Just some random pieces of trip things left floating in my head . . .
* Nothing smells sweeter than mountain air at 60 degrees, with a light rain falling around you.
* Cheating, or cool, to order pizza on your first night in a new town and open up wine and watch DVDs in the trailer you spent an hour and a half organizing?
* Still trying to figure out why the woman with the umbrella was walking a cat on a leash in the RV Park in Taos. I asked if I could pet the cat and she said, "No. She's mean." She then proceeded to try and walk off with her, and the cat bit her 5 times, right in front of me. Go figure.
* The Amarillo KOA had a small dog park with agility training games in it. Dylan was not up for learning agility this trip.
* The 3rd night in the trailer, Dylan finally felt at home and started playing. He raced up and down the hall of the trailer, chasing his stuffed toy. Made about 15 laps, then settled happily on his bed and chewed his bone. He's gonna be a great travel dog. The other 3, not so much.
* The 100 lb. Pyr will bark non-stop and try to eat people. So I will have to pack the citronella bark collar, the wire muzzle and an extra dust buster for his fur when he comes along. I already had a large side hitch custom mounted above the running board of the truck so I could slip in a thing called an "Otto Step" to help the big furball get in and out of the truck easily. (And I will do all that for him - because I am "that woman who does that kind of thing.)
* The old Newfie mix is a bonehead who pees on everything and can't make it in and out of the trailer or truck due to the 5 gajillion dollar knee surgery he had on both legs the last few years. And my really old Aussie female - who is currently staring at walls and wandering the house a bit lost but happy - is not a good traveler, even on a good day. Last and only time I took her on the road, she would not eat or pee for 3 days just to spite me. So Dylan wins the travel game. Or the housesitter does - she's gonna make a fortune on the 5 critters left at home.
* Taos has a lot of hippies. They smell like patchouli. I like hippies. I don't like patchouli. Or B.O.
* Amarillo has the: "Jesus Christ is Lord Travel Center." (www.jesuschristislordtravelcenter.com)
New Mexico has a ton of XXX video stores and signs about not driving drunk. It balances out.
* The weigh stations as you enter New Mexico were open and were generating revenue for the state. The weigh stations as you enter Texas were closed. No moolah for Texas. (Could somebody call that flashy guy with the politician hair who's running for President and asking him what's up with that?)
* Last SUN night in the trailer was the first night it felt like "home." The place was finally clean. We had food in the fridge (and it kept it cold.) Damon made us some great pasta for dinner - and we had all the right utensils and dishes and pots and pans that we needed. It felt right - and homey - and full of possibilities. Kinda like a tea party in a shiny playhouse with really cool dishes - and wine.
* The trailer is now in service at the dealership to get some of the kinks worked out - and the list is full of tons of little things we noticed needed tweaking. Hoping to pick it up on THUR - my birthday - and head to an easy access RV Park in the DFW area to just hang out in her and get to know her better. Wanna tinker with stuff and see if I can figure it all out. Wanna spend a day in my pj's eating sunflower seeds and reading and daydreaming about where to go when it's cooler. Wanna see what it feels like to tow her alone and set her up and keep her running for a few days on my own. Wanna see how she and I really feel to each other - I have a hunch we will get along famously.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Home Again, Home Again
Who knew nine days on the road could be so fun and so challenging, all at once? Suffice it to say, we had a crash course (bad word choice) in Airstream 101. But we are definitely better for it. Got our freshman jitters and some solid rookie mistakes out of the way. Next trip - we think less and play more.
Some general thoughts from the road:
* Hitch grease is sneaky and covert and will stain your new couch fabric. Best to travel with your own Martha Stewart type who knows "just how to get that stain out" - especially since he was the one to bring in said grease.
* Dogs who don't normally shed much will suddenly shed like it is their job when stressed by a new truck and a new trailer. French fries and jerky treats and the chance to smell bears and deer and chase jackrabbits will help them settle down nicely.
* Lots of older folks go RVing. No kidding!? But just because they are older, does not mean they are old. We are going to make ourselves some RV calling cards to give to folks we meet along the way. Especially when we run across couples like the pair we met in Taos: in their early 70s, recently got married, backpacked across Europe for 3 months, lived in an Airstream for a year and have fantastic attitudes, insights and open minds. We'll be visiting them in Denton whenever we get a chance.
