AirstreamHobo Travels

2011-11-01T14:03:00.004-04:00

Ok... Here is an update of our trip west!! We left August 3 and arrived home October 12. A total of 10 weeks on the road. We traveled the northern route to the west, then we took the southern route along the Oregon Coast to Calif. We then went EAST to Utah then south to Zion Park etc. Then back across to Las Vegas for a week.
From Vegas we headed south to Arizona to travel Rt 66 for a few miles 100 miles off and on Rt 40 to see the old Rt 66. We then arrived in Albuquerque,NM. to the Balloon Fiesta. We arrived monday to rest for 5 days then onto the field at the Fiesta. We were joined with 103 Airstreams for this Rally. WOW is all we can say about the people and the Balloon Show we saw each day.
We left at tuesday noon for Home?? We took Rt 40 east then at Tucumcari we followed Rt 54 north. This was a nice drive without all the trucks and speed limit was 60 mph all along the way. Thru Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, then Missouri where we stopped at the Lake Ozarks for a rest. 3 days later we are headed east on Rt 54 to St. Louis. We hit a detour along the beltway which took us downtown right past the St. Louis Arch... Awesome... Then onto Indianapolis to Rt 70. We stayed on Rt 70 to the Penna. Turnpike. We took that to the Bradford Exit then north to Raystown Lake for a few days. We woke up on wednesday to rain and I said lets hitchup one more time and head for home. We drove in the rain for the first time in 70 days to get home. The trip had been sunny everyday till now(hard to believe isn't it?). We arrived home at 2pm on wednesday to our waiting family.
This ends our DREAM Trip to the West Coast and the Balloon Fiesta. We drove a total of 11,241 miles and stayed at 27 different places along the way. And also traveling thru 21 different states along the way.
This country has so much to see, we have to do it again someday. Here is a better closeup of the map.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/MapOf2011Trip#
Click on the map to make it bigger.
God Bless... AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-10-28T12:29:00.003-04:00

Watch Out!! For the Airstreamers!! That WDCU Unit had a Rally outside of Manheim this past weekend. Since it was only 4 miles away I decided to join them on thursday. Then on friday 3 of my grand kids joined me also. We had a funfilled weekend with pumpkins, hayride, trick or treating, also Installation of their 2012 officers. There were 29 rigs present, Pa.,Va.,NH.,NJ., Md., Del.,NY.,Del. Ontario too. Some toured the area for Chocolate, shops,Amish Stores, and even the local RV Dealer for parts. A good time was had by All!!
On saturday night , they had Installation of officers followed by a great cooked meal made by a local resturant. We picked it up and had our own buffet line. There was so much extra food that we packed the extras and delivered it to Ruhl's Church(my church) . They repacked it after church sunday in take out meal boxes. They then took it out to needy families for them to enjoy. See Pictures of the weekend...
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/WDCUInstallationOct2011#

2011-10-14T09:12:00.002-04:00

Here is a where we stayed in at the Ozarks, Mo. Cross Creek Campground, It had a long dirt road to get there, very dusty!! But the view from the airstream was worth it! The scenes from Rt. 54 were awesome colors as the trees here started to turn many colors. Here are some pictures.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/SpecialShotsAlongRt54#

2011-10-14T09:00:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from the Balloon Grounds. The car show and some of the booths. Yes we are home now, I will post more pictures and blogs as I collect all my thoughts. It is time to clean up from the flood damage. Our boys have done a great job restoring the house. Now mom and I have to sort through all the items to put back or throw out!! Stuff ? Do we really need all this ?? See the pictures from the grounds.
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/ScenesFromTheBalloonGrounds#

2011-10-07T15:34:00.000-04:00

https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/BalloonSpecialShots2011#

Here are a few shots from the Balloon Rally. There are many many more! I will post later. We had such a great time here, 5 days is too short. It does last 9 days but our Rally was 5 days. The Airstreamers were so much fun to be with. Pot luck with 103 dishes was too much!! You didn't starve! That's for sure.
There were 103 Airstreams here from all over USA, we were the only ones from Penna. Enjoy the pictures.. It is so hard to pick from my main album to show you but this will cover most of it for now.. Balloons, Fireworks, there was even a car show.
God Bless AirstreamHobo and mom

2011-09-29T18:36:00.002-04:00

Sept. 29, Here we are at Enchanted Trails for 4 days just resting and doing nothing!! laundry, grocery shopping, visiting old town, and I even washed the airstream. Tomorrow at 9am we convoy into the Balloon Fiesta with 100 other airstreams. So far we already had a happy hour with some to get to know each other. The water tanks are filled, sewer empty and batteries charged. We are boondocking for 5 days with no hookups. I am Ready!! To click click a few balloons? I will post pictures in a few days after the Rally, right now too much fun to post!

2011-09-25T19:55:00.004-04:00

Sept 24, saturday, We leave Cottonwood after visiting Verde Days at the Lagoon. This was a day for families to fish and see the local clubs. We left at noon for Sedona. We went thru Sedona to catch Rt 17 after driving straight up the mountain on Rt 89 a we finally got to Rt 17 then onto Rt 40 East!! We stopped at Winslow to see the Rt 66 sights and continued on. Stopping at "Root 66 "Camp for the night. Only $15.50 a night. This was owned and run by an Indian family, very gracious hosts. They said it is slow this year.
Sept 25, Sunday , we leave at noon and drive Rt 40 for about 100 miles and enter New Mexico. We drive to exit #79 to Grant,NM. arrived at Bar "S"
campground. Only $17.00 for the night with full hookups. The place is full because people are arriving now for the Balloon Rally in Albuquerque.
We can hardly wait. We leave in the am for Enchanted Trails RV Park to meet many other Airstreamers,we want to rest for 4 days before the party begins!! Here are todays pictures of Rt 66
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/CottonwoodSedonaWinslowToRt66ToGrantsNM#
God Bless.. AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-09-23T18:05:00.003-04:00

