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Airstream Love

I’ll admit, I do LOVE Airstreams. I love ’em new, love ’em old and definitely love ’em shiny! I can’t say that I’ve always had a love for Airstreams. This love only started a few years ago. In fact, before living in Austin, I can’t recall seeing an Airstream, though I knew what they were the first time I saw one. Perhaps I had repressed memories of the RV and Boat Show my parents would take us too. We went to many and WE NEVER EVEN OWNED A RV OR BOAT. Hell, I had never even been inside a trailer or on a boat outside of the shows until I was a grown up! What’s up with that?! Ah well, fantasies, I suppose.

Now, back to me. Back before we were married, my wife and I had this BRILLIANT idea to get one of those shiny trailers and make it a photobooth. We were already filming weddings as videographers and everyone seemed to have a photobooth. Add that with the fact that this is Austin, and you can find tacos, nachos, pizza, hamburgers, haircuts, hell, maybe even a dentist, operating out of an Airstream, and we thought, GOLD! In fact, you’ll find Airstreams in food parks, food courts, farmers’ markets, flea markets; you name it, if it’s an outside event, there’ll be an Airstream or two. So, why not make one a photobooth and rent it out for weddings! We thought we were geniuses! It took quite a while to find THE ONE, but when we did, we found she was not shiny, she was not pretty, and suddenly this did not feel like such a brilliant idea. She was a 1963 Bambi. Only the most coveted Airstream of all time.

The 1963 Airstream Bambi

Now, if you know ANYTHING about Airstreams, you know the Bambi is what you could call a white buffalo. She’s rare, she’s beautiful and if you find her, you better keep her happy, and protected. (Wait, I’m not sure a white buffalo is even a real thing, I’ll have to look that up.) Regardless, I restored her and turned her into a photobooth. Once I started booking weddings, we were contacted to do a story about the Bambi Booth as we called her, and that is when we recognized there were not one, not two, but THREE freaking Airstream photobooths operating in Austin. I kept up the business for a while then finally let her go. She is still out there, under a different name, and has had some modifications that make me very sad, but she’s being put to good use so I guess that’s a plus. Here’s the last photo I took of her.

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The Bambi Booth (I miss you girl!)

I let this Bambi go, but you bet your big fat freakin’ left toe if I find another, I will snatch her up and never let her go! I will admit, I searched for another Airstream for a few years before I found my next one. Read my next post to find out about The 1966 Airstream Globetrotter.

April 1, 2016

It’s the biggest camping danger cliche ever: A bear!

written by Mr TinCanPlan

That moment when you’re driving your Tin Can up a steep incline and something darts across the road. Was it a dog? No. A cat? Um, that would be a big cat. Could it be? No… That’s a yes, it was a freakin’ bear! We haven’t quite set out on our Tin Can Plan yet so this is a throwback post to when we did take a short two-week road trip around the Southeastern United States in our old Airstream Globetrotter.

The bear sighting happened in a North Carolina RV park/campground that is one of the most beautiful places we have camped. If you ever find yourself near Goldview Knob, you should definitely check out Campfire Lodgings. It is about ten minutes north of Asheville, North Carolina. With 100 acres of woods and numerous trails, Campfire Lodgings offers a variety of mountain lodging possibilities, from RV and Tent sites, to fully furnished Yurts, Cabins, and a Cliff House.

The home of the bear.

Now, back to this bear. We saw the bear as we were doing the climb up the hill to the campground. It (or they…) darted across the roadway, on the hunt! To be honest, it was probably for a stash of grilled cheese or those little cheese filled hotdogs we seem to encounter at every campground but by the speed of his dash, he must have been hungry!

We moved slowly and parked the Airstream, hopped out and this is what we saw.

The view from above.

Of course, the first thing you should do is NOT GO FOR A FREAKIN’ WALK. But, not two minutes after we saw the bear, here we were, just strolling through his living room. Hey, I’ve got a pocket knife here, I’ll be fine… Right?

For the fact checkers, here are common causes of attacks while hiking:

Not making sufficient noise.
Approaching or surprising an animal at close range.
Getting close to a carcass or other food source.
Startling a female bear with cubs.
Hiking off trail or at night.

OK, so I guess I shouldn’t have grabbed that piece of deer gut, played with it and dropped on myself while hiking at night and moving very slowly and quietly up to the super cute bear cub? I mean, really, come on, have you ever seen a bear cub? SO CUTE.

A cute bear whose Mom will probably eat your face.

Luckily, we never saw that bear again or even cubs, and we camped here for a few days. There were a few signs warning you of their presence and the trashcans are bear-proofed so if you do get to this area, follow the rules above. This is a beautiful campground and we hope to make it back. Sans bear.

The 1966 Airstream Globetrotter parked in bear country.

March 31, 2016

Touring the the RV and Travel Trailer Expo in Austin, Texas

written by Mr TinCanPlan

Since we haven’t set out on our Tin Can Plan yet, and are still planning the Tin Can Plan, Mrs. Tin Can Plan and I decided to make a plan to check out the RV Expo in Austin, Texas. I guess you can call it the first step in the Tin Can Plan. Well, next to thinking about the Tin Can Plan. (How many times did I say Tin Can Plan in there? That’s called SEO, I think.)

The Austin RV Expo

The RV Expo is quite the spectacle. You’ve got mamas, papas, kiddos, poppops, gammys and all kinds of folks checking out all the different ways to go camping, or RVing. I even spotted a few people (and overheard) checking out RVs for full-timing. Jealous! There are popups, a-frames, fifth wheels, motorhomes, even little ones they called teardrops. I can’t reckon how any one would want one of those but I guess if you crave AC, a TV and NOT sleeping in a tent, this is the way to go.

What they call a teardrop, I call a coffin.

The size of the place is huge and it took us a bit to check out all the RVs, and what they had to offer. Of course, being the cheapskate that I am, my decisions about EVERYTHING are usually based on PRICE, so when I saw this big yellow sign, you know I said hello!

Cheapest one in the whole place!

Now, I love cheap but this trailer just didn’t do it for me. My heart is set on the silver bullet, the one, the only, the Airstream. I’ll get back to that in a sec. For now, let’s check out a few more. Some of them are BIG! As in, BIG ENOUGH TO CLIMB, oh yea!

Eagle eye vantage point.

Oh, excuse me? No, I don’t want to buy it, I just wanted to see if it had satellite. OH, it does? And, some of these even have space for your mother-in-law.

The mother-in-law suite.

And, Grandma’s coming no matter what you say!

Can I get a special on a hoist?

The RV companies must hire psychologists because there were quite a few signs posted, with very clever ways to get you on board. (And, off, ya know, in case you have to go.)

Oh, perfect for couples!

Do NOT poop in this RV.

There are even quite a few retro trailers out there to hook the younger families, maybe touch on the nostalgia of yesteryear with some of the patriarchs.

Mrs. Tin Can Plan. Not creepy at all.

Retro, retro!

I was reminded that RVing is just plain, good fun, even if you’re not camping!

This water is COLD!

Then, I saw them. The tin cans, the silver bullets, the Airstream! In case you don’t know, you should check out how much I love Airstreams. It was great fun at the RV show and we really enjoyed checking out all the RVs, trailers and campers. I can’t wait to get out there and experience life on the road!

The Airstreams!

March 30, 2016