We have been winterizing. The autumn rains have shown us that there are a few leaks. We were waiting for the astradomes to be restocked before we bought caulk- and waited too long. I understand that Inland RV also carries a skylight that will fit in the astradomes place- but have heard that the ones at vintage trailer supply are better. Anyway, it is too cold to caulk now so Rick attached some plastic to her for the winter. I am hopeful that she will stay dry, and we can get busy on the interior restoration over the winter.

2 months!!

I can't believe that it has been two months since I posted here. My excuse is good, one of my kids was in the hospital in Florida- requiring me to fly there and back four times. She is home with us now, and doing well- so time to get back to work.

I have been busy cleaning out the inside- measuring the cushions and removing floor tiles. We also have been busy water proofing for the winter.

Change is Good!

We were a little worried when the truck was gone. With no tow vehicle yet, this baby was sitting in our driveway crooked and facing the wrong direction. What seemed like something we were going to have to live with, turned into an easy problem to solve. We walked into Blains Farm & Fleet where we purchased a tow dolly. We had never seen one, didn't even know that they existed but what a great 59 dollars that was. We have moved and turned the trailer to a better position and are confident knowing that we can now move it any time we want to.

The condition.

My brother was sick for a few years- busy trying to heal and get well, not able to care for this airstream like it needed (it was just not that important to any of us). The swamp and florida sun was pretty hard on the trailer.. Sadly, the wood that was perfect a few years ago might need to be re-built. Maybe when it is dry the wood will be OK, but right now it is still damp and just smells like rotting wood in there. Not too late though- the body of this trailer is almost perfect.

We will keep the windows open to dry it out in there, and tie a tarp over it to keep the rain out while we wait for the parts to fix the leaks.

recovering from the road

today I might just recover from the road trip and 2 weeks of house guests, so long as I avoid looking at the laundry that has piled up! :-)

Here is a picture of me at some Georgia rest stop. The truck is a rental but the mud was ours.

On the Road Again....

She is on the road and we are stopped for the night in Central Florida- heading for home. I want to drive fast and go through the night, like the usual road trip- but know that it will take me longer to get home with the airstream. We are long and will likely spend the whole trip in the slow lane- and get tired early from the extra attention required. I am really hoping that we will get home before Tuesday. Here is what she looked like right before hooking her up to the truck.

Driving is a breeze- much easier than I anticipated- and the three hours pulling her down the road were a lot of fun. We are driving a HUGE rented Ford F350 with dual wheels, so the mountains will be no problem. I will have to purchase some other kind of truck when the trailer is ready for camping. Nice to have the power, but my dad says of a truck like this, "It passes everything on the road but a gas station".

It is the one that looks like a giant toaster....

It is official, I have inherited my little brother's airstream. This trailer was my fathers first, then belonged to each of my brothers and is now sitting in a florida swamp- waiting for me to go get it. Every time I talk to someone about it, I have to bring up the toaster image, but when I was a kid, I knew what an airstream was.

I am very much looking forward to restoring her to her original condition and traveling west with my sweetie. When I am done with it, I will be passing it on to my brother's daughter.

I have rented a truck and will be driving down to pick it up, leaving here with my brother's wife on Thursday. No idea what I will find there, but hoping that it will be an easy move, but expecting that us two girls might have trouble.

There is a website here showing the exact same trailer- I will post pictures of mine next week.