Wednesday, Sept 23, We are camped at Cottonwood,Az. for 3 days at Dead Horse Park. I didn't see any dead horses yet? We drove up to Jerome and saw the hillside town that used to be a mining Town. Now it is an art/craft town, we walked the streets and had fun looking at the sights. Then we drove the Mingus highway over the mountain for 12 miles and back.The view was spectacular! See album https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/JeromeAZ?authkey=Gv1sRgCMTf39rF0oP1wwE#

2011-09-21T12:54:00.007-04:00

Tuesday, Sept 20, Today we drove to Dewey, AZ. to met up with Pee Wee Schwamborn an Airstream Friend! He was the son of Helen Schwamborn who was the start of WBCCI and started and planned many Airstream Caravans all over the World. Pee Wee was the advance scout on the Capetown to Cairo Caravan over 50 years ago. His airstream experiences are mind boggling!!! Just to sit and see his scrap books were like sitting with living history. We then left for Prescott to see the rocks and city. We spent the day taking pictures everywhere. Thanks to Pee Wee & Sue for your Hospitailty and Friendship. We will see them again at the Balloon Rally next week. See the pictures
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/DayWithPeeWeeInPrescottAZ#

2011-09-19T23:46:00.003-04:00

Sat, Sept 17, We left for Arizona, we drove down Rt 93 to Rt 66, stopping for information and maps of Rt. 66 in Kingman, AZ. Rt. 66 is a road of the old days of the 50's & 60's before Interstate Highway system. My favorite stop was Hackenberry's Gas/Store Station. This place was a photographers paradise too. See the Album to see what I mean, Enjoy!! https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/ViewAlongRt66Interesting#

Here is a separate Album for Hackenberry's Store.
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/HackenberryStore#

2011-09-19T22:52:00.003-04:00

Friday, Sept. 16th, we spent the week in the Vegas area enjoying the sights. Today we went into Las Vegas to see the town during the day. There was lost to see and we got back at 10pm that night. The people were friendly and spoke many languages. Here is a album to see some of the sights. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/DaytimeInLasVegas#

2011-09-15T14:18:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, I just wanted to give you an update. Most of you know that our hometown was flooded and had severe damage to a lot of homes. I sent out an email telling my followers that I will not be posting a blog for a while. I cannot talk about our travels when so many back home are having a rough time trying to clean & find a place to live.
We had 6-9" of water in our home, but our sons/wives & friends jumped in there and cleaned it all up. They told us to continue our trip and come home afterwards. We are so Thankful for Family & Friends for helping. I know I am not posting a blog, but some have requested pictures. So I know pictures are worth a thousand words. I have downloaded a few albums for you to see. Go this album
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/HooverDamLasVegas#
and when finished look up at top and click on Airstreamhobo's Gallery to get the other albums posted , then you can click on them to see. I hope you all understand our feelings about Manheim & Friends.We are in Las Vegas near Hoover Dam at this time. We have 2 weeks yet till the Balloon Rally then we will head home!!
God Bless everyone!! AirstreamHobo & Mom

2011-09-07T03:08:00.001-04:00

The Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here are some pictures
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/TempleSquareSalitLakeCityUtah#

2011-09-07T02:25:00.005-04:00

Sunday, September 5, We meet up with Steve & Linda Koreny at the Copper Mine. They are members of Central Penn Unit and are also traveling in the West. Awesome to see them and swap stories so far about our trips.
We tour the mine and then leave to find a campground. We stop at one, it is full onto the next one. The sign says full but they had 2 campers leave today, so we are in luck. We set up and get together for a evening chat. Planning for tomorrow, we will see the downtown of Salt Lake City.
Monday, September 6, we leave at 10 am and go downtown to Temple Square where the Mormons have their Church and Conference Center. We first drive up to the Capital Building and take a self guided tour. Next off to Temple square, we park right across the street. Free parking, Labor Day! Now we eat first then the tour begins. We get a tour of the Conference Center, Wow, lots to see.. see the pictures. The place is massive. The audutorium holds 21,000 people. The organ has 8,000 pipes. There is even a garden on the roof. We have a freee guide to learn all the areas. 4 hours later we are ready to sit in the van. Pictures
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/CopperMineUtah#5649500050639248722

2011-09-07T01:49:00.002-04:00

Here is Rt. 80 across Nevada, It is the most boring! 400 miles of highway, 75 MPH Limit, I set the cruise at 65 and didn't touch the gas pedal for 125 miles. Time to stop for fuel then off again. We made it till 7pm and stopped for the night at "Loves" truck stop. We were surrounded by trucks for the night. There was a fuel, McDonalds and a Casino all in one place. We did 350 miles today and it was Boring!!

2011-09-07T01:23:00.001-04:00

Here we are at Mystery Trees attraction in California. There was a Indian Artifact Museum here too. The largest private collection of Indian things collected by a 97 year old Indian lady and she still collects everyday. The flower garden was beautiful too. we left here and headed for Sacremento to reach Rt. 80 east. We stopped at a rest stop for the night at 10 pm. We woke up at 7 am and headed to Nevada. We hit the Nevada border and drove 350 miles today.

2011-09-02T01:22:00.002-04:00

The Redwoods are bigger than the van!

That is Big!!!

How many hugs to surround the tree?

We made it!! to California!!

Thursday, September 1, 2011.... We made it to California, first we went under an inspection at the border for Gypsy Moth(she said Penna. is known for them) carrier. The young lady search over and crawled by creeper under the Airstream with her flashlight. We passed and got a yellow pass good for one year.

We found a campground near the entrance of the Redwood Forrest. We unhooked and drove the van thru the massive trees for 10 miles thru the dirt road, narrow at times. We stopped several times to marvel at the large trees!!

