Hi Guys,
Another Sarasota Florida State Rally has come and gone. Visiting with
long time friends and new acquaintances was one of the highlights for
us. In some ways, it was like "old home" week recounting adventures
on past caravans and sights seen on recent rallies. But, there was more.
Here are a few impressions from this year's rally.
ARRIVAL - When we rolled onto the Fairground parking lot Tuesday
noon, the bull pen was empty instead of loaded with families and
caravans waiting to be parked - as occurred in past years. Early
birds had already been parked inside the fence on grass or gravel.
Later during the rally, a WBCCI presenter reported: "this year there
are 436 attendees". By my calculation, that's about 6% of the total
6756 WBCCI members (as of February 2008). The reporter didn't
indicate the percentage of attendees to total WBCCI members who
attended the Sarasota Rally in previous years.
Regardless of the math, this year's rally was exciting, fun,
entertaining, beneficial in unexpected ways and an enjoyable
experience. We're looking forward to attending again next year.
PLASTIC GREY WATER PIPE - After we were parked, the grey water crew
came by to lay plastic pipe with fittings along the top side to
connect with each member's grey water hose. I was familiar with that
routine from past Rallies. Years ago, I made up several foot long
sections of hose for connecting to various plumbing configurations.
All adapter sections have a female connector. The other end is either
a plain cut off hose or a male connector. Matching up to whatever the
crew does is simple. I use my long green hose for connecting to any
one of these short sections.
But this year, the grey water crew threw me a curve. The pipe was
laid on top of 3 bricks at the farthest end of our row, 2 bricks in
the middle of the row and 1 brick at the other end where grey water
drained onto a grassy area. Our Airstream was in the middle of this
layout.
Angling the pipe with bricks seemed like a good idea at the time. It
wasn't until I went to drain grey water that I realized the height of
the fitting on top of the plastic pipe - where my grey water hose
connected to it - was much higher than our Airstream's grey water
tank outlet.
Ooooops!! Grey water doesn't drain uphill. Granted, I could have
removed the bricks from where my hose connected to the pipe all the
way to the drainage area. Perhaps our grey water would have drained
normally. But thinking ahead about possible consequences, this would
mean replacing the bricks, the plastic pipe and HOPING that as a
result of all this pipe moving - none of the sections of pipe come
apart and create big spill on the macadam. Bottom line. We took Navy
showers daily and used the dump station when we moved for the extra
night.
INTERNET - We learned quickly that Internet phone hook-ups were NOT
in the Potter Building as in past years. This year the entire Robart
Arena was one giant wi-fi zone. It was a common sight to see members
with laptops accessing the internet while sitting in the arena
between events. Even with the Arena doors closed and me sitting
outside of the arena on a bench, my Mac laptop accessed the strong
signal. Bottom line. Internet access was dramatically improved this
year. Applause! Applause!
KITCHEN FAUCET - On the second day of the Rally, our kitchen faucet
began to leak around the housing. Instead of going to Home Depot, I
went over to the Airstream Factory Parts and Service building to
check their supply of plumbing parts. With my long history of nimble
efficient plumbing repair experiences (NOT), I opted for a Service
Call. But then - WHOA - hold the horses - the Service golf cart
arrived 20 minutes later with the exact parts which they installed in
15 minutes. This totally unexpected quick response was a big
surprise, plus the price was right (parts and labor only - without
the typical Plumber's service call charge).
BATHROOM EXHAUST FAN COVER - Figuring I was on a roll, I went back to
the Airstream Parts building. You may recall I wrote about our
bathroom exhaust fan cover cracking in three places and one piece of
plastic blowing away. At the time, a temporary repair was made with a
large plastic coffee can cover in one hand and a tube of Gorilla glue
in the other hand. Sometimes temporary fixes work well. This one did
- but it was temporary none the less.
When I checked the Airstream Parts inventory for a bathroom exhaust
fan cover, they had one, I bought it ($15) and installed it myself in
2 minutes using a screwdriver and my fancy collapsible 6' ladder that
folds up into the size of a skinny briefcase. How much easier could
that repair have been?
GRAPEFRUIT & ORANGES - As in past years, one of the Fairground
employees showed up with grapefruit and tangerines. I have been
eating Pink Grapefruit and Honey-bell oranges all Winter, every meal,
every day (10 cents each at the produce stand in Jensen Beach) and
was almost out of them.
The Fairground guy arrived just in time to refill our supply. I
bought a bag of both and we're enjoying them. Maybe our systematic
diet of fresh fruit daily will protect us from the flu-bug for the
remainder of the season. The bug has bypassed us so far. Our fingers
are crossed, We're trying to eat smart.
