was mid 70s with a light wind... and sunny! Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy.

Towing through the Valley

Yesterday am, we departed for home knowing we wanted to tow to Valley Forge and go through the park. We departed Assateague right around 9am, stopped at the Visitor center to touch some horseshoe crabs, then headed out. It rained on us in Philly and by the time we got to Valley Forge, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. Valley Forge was great! A beautiful park. I was last here in 6th grade on a safety patrol trip (I think). Here are some pictures. We ended up in Jim Thorpe, PA ( take heed on Jim Thorpe Camping Resort ) - it was an adventure. We'll go back to Jim Thorpe but we'll try a state park next time. Enjoy! It's good to be home.

Assateague is wonderful!

Here are a few pictures from today. We went out to the beach (the wind made it cool) and then we headed over to the National Park just south of here ($20 a night for boon-docking right on the dunes - not bad). We then hiked on the trails some and saw alot of horses. We also had a horse right outside the SOTR too - I think it liked the shine. Tomorrow I think we'll explore Ocean City some in the afternoon. Gas here is $3.50 so it's not too bad as compared to the $3.73 we paid in NY. The weather here looks good with rain coming in on Thursday night...it doesn't look good pulling home though - just a little wet.

Here at Assateague State Park

Well, we made the pull over to Chatham, NY to the Celtic Festival Airstream Rhendevous (it was more of that Boondocking rather than a Rally)... and then on Sunday, we pulled through the $40 of tolls of New Jersey and the Delaware Bridge to get here to Assateague State Park out on a barrier island on the Ocean shores of Maryland. We pulled in around 545pm last night and we are here until Thursday. Here are a few pictures of our site. The beach is just over the sand dune behind the trailer. We're hoping to see some horses while we are here. I am thinking we'll spend Thursdy evening up near Valley Forge outside of Philadelphia.

Getting ready for the Celts

On Friday afternoon, the family and I are heading for Chatham, NY where we'll be joining a bunch of other Airstreamers at the Celtic Festival. There will be many Metro NY and WDCU WBCCI members there - and it's gonna be tons of fun! We did this two years ago with the 1960 Trade Wind... this time we'll be in the SOTR. I have propane lines run now as well as plumbing drain lines... but the fresh water tank is out getting a small fitting installed so that I can hook up the onboard 12v air compressor for the water system. Here are a few pictures... I've been doing some polishing. The tank goes in today.... Zoe's just happy she will be able to use the stove!

Items left to complete

Things I'm working on:

• I'm doing the second cut of polishing (with a year in between). It's looking good.
• Running propane lines to H2O heater, stove, fridge, and fireplace.
• Install vent for fridge.
• Install vent for fireplace.
• Installing 12v Air pump.
• Installing grey water drain lines.
• I still need to install diamond plate (this is in my outside storage hatch - complete) and,
• Install the outside door seal on the entry door

I am getting there.

From here to Eternity

Well, where do I begin. I departed home on 1 April and returned last evening. In between, there was towing to Quantico, Va where I worked on the trailer each night after Reserves, then I flew down to Charleston, SC for a few days, then flew back to BWI where I towed over to Virginia's Great Falls National Park, worked on the trailer there, and then towed over to the WDCU Cherry Blossum Rally (CBR). CBR was great, with 43 rigs showing up, and tons of kids. Tim of theVAP flew in on Thursday and we taped theVAP on Saturday night live. After CBR, I towed the 600 or so miles to Charleston, SC where I stayed at the James Island County Park, just south of downtown. It was great. Zoe' and the boys came with me for the first week and on Thursday night, I started for home. In Santee, SC I met up with Sig and Dawn VanDamme (Airstreaming in NY blog) and we camped next to each other in the Cracker Barrel. I departed at 530am yesterday and drove the ~833 miles home with the SOTR in tow. It was a long day, getting in at 930pm. It's nice to be home. It seems like it's been a while since I was home last - it has!

Items left

Today I stopped here in Charleston at The Trail Center for parts - an did they have them! They used to be an Airstream dealer in the 70s. They hooked me up with my fittings for my black tank. I've got to find a 3" OD coupling to go from my fitting on the tank to a bayonet fitting.

Here is what is left of my list of things I wanted to get done:

Polish the trailer (next time)
Install fresh water tank (Tomorrow night)
Install Ogden water filter (Wednesday)
Complete fresh water tank (tomorrow night)
Run propane lines (Wednesday)
Install 12v Air pump (next time)
Install black water plumbing (Wednesday and Thursday)
Install dead bolt (next time)
Install diamond plate (this is in my outside storage hatch - complete)
Install outside door seal

I've bolted down the stove, the fridge, completed what I needed to on the gaucho, installed the H2O heater (need to cover the outside with original cover still), fix curtains, install radio.

I'll be at the Great Falls National Park in northern VA on Wed am from 9-11am and then will be heading to downtown for a short caravan. Only two more days!

At the Airport

Well, Sophie the SOTR is parked here at the Airport. I'll be flying back into here on Tuesday evening - late, and I'll just end up crashing in the trailer until Wed am and then tow down to Great Falls. I have to locate some plumbing parts tomorrow while in Charleston - wish me luck! Instead of Caravanning on Wednesday, maybe I should be installing some plumbing parts. Tim, you ready for your flight east? Frank - good luck! See you Wednesday am buddy. Thanks John for letting me borrow the shears - they worked great.

In the dark!

Well, I got the new hot water heater in tonight... finishing with the aid of a flashlight. So, I'm hooking up the PEX lines now. I'm here in northern VA and it's nice weather... but supposed to rain tonight through tomorrow afternoon. So, all I have left is to install the front fresh water holding tank - which has been one problem after another. My welder Daryl welded in a patch on the tank and while he did that (it's aluminum) he put in new fittings for the fill neck and exit point. When I got it home, I put it together (mocked up) and put it into place to make sure everything was going to work... well - when I went to take the fill neck out, the aluminum threads (it was hand tight) became buggered up and it stripped the threads on the way out... so I had to take it back over to Daryl's to get a new fitting put in (1" and a 1/4). So, on Tuesday late afternoon on my way south to here in Northern VA - I stopped by Darly's to pick up my tank. This time, when I install it, it's all going together and not coming apart again. Wish me luck.
We'll be Caravanning into downtown DC on Wednesday... CBR is here (almost!)