Here are pictures from the past week to see ... 3 Albums to see..

https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/OregonRt1011#

More.. http https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/Oregon4#

More.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/Oregon3#

Any comments, would love to hear from you!! e-mail me obclown@ptd.net

God Bless.... AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-09-02T00:51:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, August 31, we leave camp at 11 am and continue down Rt. 101, this is the most beautiful drive I ever took, the ocean has it's wonders and beauty at every turn in the lookouts. I pass a restaurant with cars all over the roof, I stop and walk in. There are 2 49' Fords with the interior changed to a table and benches as a booth for you to sit in while you eat. That was cool, also many old signs of yesteryear on the walls.
Back on the road, more lookouts to stop and see. We arrive at Bullards Beach State Park for the night($24.00/nite) We get a nice shaded spot to relax. Tonight is country entertainment for the camp, I think I will go? I did go and see Mark Madden, he had a great mix of country songs for an hour. Back to camp for a campfire till 9:30 pm. zzzzZZ zz .....
God Bless, AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-09-02T00:39:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, August 30, we drive along the coast to take in the sights again. This time we stop at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. This is a National Park, so we gain free entrance. We stop at the visitors center for a little history and a short film on this area. Then off to the lighthouse, there is a lot of steps down to the water here. There is cobble stones(made from lava flows made into round stones). I walked down about 6 sets of steps to see the lighthouse from the water, the lighthouse is high on a hill overlooking the ocean. I met a volunteer who explains the rocks and also the animals that can be found in the water when the tide is out. They asked that you not take any cobblestones with you(I think that’s why he was here, to make sure you don't). You should hear the sound of the stones when water hits and leaves the shoreline. It sounds like applause all the time. It is also very hard to walk down here, they are like giant marbles. Now to wall back up the steps to the top.. Huff .. huff.. even the kids were slow by the top. Mom and I tour the lighthouse and take a mini-tour. I elected not to climb those steps too. The view is wonderful up and down the coast.
We then drive down the coast checking out the waterfront. I pass a wood carver making bears and cowboys.. Cool. Then we find a Crab Shack for lunch and stop in for some local fish. Mom got Shrimp basket, I got the Halibut with fries, very good. The place was a poplar place for everyone.
Tonight we buy firewood to enjoy. Just relaxing watching the fire tonight. The sun was hiding all day, so we didn't go over to the beach for sunset.

2011-09-02T00:36:00.001-04:00

We also stop to see the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, there are 2 here in Newport. This one is downtown overlooking the waterway into the docks, near a big bridge that crosses over Newport. Enough sightseeing today back to the camper. We walk out under the bridge at the camp to the ocean at 7:45 pm to see the sunset. It was ok, there were several people also watching. The tide sure goes out far and there is a wide beach from parking lot to the water, lots of driftwood is left behind. ZZZZZ
Pictures .. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/NewportOregon#

2011-09-02T00:25:00.001-04:00

Monday, August 29, We leave here early in am and drive down Rt. 101 stopping at overlooks and enjoying the ocean and the shoreline. We arrive in the Newport area and stop at Beverly Beach State Park for 2 nights($26.00/nite). We have a nice shaded spot in the back loop(G-3) There are not many sites left, the Ranger tells us they have been full since June 1st. We unhook and drive to down town Newport and find the historic waterfront. There we see a fish processing plant on the docks. The boats are coming in for the day with their catches. The waterfront is lined with big and small boats.
We hear barking off in the distance, we go to seek out this noise. Here the sea lions are on a rock island 50 feet off shore and also below one of the docks on a lower dock just for them. They are Big, some over 1,000 lbs. and very loud in their barking voice. We stop and watch them swim and basked in the sun. They crawl over each other to get a spot on the dock, fun to watch them belly around.

2011-08-30T18:15:00.004-04:00

We stop for groceries at Fred Meyers store. There is the Oscar Mayer mobile here handing out stickers and wiener whistles. Of course I have to have one!! I told the girl I am from Penna. , she says she is too! I ask where she said Lancaster County, Wow !! another Lancaster County find in the west. She graduated from Penn State with a marketing degree and Oscar Mayer hired her to drive the northwest promoting their products!!
Down 101 we go next stop a campground. We stopped at the next park, Lookout Point. But they were 100% Full, they directed us to a county park down the road 8 miles. Nice little camp, no hookups($20.00/night) but the view was worth it, right along the inlet waterwayscounty park down the road 8 miles. Nice little camp, no hookups($20.00/night) but the view was worth it, right along the inlet waterways. Supper time then a walk, time to ZZZZ More Pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/Oregon#

God Bless, AirstreamHobo & Mom

2011-08-29T20:05:00.003-04:00

We then find a state park called Fort Stevens, the sign says Full. But there is always room for one more (me, I hope?)... Yes there is, we take site I Loop # 70 with full hookups for $27.00/night. We set up and cruise Astoria after supper. There is an airstream next to us but they ignored us, I waved but no response. Sometimes that happens????
Sunday, August 28, we leave to travel down Rt.101 and stop at various turn outs and views of the ocean. The rocky coast is beautiful. We see a fishing/ crab shack and decided to stop and check it out. I watch the man clean lots of crabs. There were crabbers out on the dock netting them as we were there. I met a man, George, and started asking questions, What he said, you never ate a Dungeness Crab before? He said he would give us one to try after they were steamed for 20 minutes. We waited and he did give me one, he even cleaned it and showed me how. Mom said she would try some of mine...Wow, this is GOOD!! He asked me later and Mom and I gave him 2 thumbs up!! His wife showed up with another crab for us to eat.. yum, yum. We enjoyed this stop and the locals were friendly to everyone and took the time to explain our questions about these BIG Crabs. So if you are in the area , stop at Jetty Fishery Marina for an awesome crab meal. Pictures are here.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/OregonRt1011#