* If you are female and you travel with a male - everyone automatically assumes he is your husband. (Note to self: make a travel shirt that says "We both like boys" for us to wear on the road.) :-)
* Seemingly large fast food parking lots in small towns are not the best places to turn around. That visually large loop you wanted to use for the trailer could just narrow down in back and turn out to be part of the drive thru. (That was really fun, let me tell you - not so much for the poor woman in the small car in said drive thru)
* Those damned motorcycle speed gangs that have been hijacking Dallas freeways find it fun to fly past your Airstream going 110+ mph weaving in and out of traffic.
* Driving within a 20 minute vicinity of Dallas was the most dangerous. Once you get out of town, people are polite and know why you should get out of the way of trailers being towed. They even wave at you in the country still. Makes my small town self happy.
* A big shiny trailer is the talk of the RV park. Everybody comes up and wants to find out what you have and what it does.
* Texas is HOT. New Mexico is not. I hate HOT. So coming home on Friday, late afternoon, sucked. But we did think ahead and stayed at an RV Park near Denton to avoid Friday rush hour traffic and to get ourselves sorted out before we took the trailer back to service some of the stuff that didn't work quite right.
* Water heaters are a great thing. Until they don't work. An ice cold shower in the mountains is no bueno.
* Red River NM looks the same as it did when we went there as kids. Cute and quaint and goofy and touristy - with great camping outside of town - and the go karts are still there.
* Taos Valley RV Park is a great place to spend 4 consecutive nights. Unless you don't get full hookups and you have a fastidious dishwasher person with you. Then, you spend 3 nights in one spot - and have to move to full hookups on the last night so you can dump all that dishwater. (I will now have to find the balance between wasting water and wasting paper. The recycler in me will have to sort that out.)
* RV Park maps don't make sense - even if you have a Bachelors Degree in Communication and English.
* Buy your food BEFORE you get to the campground - or travel with it in a cooler. RV fridges don't stay super cool while you roll, and you will be too tired to go back out after you unhitch and sort it all out. If you have low blood sugar - this is a bad recipe for disaster. You will find yourselves yelling at each other in a Santa Fe RV Park, as if you were a married couple. You will, of course, make it better by having wine and pop tarts and almonds for dinner. And you will laugh about it later. A lot.
* When you stumble across an Airstream Rally of Texans on your first voyage in your Airstream, take full advantage of it. When offered info and wisdom - take it. When offered free dinner or breakfast or hot coffee - take it. When offered time to come to your trailer to show you how stuff works - take it. When offered printouts of what else you need for your rig - take it. When offered an easier way to hook up your sway bar - take it. We learned more and were treated more kindly by a group of strangers than you could imagine. It was like having 30 parents/grandparents who wanted you to succeed. Would have been a MUCH different trip without our lucking into them early on. Filling out my membership papers to their Austin based group as soon as I finish this blog.
Some general thoughts from the road:* Hitch grease is sneaky and covert and will stain your new couch fabric. Best to travel with your own Martha Stewart type who knows "just how to get that stain out" - especially since he was the one to bring in said grease.
* Dogs who don't normally shed much will suddenly shed like it is their job when stressed by a new truck and a new trailer. French fries and jerky treats and the chance to smell bears and deer and chase jackrabbits will help them settle down nicely.
* Lots of older folks go RVing. No kidding!? But just because they are older, does not mean they are old. We are going to make ourselves some RV calling cards to give to folks we meet along the way. Especially when we run across couples like the pair we met in Taos: in their early 70s, recently got married, backpacked across Europe for 3 months, lived in an Airstream for a year and have fantastic attitudes, insights and open minds. We'll be visiting them in Denton whenever we get a chance.
* If you are female and you travel with a male - everyone automatically assumes he is your husband. (Note to self: make a travel shirt that says "We both like boys" for us to wear on the road.) :-)
* Seemingly large fast food parking lots in small towns are not the best places to turn around. That visually large loop you wanted to use for the trailer could just narrow down in back and turn out to be part of the drive thru. (That was really fun, let me tell you - not so much for the poor woman in the small car in said drive thru)
* Those damned motorcycle speed gangs that have been hijacking Dallas freeways find it fun to fly past your Airstream going 110+ mph weaving in and out of traffic.
* Driving within a 20 minute vicinity of Dallas was the most dangerous. Once you get out of town, people are polite and know why you should get out of the way of trailers being towed. They even wave at you in the country still. Makes my small town self happy.
