[VAC] Mt. Washington Rally

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Hey - we're back on line after having a grand time at the WDCU Rally in
North Conway, NH.

With Wayne and Linda Moore as Rally Hosts, everyone knew this rally would be
an outstanding event. It was that and more.  We had heard that VAC members
who wanted to sign up after the limit had been reached were invited to join
the rally without their rigs - and they did. One of those families spent
time with us during the Open House.

How many total rigs were there? More than a dozen. We lost track of the
actual count after the caravan group started streaming in, but there were
70+ at the catered dinner.  This included several families with young and
older children. One family flew over from London, England and borrowed a
Vintage Airstream just for this event. How's that for enthusiasm?

What were the two most delightful experiences we had during the rally? Easy
answers. First, we matched faces with names and finally met people whom we
had only read about on this list AND second, we had the pleasure of renewing
friendships with those we had met at  previous rallies.  Granted, this was a
first time rally in the Mount Washington area, but it felt like we were
among long time friends who had known each other for years.  Camaraderie was
at its finest.

What was the most unexpected thing we learned about our Vintage Airstream at
the rally? Doug Rowbottom pointed out to us that the wood in our '67 22'
Safari is genuine Elm. It had been harvested before the elm tree blight
wiped out all elm trees.  How rare can that be? With Doug's expert wood
identification tutoring, we will now always be able to identify paneling
from elm trees.  There will be no elm paneling in new Airstreams. Only
Vintage Airstreams will ever have elm paneling. There are no more elm trees.

What tourist activity far exceeded our expectations? We drove to the top of
Mount Washington on a brilliant sunny day warm enough for shorts and we
could almost see to the Atlantic Ocean. The view was so spectacular that all
employees who worked on the mountain were armed with cameras to capture
scenic vistas seldom seen for photographing. It was an awesome day.

Kudos to Wayne and Linda for this most memorable rally. I'm sure many of us
will be writing more about it in the weeks and months to come.

Terry & Sandie Tyler
mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net