2011-08-29T19:53:00.000-04:00

Friday, August 26, we decided to stay another day, stuff to do. We headed for the laundromat, while mom does laundry, I head for the hospital for my monthly blood work. The test is short and sweet and my results are the same medicine prescription. Back to pickup Mom. I then wash the airstream and van after 4 weeks of road dirt on both, they shine again!! Then we relax the rest of day.
Saturday, August 27, we leave and go to the Columbia Water Gorge, there is supposed to be a large waterfall there. They are right, it is huge and beautiful. Then back to the highway for the Oregon Rt. 101 along the west coast. A total of 150 miles back to Longview, Wa. where we started this am. We follow the road to the coast and look for Astoria. This is a little waterfront town with many little restaurants and thrift shops. But the waterfront is fabulous, there are at least 4 big freighters waiting to dock. We see one being pushed by a tugboat into place.

2011-08-29T19:48:00.000-04:00

Thursday, August 25, We leave Mt. Rainier and head for Mt. St. Helens in Washington. It is only a short time less than 2 hours we arrive in the area. First we stop at the Visitors Center and read about the history and also see a film on it. We then leave and stop at a State Park across the street, The rate was $29.00 for elec/water but also they wanted $10.00 per day for a Discovery Pass.
We decided to keep going and stopped at Mt. St. Helens Resort about 6 miles later. Their full hookup rate was $22./night. We paid and stayed the night. It was still only 1 pm so we unhitches and traveled 47 miles up the road to The Mt. St. Helens viewing point and watched 2 movies on it. When the screen opened up, there was the Mountain in full view..Ahh..Ahh!!
We walked around and took in the view. It was a long drive up and back 94 miles all together but very scenic overlooks. We stopped at "Patty's Place" for supper. We ate on the back porch overlooking the river behind the restaurant. The food was good, but they are know for their Cobbler Desert. But we declined, too full. Back to camper ZZZZZ

2011-08-26T03:22:00.002-04:00

Mt. St. Helens. Washington State

August 25, Thursday, Today we drive 100 miles to see Mt. St. Helens. What a wonderful drive , just see the pictures!! https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/MtStHelens#

I am tired and had a great time today, but now it is time for ZZZZZZZZZ God Bless, AirstreamHobo & Mom

2011-08-26T03:16:00.001-04:00

Mt. Rainier, Washington State

We even get lost in Tacoma but we do find our way to the right road to Mt. Rainier and stop at first camp (White River Camp) . The sites are too small and trees have fallen everywhere. We head down the road to the next one, Ohanapecosh Campground. There are plenty of sites, we pick # A-47 and pay for 2 nights, only $15/nite = $30, but we pay only $15/for 2 nights (Senior Pass discount, see it pays to be old!!!). No Hookups but that’s Ok. The Cedar pines are at least 100 feet high and tower over everything. We settle in for the night. The running river over on the next loop is relaxing to hear. ZZZZ

Tuesday, August 23, We grab the park map and head for Sun Rise Visitor Center about 35 miles away. The up the mountain drive is awesome, every turn gives you a different look at Mt. Rainier. There is snow on the forest ground and the air is getting cooler. There are many turn outs to stop and enjoy, Click, click, I don't want to miss a shot. When we get there there is lots and lots of wildflowers growing in the fields. They add color to the mountain top. There are many photographers walking around for different shot exposures. This is also a Photo Heaven!!
Now we head down the mountain and up the next one for 50 miles to "Paradise" Visitors Center. This is a large visitor center with many exhibits and even a movie explaining the Mt. Rainier Mountain and it's history. We are 5,400 feet high and closest to the mountain here. Again the drive was quite beautiful and a great day for a drive. Today we covered 140 miles inside the park and are bushed!
When we return, we learn the the water main has broken and will out of service till Friday. They are asking campers to move on if they need water. Luckily we have the tank full and can make it for a few days. ZZZZ by 9 pm Good Night!
Wednesday, August 24, (4 months till Christmas Eve. ) Today we decide to stop and take a rest and pay for another day. Relax is the order of the day!! I did get the Dutch Oven out and make a Hot Dog with Bake Beans and Potatoes in the pot. This was heated by 25 coals of charcoal on the lid(14) and under the bottom (11) of the oven makes it hot enough to cook. This was my first time to cook with it and the meal came out pretty good. No smoke detectors going off outside! Relax.. no miles today.. just a walk around the camp and read books.
Tonight I decided to take in another Ranger Program at the Ambitheater(?) , it was on Mt. Rainier and it's nature surroundings. Believe it or not, the Ranger, Nikole Rutters was from Lancaster County , Pa. How small is that? She is here on a geological grant from Millersville for the summer. Great program, very interesting. we chatted after the program. Click for pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/MtRainier#
Good Night ZZZZ...
God Bless.... AirstreamHobo & Mom

2011-08-26T03:10:00.002-04:00

The "Obie " Nose

Monday, August 22, We leave camp by 8 am and head west on Rt. 90. I see Diesel for $4.39( I said No Way!!) continued down the highway for 50 miles and here it is for $4.09 so I fill up. We follow the beautiful 4 lane highway thru Washington State. Up and down the mountains we go!!
Note: Just to let you know the grasshoppers have destroyed the "Obie" Nose on the front grill of the van, at 65 MPH the bugs just crushed it!! The van is now naked!

