Maintenance

I seem to have an ever going list of things to on both of the family's campers.  They are usually small things.  This week, I decided to tackle the ones on the trailer.  One the list was installation of in-the-floor tie-down hooks for the bikes and install a new clock in the front head-locker.  Of course, more things got added along the way.  I moved the trailer from the barn to in front of the house on Sunday.  It's still there.  You can see below the typical method of movement at home.  It works great until I need to mow the lawn or something else that requires the tractor.

Not the fastest tow vehicle, but it gets the job done and makes things really maneuverable.

Yes, I did make holes in my wood floor.  Yes, this will make transport of our bikes inside the Airstream a lot better.  No more finding bikes laying on their side and stuff broken after travelling down the road.

Mason can't resist checking out what I'm working on.  This was no exception.  He was pretending to be asleep on the back couch.

Tin Can Tourists

I've long since wanted to go to the Tin Can Tourists Gathering.  It's held in Milford, MI which is not far (in my terms) but for some reason or another, we've never made it in past years.  This year, I wanted to go and show off the Argosy.  Andrea stumped about being stuck with the kids while I went off an saw campers / socialized; which is a valid complaint.  So, I arranged for a daughter of some friends that I knew would be at TCT to babysit  for us for a few hours on Saturday so that Andrea and I could go see campers (Thanks especially to Hannah and the entire Asselin family for helping to keep our kids occupied for the weekend).  Since this blog is first and foremost about camping with my family, the pictures relating to the kids come first...campers second.

We released night lanterns (Thanks, Kathy!).  Parker is watching his go off into the distance while Andrea helps Mason with his.

Mason's is almost ready to go!

There it goes.

Mason seems more enthused with Hannah's lantern than his own.

Still working on getting Mason's to go.

DJ working on getting his off the ground.  Mason is equally enthused.

DJ about to let go...

 And now, on to the cool campers we saw...

Antique camping gear demonstration.  They had cool stuff back then (1927).

I hate plumbing

We haven't been camping in a while, but I feel obligated to put something up here every so often even if we aren't camping.  This post does deal with some issues leading up to camping next weekend, though.

As with many old things, they require much upkeep.  An old Airstream is no exception; perhaps the leader on the repair list, actually.  Airstreams were (and still are) made good in comparison to others, but they still need repair.  In my case today, it is my motorhome.  I de-winterized it finally the other day.  I detected both front low-point drain valves leaking around the stem of the valve.  No biggy I thought, remove the valve body, get new, screw in, done!  Not so.  Apparently no one "repairs" valves any more.  They just replace.  I even called the local plumbing store that has ANYTHING you need and the guy said, "Ah, no, we don't carry that.  We'd just replace the valve."  So I wasn't about to try to set a torch to remove 35 year old solder from valves that are sitting right on the (wood) floor.  So I decided to cut out the valves and fashion all new out of CPVC and then splice back in with Shark-Bite fittings.  Very easy to do IF your old copper pipes have not expanded due to being frozen with water in them at some point.  When that happens, life sucks.  That's where I'm at.  I fixed an issue with some 1/2" copper that had expanded, but the 3/8" line feeding the hot side...nope.  So I've opted to cut yet again but further back into the system.  I will have to deal now with 1/4" line that T's off of the 1/2 and 3/8 lines and goes to the kitchen faucet.  But, hopefully now I'm far enough up-stream that nothing has expanded.

On a similar note.  I would have also been dead in the water tonight since my CPVC epoxy was unusable when I opened the can.  Things you should check before beginning the project...

An Argosy Panorama

This has been a long time in the making.  In 2 weeks time, it will mark the 1 year anniversary of purchasing our Argosy motor home.  It was a weird trip home from the point of purchase, which was 7 hours drive from our home.  We've put time and money into it here and there.  Finally, as of yesterday, our last major plan for what we wanted to put in / on to the Argosy finally came together.  Yeah, they're all Zip-Dees, and no, they aren't cheap; but the pictures do them no justice.  She's rally beautiful with her wings spread...

This one makes me laugh.  It reminds me of the motor home in "Spaceballs" that had wings and flew through space.

As much as I love a front end shot, I think I like this one best.  It shows the major exterior improvements.  Awnings,  wheel covers, air conditioner shroud, pin striping, mirrors.

Spring Break, part 3

Our spring break trip ended with an Airstream rally, the TAC Amish Country rally in our home-area of Wooster, Ohio.  It was a weather shock when we arrived.  We had used our air conditioner the last night in VA, when we arrived in Wooster we found cold and windy weather.  I went from shorts and a T-shirt to needing my Carhartt...which I didn't have!  Nevertheless, we adapted and the rally turned out to be a success once again with new hosts in charge.  As you can see below, the kids had plenty of fun.  Daddy had lots of fun making pulled pork, too!  I love any pot-luck contribution where I can prepare it by sitting around for 6 hours socializing and drinking during its preparation.  This post is more pictures than words, but I love a good rally and pictures say so much more than words.

Colonial toys...whack the circle with a stick.  Hours of fun!

Even an SoB joined us!  Actually, I've seen him at more TAC rallies than some Airstream owners.

Yeah, there's Airstreams in this picture, but there's something much more important; and the wind that was "bothering" us most of the day made for a wonderful picture.

As with any good rally...people sitting in a circle and socializing

Another common rally sight; checking out everyone else's gear.

In case anyone was unsure of what goes on during the day at a rally (notice the smoker!)

The kids are still playing

And playing...

Me pulling my meat for everyone to eat (resist the urge to let your minds go into the gutter).

Spring Break, Part 2

We spent more time at Colonial Williamsburg.  Thanks to a great suggestion from the family next to us at the campground, we visited a great beach.

We were tempted to leave them here, but as you can see, there's  a line for other parents to put their children in the stocks...hmm, can't imagine why.

Children are always eager to be punished, right?

Watch out!  Cool man on the beach and looking for shells.

The water was only like 33 degrees!

Did I mention 33 degree weather?  Notice that Mason is soaked.  It didn't seem to bother him being submerged in near freezing water.  For that matter, a number of people seemed to find it refreshing.

Spring Break Vacation, Part 1

It's been a while since I've posted, but this is primarily due to being busy at work and also due to prepping the Airstream for our vacation last week.  So, there will be a number of new posts in the coming days as I sort through the pictures from our travels.

A great pizza place we found (thanks to online reviews!) called ZPizza in Williamsburg.  Pizza so good that we almost went back a second time during our trip.  All fresh and organic ingredients.

The kids by a tree at the Shirley Plantation 

Bike riding at the campground (Newport News City Park)

Ridin' a Tortoise (fake, of course)

He wanted to eat one of the kids.  Not really, but it's a decent caption for the pose.  This is one of two bald eagles at the Virginia Living History Museum.  I zoomed in and kept shooting until I had a bunch of great poses.

The labyrinth at the Governor's Palace gardens in Colonial Williamsburg.  The kids are in there somewhere.

Exploring a garden with mommy in the lead in Colonial Williamsburg