COURTESY PARKING - Each year, the WBCCI Directory lists families who
offer courtesy parking (CP). We know families who list their data one
year, but the next year, their data is inadvertently omitted. Thus,
each year when the new WBCCI Directory arrives in our mailbox, I use
a razor and cut out the Courtesy Parking pages from the old
directory. I keep a dedicated briefcase for this data as well as for
the "Day's End" listings from the Escapee's Club, the Elkdom CG
books, the directories for COE, NPS, NFs, SPs and archived notes
about village, town, city and county Campgrounds. But there's more.
Some families extend courtesy parking only through person to person
invitation. This can occur unexpectedly anytime. We have experienced
it with families on the same caravan with us and at rallies around
the campfire. This time, it was at the Sarasota Fairground and by a
farmer from Georgia. We'll stop at his place on our way back north in
the Spring. Serendipity is alive and well. Our "master list" is updated.
FLAGS - Collecting flags is a hobby of mine. When I see a military
decal or military license plate on a tow vehicle or Airstream, I may
fly the flag of that branch of service along with Old Glory and my US
Navy flag. I do the same with our VAC flag and with the flags of
different states and countries we've visited. Sometimes, this prompts
chit chat with neighbors. It may be a corny, but new friendships
occasionally develop from these incidental conversations.
Last week before heading to this Rally, I printed a picture of the
flag for the Washington DC Unit and Airstream List - both of which I
believe are not yet available for purchase as actual flags. I scotch
taped the flag pictures to the inside window next to our door.
Visitors invariably asked about the flags, so I talked up both
groups. Maybe it will spark more interest.
POT LUCK SUPPERS - Arriving at Sarasota prepared for two of these
delicious events SOP for us. We signed up for the Vintage Supper.
Caravan friends (Don & Gail) invited us to the Treasure Coast Pot
Luck. We like these gatherings. They are an easy way to visit with
friends and catch up on what they've been doing. As the old saying
goes something like this: "Make new friends, keep the old. One is
silver the other is gold."
SEMINARS - Each year we attend presentations by Vendors we HAVE HEARD
previously. Both Arlene Fowler and Steve Ruth have a knack for
updating our knowledge with their unique insights and practical
solutions. Value added is always a bonus.
FLEA MARKET - Signing up for a table at the Flea Market has several
benefits for us. We arrive as soon as the doors open, located our
table and display a few things on a solid color table cloth. Then the
fun begins.
The first thing I do after laying out our items is go see what others
are selling. There's a small window of time to do this before the
opening bell rings. Then, when it's okay to start buying, I know
which tables to head for - immediately.
Another benefit occurs when I see unique "one of a kind" items. At
this year's flea market, I found a man with the skill and tools for
imprinting designs on a trailer hitch receiver cap. Ever since our
son asked for one of those with the outline of his F-15 on it, I've
searched for someone with this skill. We may have a Bingo.
A third benefit can occur anywhere, but the flea market is a target
rich environment for Airstream business cards. I don't mean standard
business cards. I'm interested in creatively designed cards with an
Airstream related theme. Many Airstreamers have an artistic flair for
blending pictures with words in novel ways. My old business cards
aren't exciting. They're dull. By viewing cards with pizzazz, maybe
my creative juices will come up with ideas for a snazzy looking card
of our own - one that reflects how we feel about Airstreams and our
ongoing restoration efforts.
VINTAGE OPEN HOUSE - Each time we attend this event, the talent,
skill and craftsmanship of Airstreamers overwhelms me. Owners who
graciously open their doors for critical inspection by discriminating
peers have my utmost respect. It's especially interesting to see
changes as they occur from year to year. All of us know restoration
takes massive attention to detail, organization, planning, extensive
thought before action, money, persistence, dedication and hundreds of
hours.
Only once did we participate in a Vintage Open House. That was during
the 2003 Burlington Rally. We entered the Concours d'-Elegance with
our '67 22' Safari. It was awarded a blue ribbon for "Best of 1960s
Decade". Since then, we've traveled all over the continent with that
trailer. It is no longer pristine and the mirror shine is not as
bright as it was that July. Yet it's still an awesome beauty even
though restoration is still ongoing.
FANTASTIC FAN - A few years back, we learned the Sarasota Rally is
the ideal place to have our Fantastic Fan repaired or replaced at no
cost. Belatedly, we learned this after a no-name RV dealer had
repaired our Fantastic Fan, charged us dearly and then dismissed our
concern about a small crack in the plastic frame resulting in a
misalignment wide enough for mosquitoes to sneak inside our Airstream.