2011-08-26T03:00:00.001-04:00

50,000 Silver Dollars are here on display!!
Sunday, August 21, After breakfast, we break camp and leave. We stop at McDonalds for a senior coffee (only .75 each) and get free wireless. We then leave and head west on Rt. 90, a nice 4 lane highway up and down the mountains of Montana. Yes it is "The Big Sky State"!
We see signs for Silver Dollar Gift shop all along the Route. Finally, we stop in to see the tourist trap? The walls are filled with over 50,000 Silver Dollars implanted in wooden boards with peoples name carved under the $$ so you can see who left a silver dollar here. There are a lot of good stuff "Cheap" here! They even have Free Rv parking out back with 30 amp hookup. But it is only 2 pm and we want to continue on.
We cross over into Idaho for a short distance then into Washington State. Passing through Spokane on Rt. 90 to Cheney, we find a campground along a lake. We get the last site. Then we eat and head for the lake for a swim...refreshing!!! Time to relax for tomorrow...ZZZZ
God Bless AirstreamHobo &Mom

2011-08-26T02:49:00.001-04:00

Mom resting at WalMart for the night!!

Saturday, August 20, It's morning , time to hookup and leave. We take the time to dump and talk to Sally Walters(Host) for one last time, she was collecting your post site cards from all when leaving. We head back to Rt. 12 and head south around Glacier Park. We travel all the way around to the west side ( we couldn't take airstream up over Logan Pass) at Browning we take Rt. 12 west. Beautiful drive and easy on the hills. We then take Rt. 93 south.. pass Flathead Lake and follow the highway all the way south along the waterfront. The water was so blue almost painted. Many boaters are in this lake as it is a public owned water way. Many houses had boat docks at their back/front yards.
We see many Indian villages along the way. Many abandon vehicles in yards too. We take Rt. 93 all the way to Missoula, Mo. At the first exit of Rt. 90 we find a Super Walmart to shop and also spend the night. There are about 12 rigs here for the night. I went in to ask permission from the manager. He said Yes, but no setting up swimming pools in the Lot but if I break out the grill, I am to call him to eat!! He said very few people ask permission, so he appreciated me asking. Parking Fee.. $00.00 Shopping costs.. $31.00 ( not a free night ). Mom and I eat then sit outside along the airstream and watch more rigs pull in for the night. Time to ZZZ.. God Bless AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-26T02:38:00.002-04:00

Chuck & Sally Walters... Camp Hosts at St. Marys' Camp

Friday, August 19, Today we relax at the camp till noon. WE then leave for a short dive to Many Glacier, a scenic drive also. It is only 21 miles to there. We pass the Lake Sherburne to get to the Many Glacier Hotel. This is a swiss looking hotel right on the water front of the lake. The front porch is a treat just to sit and watch the lake. Some kayak and canoe here, what a beautiful back drop. This place is only open 3 months a year then the snow comes to the roof top for the winter!! Brr. Brr! We walk thru the lobby to see the lounge and gift shop. The hotel rooms start at $200/nite. They even have horse back riding the trails for 1/2 days and all day rides. One thing we noticed all week was the Red Cars for touring the whole park. They had day trips from every hotel and visitor centers thru out the park. Rates were very reasonable too. The cars had an open top and sat 17 passengers with a guided tour by the driver with many stops of interest. I tthink there are 33 cars in the park, one even takes you to To Prince of Wales Hotel, in Canada for a day trip and back.
We arrive back at camp and meet with the camp hosts, Sally and Chuck Walters, from Woodstock, Va. They are here for 6 weeks to Host. They give us ideas where to travel next heading west and then south. We got many suggestions. They are Airstreamers Too!
Tonight at the Visitors Center there is an Astrology Star Show in the parking lot at 9:30 pm. I decided to go and learn something. There are about 25 of us and 3 teachers that volunteer to talk about the stars. They use laser lights to point out all the star clusters. I only knew about Big Dipper and the Small one. They had telescopes set up for us to see the stars and the Milky Way. The Moon also came up and I looked through the scope, awesome to see the craters on the moon. Also the International Space Station flew by every 92 minutes and we saw it at 10:51 pm, it lasted about 3 minutes over the sky. One teacher showed us how to take picture shots of the stars too, Fascinating !! I arrived back at camp at midnight! ZZZZ click for pictures .. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/WestGlacier#
God Bless.. AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-26T02:33:00.000-04:00

Here are 2 women who were kayaking taking a break on Mac Donald Lake shore .