* A big shiny trailer is the talk of the RV park. Everybody comes up and wants to find out what you have and what it does.
* Texas is HOT. New Mexico is not. I hate HOT. So coming home on Friday, late afternoon, sucked. But we did think ahead and stayed at an RV Park near Denton to avoid Friday rush hour traffic and to get ourselves sorted out before we took the trailer back to service some of the stuff that didn't work quite right.
* Water heaters are a great thing. Until they don't work. An ice cold shower in the mountains is no bueno.* Red River NM looks the same as it did when we went there as kids. Cute and quaint and goofy and touristy - with great camping outside of town - and the go karts are still there.
* Taos Valley RV Park is a great place to spend 4 consecutive nights. Unless you don't get full hookups and you have a fastidious dishwasher person with you. Then, you spend 3 nights in one spot - and have to move to full hookups on the last night so you can dump all that dishwater. (I will now have to find the balance between wasting water and wasting paper. The recycler in me will have to sort that out.)
* RV Park maps don't make sense - even if you have a Bachelors Degree in Communication and English.
* Buy your food BEFORE you get to the campground - or travel with it in a cooler. RV fridges don't stay super cool while you roll, and you will be too tired to go back out after you unhitch and sort it all out. If you have low blood sugar - this is a bad recipe for disaster. You will find yourselves yelling at each other in a Santa Fe RV Park, as if you were a married couple. You will, of course, make it better by having wine and pop tarts and almonds for dinner. And you will laugh about it later. A lot.
* When you stumble across an Airstream Rally of Texans on your first voyage in your Airstream, take full advantage of it. When offered info and wisdom - take it. When offered free dinner or breakfast or hot coffee - take it. When offered time to come to your trailer to show you how stuff works - take it. When offered printouts of what else you need for your rig - take it. When offered an easier way to hook up your sway bar - take it. We learned more and were treated more kindly by a group of strangers than you could imagine. It was like having 30 parents/grandparents who wanted you to succeed. Would have been a MUCH different trip without our lucking into them early on. Filling out my membership papers to their Austin based group as soon as I finish this blog.
I'm sure more details of the trip will come soon - but this is what fell out of my head just now.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Maiden Voyage
Before the world ends in 2012, figured I better jump on the blog bandwagon. Love to write - and love my shiny new Airstream - so thought I should combine the 2 and see what happens.
Coming to the end of the first week of our maiden voyage of the new Eddie Bauer Airstream of my dreams. Thoughts? "What a long, tedious, eventful and amazing week it was." Ironically, we are staying tonight at the same KOA in Amarillo that we pulled into a week ago today. What a difference a week makes.
Last Thursday: we left Dallas at 2:30 pm unsure of where to stay for the night, nervous beyond words about how to tow and set up, with no real clue how any of the systems worked, spooked by every car on the road, and left WAY too late to get to Amarillo on a virgin towing day (hindsight says). Got to the campground after 9:30 pm and it took forever to setup and get settled. Almost midnight before we got to bed. Not so great for Day 01.
Thursday, one week later: we left Taos at 11am. Drove all the twist and turns like we knew our stuff, made 4 stops en route (including one where we pulled over and made lunch in the Airstream at a roadside park) and still made it to the KOA in Amarillo by 7pm. Just in time to take the dog for a long walk, have a great glass of wine, enjoy some leftovers in the fridge that now we now know how to work, and quiet time to contemplate and blog. Total setup time: 9 minutes :)
Good week, huh?
Cliff Notes for the week - with more to come soon:
* Damon Black is the best pal on the planet (that's the other part of "we" in this post)
* The next stop down the road is often a better choice than the one that seemed easiest
* Stumbling onto an Airstream Rally of Texans in Santa Fe is colossal luck
* F250s tow Airstreams like a dream
* Women with umbrellas walk cats in Taos RV Parks
* Somebody (me) needs to get a grip on their nerves towing in the mountains
* The Amarillo KOA smells like a feed lot when the wind shifts in the morning
* The sense of "community" we have been missing can be found while RVing
* Dreams coming true can be exhausting and invigorating at the same time
* Two Virgos in a Airstream do an awful lot of tidying up/organizing, just for fun
* With a bit more practice - I can do this Airstream dream by myself.
How cool is that?
Thanks for reading - hope to get more in touch with my Airstream, my blogging, my photography, my singing and my jewelry making. Those are the best parts of me - and I appreciate you letting me share them with you.
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