This year at Sarasota, our fully functioning Fantastic Fan with a
rain sensor and a cracked frame is no more. It was replaced with a
brand spanking new updated Fantastic Fan featuring a rain sensor -
AND - a temperature sensor - AND - a frame designed specifically for
the curved roof of our Airstream. Guess who is a happy camper now.
NEW AIRSTREAMS - Bates Airstream brought many new models to the
Rally. As the owner of 40 and 20 year old Airstreams, perhaps I'll
develop an appreciation for 1 year old Airstreams --- (pause) maybe
in 20 years.
DOOR PRIZES - Surprise of surprises. We won two of them. One is a
blue Bozeman baseball cap and the other is a complimentary three
night stay at Minnesota's Airstream-only Resort. The 10/30/09
expiration date is a major convenience for travel planning. We have
already started looking at maps.
LONG DISTANCE TRAVELING - From now on, we will be towing our lighter
weight Vintage Airstream with our more economical diesel Suburban.
After this Winter's hemorrhage of money to fuel our tow truck, we've
decided our old days of wandering the continent are numbered. That's
disappointing, because both our 1978 Ford Van and our 1989 32'
Airstream are ready for bear - to go anywhere anytime.
END OF RALLY - As we've done in past years, we chose not to leave
Sarasota Fairground Sunday morning - opting instead to stay an extra
night ($15 inside the fence). After dumping, we parked in the Vintage
area with three other Vintage families who also stayed the extra
night. An afternoon Happy Hour with friends was a nice touch for
"winding down" and then relaxing with a real shower.
Spending the extra day at the Fairground after the Rally helps us in
several ways. We have time for the mundane, i.e. clean fairground
dust and dirt from inside our Airstream, find one of our bank's ATM
machines, replenish our groceries, plan meals for a few days, catch
up on email reading and replying (Robart Arena's wi-fi is 24/7),
review our maps and archives for upcoming overnight options, make
calls for courtesy parking and finally, sacking out early for much
needed shut eye.
FIRST STOP AFTER RALLY - We followed up on a suggestion by Dan (an
Airstream List member) to visit Camper's Holiday Mobile Home/RV Park
in Hernando County. This park is one of Florida's 500+ Resident Owned
Communities (ROC). It has all the usual Resort amenities and
facilities. We liked the attractive rural setting beside a small
lake. IMHO, the arrangement of sites on this sprawling park was well
laid out and has an uncluttered appearance.
From Dan who gave us a heads-up on this park, to the gate keeper who
registered us, to the residents in the club house and those we
visited with during my daily walk - the ambiance felt good. We'll
return again and perhaps - buy an RV lot or an "RV cottage". What's
the yearly maintenance fee? It's the cat's meow.
LAST NOTATION - For those interested in AIRSTREAM FOR SALE NOTICES
displayed at the Fairground, here's what I saw. These Airstreams may
or may not still be for sale. This list was copied from the notices
posted as public information on the publicly displayed bulletin board
in the Fairground Arena.
1999 35' Airstream Cutter with slide
813.907.0633 $NA
1977 Airstream 31' International
941.708.4021 $9,500
1977 Airstream 27'
315.705.5397 $NA
2006 Airstream Bambi
270.703.5012 $NA
1998 Airstream 30' Land Yacht
386.679.7551 $35,000
2001 Airstream 31' Excella
850.274.1712 $NA
1993 Airstream 34'
239.262.0117 $NA
2004 Airstream 25' Classic
941.223.5458 $NA
1999 Airstream Cutter
614.361.3101 $85,000
1985 Airstream 25' Sovereign
352.588.5428 $12,000
2007 Airstream 25' Safari
941.497.2190 $45,900
1988 Airstream 34'
941.276.3866 $NA
1976 Airstream 21' Globe Trotter
865.712.5672 $14,500
1999 Airstream 34' Excella
386.956.8119 $NA
1995 Airstream 34'
352.588.0206 $23,000
1992 Airstream Classic 350
321.794.9655 $NA
1996 Airstream Cutter 34' with slide
208.860.4378 $32,900
1989 Airstream 32' Excella
772.486.4846 $18,000
If you are looking at this sentence, perhaps you read the entire
email. If you did, here's my request. Please send me a note about
what you think of this kind of anecdotal sharing.
Sometimes my fingers start dancing on the keyboard and I wonder if
I'm merely satisfying my own personal need to document our experiences.
Cheers,
Terry