Thursday, Aug 18, Today I thought I would surprise mom with ready made breakfast? I made sausage and scramble eggs, juice and coffee. Thank God for 2 fantastic fans to let the smoke out of the Airstream. I think the smoke alarm woke up mom? Mom made breakfast from here on out...Hee Hee.
The sky clouds were low over the mountains and we left early to capture the right light for pictures.. AWESOME VIEW! Then we continued on thru Logan Pass, there was construction all along the narrow road. Sometimes we had to wait in line for 15 minutes to let other traffic pass by. The masons were laying stone wall along the road edge. The mountain side was right along the road and sometimes we had to let others pass first and also close in our outside mirrors so they don't hit. Mom took pictures as we climbed the mountain and going down too. There were some pull offs to get out and enjoy the view. We could see the water melting off the snow making small and large waterfalls. We continued on to Mac Donald's Lake, a large lake on the west side of the mountains. we stopped at the village too. These places are only open for 3-4 months a year. Logan Pass was just opened on July 7th this year. Now the return trip back to St. Mary's, yes the same road delays on the way back, but the slow movement made for a great view of the mountains. I don't know how some small motor homes made the squeeze but they did. No Towed vehicles allowed over Logan Pass. I bet some rental motor homes had scrapes and scratches when returned. What a great day for pictures and memories too!
God Bless, AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-26T02:18:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, Aug 16, We head for Great Falls and continue on to Shelby, Mo. Well, I know where all the railroad cars hang out. We find a town park in Shelby for the night to relax after 300 miles today($18/nite). Maybe tomorrow we will see Glacier Park? Montana sure is a BIG State! The roadside is interesting to see. Large ranches and small towns of less than 30 are here. Time to ZZZZ...
Wednesday, Aug 17, Up and ready to go only a few more miles? We arrive at noon at Glacier National Park. Our senior pass gets us in Free (see.. being old has advantages!) We then check in at St. Mary's camp. Only $11.50( Senior Price) a nite. NO Hookups! So we fill up with water and empty the dump tank, so we are set for the next 4 days/ 3 nites. We get a beautiful site over looking the camp and a direct view of the mountains. WOW! What a view! After leaving home and driving 2,900 miles we are here!
Let me say this , you can not take a bad picture here. Everything is picture perfect. We drive up to Logan Pass Visitor station today. Here we see deer, Ram Sheep<9 of them> and also a mountain goat just wanders around the parking lot staring at us. I think he was posing for pictures too! The air is brisk here all over the mountain. The small water falls, glacier snow, the lake is blue from glacier melting and the wildflowers thru out the area are just great to see. Back to the Airstream to relax and watch the sunset. ZZZZ
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/GlacierPark#
God Bless, AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-15T23:55:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Montana!!
Monday, August 15, We leave the camp(Bowman, ND.) Headed west on Rt. 12. Down the road we run into construction which winds thru the mountains on a dirt/gravel road. We even have a lead truck show us which lane to be in. This goes on for 7 miles at 20 MPH. I thought I was in Alaska on these roads. the dust was kicking up and we drove with the windows closed. We stopped at Plevna, for a lunch snack in the airstream, and parked next to a closed old station, also across from a grain elevator that was closed up.
Then back to a regular road to Forsyth then west on Rt. 12 toward Roundup, Montana. We drove for 60 miles only passing 4-5 cars/trucks along the way. wow what a lonely highway, speed limit was 65 but it was still boring. We passed 2 small villages along the way. One had a population of 19 ??? What do these people do over winter? When we arrived in Roundup, We were ready for an early rest. We stayed at a motel with Campground, full hookups with cable and wi-fi. This was a long day, I think we covered about 245 miles. Time to relax.... Pictures..
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/Rt12InMontana#
God Bless ..AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-15T22:45:00.003-04:00

Sunset in Bowman, No. Dakota

Sunday, Aug. 14th, we started heading West thru So. Dakota following Rt. 12. This is a 2 lane highway for the most part. Speed limit is only 65-75 in some parts. The country side is beautiful to see. We hit a detour which takes us 45 miles around the town. However, we did get see thousands of acres of Sun Flowers blooming!! Gorgeous!! There are many old farms left to rot along the road too, the bigger farms (some are 1,000 acres or more) are buying them up. We see a lot of Harvesters in the fields at work. There is a lot of equipment to support them, trucks, trailers, bailers, combines. We even saw a convoy of 3 tractors on flat beds and equipment heading to the next field.
The land is flat for the most ,then we started gaining on the hills, going higher and higher. We pass a lot of little towns along the way. Even driving thru an Indian Reservation seeing them and their homes scattered in the fields. There are lots of Casinos too (run by Indians). We arrive in No. Dakota and drive to Bowman, they have a town park at the edge of town. Electric hookup only ($20/nite), but water is available for fill up. Showers Too! There are about 20 units here, some are transit workers.
370 miles today, all I did was set the cruise at 64 and steer for the most of the way. Only in So. D. can you drive 65 mph down a highway ..stop in the lane.. and take pictures for 5 minutes and not see another vehicle!! Yes that is true! Pictures.. Click here.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/SouthDakota?authkey=Gv1sRgCO6zkcOa14vjswE#
After supper, I looked outside to see a red sky starting to show. I went out side with camera in hand. I watched the sunset for an hour, taking many shots and even the moon was sharp looking tonight! What an Awesome Sunset in the West!! God sure paints a beautiful picture for all to enjoy!!!!!! Click here for pictures... https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/SunsetInND#

Tomorrow , we should be in Montana heading for Glacier National Park, I can hardly wait to see the scenery!!
God Bless... AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-15T22:35:00.002-04:00

I-80 Iowa Truck Stop

Friday, August 12, We leave Davenport, and head west on Rt. 80. After about 10 miles we stop at I-80 Iowa Truck Stop, the World's Largest Truck Stop. This main store has everything, even a full size 18 wheeler in the store. There are numerous fast food restaurants also. Everything for the trucker driver to eat or buy accessories for his truck. There is even showers for use (only $12.00, I tried to get mom a shower with a trucker save $6.00) But she said NO WAY!! The parking lot holds 800 18 wheelers.

Across the parking lot was also a Antique Truck Museum to see. There were about 20 trucks to see. We spent some time looking and reading the descriptions to each truck. Pictures.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/BestOfTruckStop#

We continue on to Missouri Valley, a small town with a town park for camping, only $12.00 a night. Nice setting ...HOWEVER!!! There is a train track behind the park. All night long at least 3 trains an hour passed thru..... 3 blasts of the horn because there was a R/R crossing 1 block away. They were 3-4 engines pulling 100 coal & freight and 2 engines pushing. ZZZ Horns .. ZZZ.. Horn. Pictures.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/IowaToSDakota?authkey=Gv1sRgCMn81df7_6jEsAE#

Saturday, Aug 13, We wake up at 7 am (wonder why??) They are still passing thru........ we leave by 8 am and head north on Rt. 29 toward South Dakota. We stopped at the visitors center in S. Dakota for maps and info. We are told to stop at Redlin Art Center ( www.redlin.com ) with all pictures painted by Terry Redlin... Wow!!! What a building and also the paintings were Fantastic. 3 floors of exhibits. It was awesome to stand back and just take it all in, all seasons were done. He did a lot of paintings for Ducks Unlimited, his works helped them raise over 30 Million Dollars in fund raising over the years. His paintings will live on forever. We had to get a lithograph of one of the winter cabin scenes.
Off to North Rt. 29 to Rt. 12 west , we drove till 6:30 and stopped in Webster, S.D. at a town park again (only $12.50 a night with full hookups. Today was 325 miles...See the pictures...

God Bless...AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-15T22:32:00.002-04:00

Touring all the John Deere Attractions

Aug 11, Thursday, Today we take a look around Davenport and Moline, Iowa. We drive downtown to the John Deere Pavilion to see the displays. We hear that the harvester plant has a tour at 12:30 a few blocks away. We arrive and they are full but a lady suggests to the desk girl that they may have no shows, so wait for a few minutes. We are lucky to get a spot on the tour.
We see a 20 minute film then load up on little wagon seats to be towed by a John Deere riding tractor. Dale is our guide and Bill is the driver. We get a 1 1/2 hour tour of the plant. 221 acres of ground with 77 acres under roof. They make harvesters here for all over the states. There are 4 plants world wide. All harvesters are ordered before being made with a 8 month waiting period. They sell for $330,00 plus $30-$50,000 for each front attachments.. corn picker, cotton pickers or wheat combines. All people who purchase them arrive to see the final assembly. They are the first one to turn on the motor to start it for the first time. There are many robot workers here, welding, painting, metal cutting, as well as overhead tracks to carry pieces from start to finish.
We left there and returned to the Pavilion to finish looking around then off to Headquarters for another tour. There they also had a big floor display of new products. They also had a full wall of antique John Deere items.. Then back to the airstream, mom said she is tired of seeing GREEN today!! Here are some pictures of the day https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/JohnDeereTours#

God Bless, AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-15T22:25:00.003-04:00

A visit with "American Pickers"

Well it's Monday August 8, We leave camp and head for Rt. 80 WEST!! We drive about 300 miles a day average and arrive at P&S Trailer Service in Helena, Ohio. They have courtesy parking out back of their garage, full hookups for free. Next morning I take a quick tour of the Airstreams they are refurbishing. Some brought in for a full overhaul and the rest come for accident repairs. Most are here for a new polished coat on the aluminum. I saw some just about done, I could shave in the mirror shine. Pictures
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/PSAirstream8911#
Aug. 9, Tuesday, We leave on Rt. 6 Ohio and head for the west again. We pass thru a lot of little towns then connect to Rt. 24 into Indiana then into Illinois. We stop for the night in Carlock, near Normal Ill. They said I couldn't stay in Normal so we went to Carlock. We stopped at Kamp Komfort RV Park & Campground right off Rt. 74. Beautiful Camp that used to be a KOA, this place was clean. we arrived at 6 pm and tired after 370 miles today. They had a pool, so Mom and I changed and headed for the pool. We were the only ones there for a hour. We finally ate supper at 8 pm.
Aug 10, Wednesday, We follow Rt. 74 toward Davenport, Iowa, We cross the Mississippi River, as we are crossing we see Tug Boats pushing barges along the river. We stop at the Welcome Center for Iowa for maps. We find out we are 1/2 mile from the TV Show "American Pickers" on the History channel. We find a parking spot along the narrow streets and take a look. I saw many things that Mike & Frank have found in the TV Show on display for sale too. Sorry!! They are out doing a show. I took a few shots too! We headed down the road to Lakeside Rv. Park, a Passport Campground. When we arrive there were only 2 sites left. We were setting up when a motor home arrived and took the last spot, more came later but were turned away. We are staying 2 days so we can tour the area, John Deere is headquartered here and have lots to see tomorrow. Click for pictures
https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/AmericanPickers#
God Bless AirstreamHobo and Mom

2011-08-15T22:18:00.003-04:00

Woodsmen Carnival Rally..Aug 5-7, 2011

We left August 3rd, for a trip across the USA. We packed up and headed for Austin, Potter County, Pa. for a 5 day Unit Rally. We arrived at Austin Campground and setup and met fellow Airstreamers, Bates, Davis, Landvaters, Olshefski's, Jacobs, Linda Bell(who lives 2 blocks from camp) and Guests too, Fowlers from New York, Loudens from Holtwood, Pa., and Glouners from Naples ,Fl. What a fun bunch.
We had a few campfires, toured the area and went to the Woodsmen Show at Cherry Springs State Park. On sat it drizzled all day and made for a wet time. But we enjoyed the Lumber Jack Show and watched the chain saw carvers in action. Even in the rain the place was full and well attended. The food vendors kept us full too, Pulled Bar-B-Q Pork, curly fries, just to name a few. Some of the pictures I took came out gray due to the dark skies all day. All the carvings were for sale too, great prices too.
We even went out to the Wharton Store for Ice Cream and bought some block cheese cut off the round roll with a big knife. We even went next door to the hotel for the Famous "Bonnie Burgers" They were the best! We watch the Pocono 500 while eating. The hotel had Dollar Bills autographed and stapled everywhere, I was told over 4,000 are on the walls.
We also took a side trip to the Austin Dam to see the destruction caused back in 1911 and 78 lives were lost. We also saw a lot of deer grazing along the wood line. We had a Great Rally and everyone had a Great Time, Thanks to all who came. Click for pictures... https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/WoodsmenShow8611#

2011-07-07T22:20:00.005-04:00

Here it is Tuesday June 28, Time to hitch up and move 50 miles down the road to Slippery Rock to the Cooper Family Lake Campground. Here's my Story.. We had such a fun week, there is too much to go into detail. Here is the highlights!! We parked 44 rigs and the Fun began. I was the Parker and had a Golf cart.. Thank God!! This place was huge and we had just a small part, but the Best part, all around the lake and most of us were in the shade. 80* during the day and 50-60* at night. I slept under 2 blankets with the fans off!
Here is what went on... Full Breakfast each day, Ty-dye shirts were made by everyone, crafts for the kids, Rocket building for young and old, bike riding all around the lake on hard roads, Pot Lucks Galore.. even pull pork one night .. Yum.. Yum!! Tours of local Beaver Valley Nuclear Plant, I even operated it under a training exercise(where is the Red Button?). Some went Kayaking, Fishing(yes they were biting!), Enjoying Kettle Corn, Frog Collecting, The Rocket Launch was such a thrill to see Mom & Dads helping their kids. They also went fishing with them also. Don't forget the Bus Demolition.. Awesome
We also had Ansty McClain come all the way from Nashville to perform around the campfire, his family also joined in. Obie even put on a show for all kids(young & old). There were dogs going for walks all the time, I even met 3 Parrots... Arr Arr!! There many new friends to build on and enjoy them. Campfires every night (a Pickup truck load of Fire Logs.) All this for $90.00 per family, $20.00/night camping.
I could go on and on.. But I must say the Televisions and DS Computers were nowhere to be seen, but lots of Family Time was the general theme all week. The Coolest thing for me was to see Dads fishing right along side the kids.. Precious... Thanks to all those who worked so hard to bring us together!! Am I going next year... YOU BET!! I posted some pictures on this link.. https://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/BirthdayBashII#
Look at Birthday Bash II Album.. There are a few(?), also read the captions. A BIG Thank-you to Frank, Steve, and Ace for letting me be a part of the Bash!!
God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol & Alexis Too!

2011-07-07T15:28:00.003-04:00

Alexis with her First Airstream

She caught a Big One!!

Home for 5 days ... Great Airstream Park

Another Airstream Adventure.. We left on June 23, 2011 from home and headed to Penn Wood in Limestone, Pa. near Clarion, Pa. It was more than Mom and I, we also took grand daughter Alexis with us. It has been awhile since she traveled with us. She is 12 years old and ready to travel!!
After traveling 250 miles , we arrived and set up camp. Full hookups/cable too! Alexis tried to fish but would not bait or cast her line, grandpa did it. It wasn't long till she caught a sunny, excited for her first catch. She made lots of friends and played with all. This place is laid back for relaxation and down time.
We were here for 5 days, happy hours and even a trip to The first Oil Drill in Titusville, Pa. It was closed on Mondays but the gate was open, so Alexis and I walked in to snap some shots and then left. This was 140 mile trip up and back, nice seeing the Pa. mountains.
Then it was Tues am so we hitched up and left for Slippery Rock for the Birthday Bash. Only 50 miles and we were there!! (next Blog)

2011-05-15T21:26:00.002-04:00

The Boat is in the slip ready for the 2011 season.

It Floats...first time in the water for 2011.

Hey, keep my car out of the water...Boat Only!!

Here at the Marina at Raystown Resort ready to launch!!!!!

2011-05-15T21:15:00.002-04:00

Here I am and Doug polishing Brian/Doreens' Boat befrore launching it.

Brian hard at work!!

Yes...There is a Boat under that white tent!

Here we are camped at Brian's Cabin for a work detail weekend, but Fun work!! Free hookups and campfire wood.

2011-05-15T21:04:00.002-04:00

Here are some HouseBoats at the Seven Points Marina, wouldn't it be Cool to put the Airstream on Pontoons and float away on the Lake?

These are the Rentals, $2600 /5 days

Carol is feeding the Carp watch the Dog!! He is close to being eaten!!!!

19 Rentals being cleaned to be ready for the season.

2011-05-15T20:51:00.002-04:00

Here we are at Raystown Lake in Pa. On the waterfront enjoying the view, we have a 2 level site..Table above and fire pit below. Senior prices are $15/nite with electric..water down the street, stretch the water hose to fill up.

Million Dollar View

The Carp at the marina fight over fish food! Why can't I fish here?

Here is a sunset view, the sun was bright almost blinding across the water.

2011-05-04T12:07:00.001-04:00

AirstreamHobo is on the road again!! Read the complete story on The Central Penn Unit Blog http://centralpennunitofwbcci.blogspot.com/

We had a great time as you can see on the Blog and also see pictures Too!!

2011-03-15T00:13:00.004-04:00

Where am I??? Guess!!

Yes..at South of the Border.

March 13, sunday, we leave Myrtle Beach and head north on rt 501 to rt 95 north. At the North Carolina Border we stopped right before it..hence south of the border. This place is a great place to strech the legs and take pics. Lots of statues of Mexicans"Pedro" and animals all around the complex. I took a ride on the elevator to the top of the Mexican Hat along Rt 95, you could see the highway for miles. Also the complex below, all this for a dollar ride. I had Carol stand across the street and take pics of the Airstream going thru the Mexican's legs for an awesome shot!

Then off to the north, I drove 380 miles today to Richmond,Va. We stopped for supper then parked at Cracker Barrel for the night In bed by 9pm...long day. At 5 am we left for the north taking Rt 95 then Rt 17 then Rt 15 to Camp Hill,Pa. we took the turnpike home arriving at noon, only 280 miles today. What an exciting 6 weeks on the road, we saw Diesel fuel from $3.29 to $4.09/gallon. We saw alot these past weeks, I hope you enjoyed the trip, Thanks for coming along!! Total 4,222 miles of pure Fun!!

God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-03-15T00:09:00.001-04:00

YES!!! I am an "ANGEL" ...this proves it!! I got this pin for helping at Give Kids the World!! I just wanted to tell all my friends that always thought I was a Devil...see I told you I was an "Angel"

2011-03-12T08:07:00.002-05:00

Good Morning America!!! SunRise from Myrtle Beach ,SC.

March 12,Sat, I set my alarm for 5;45 am this morning.. to get up to see the sunrise over the ocean....wow..wow.. the red sky was impressive!! I walked the beach looking for that right spot. I was the only one for awhile,then a man with 2 dogs came for the morning run. I talked to him later and found out he was from Maine and drove down to Florida to purchase a new airstream. He was on his way back to Maine. The sunrise was about 6:35am and brought brightness to the beach. Now it's time to go back to bed for a nap!!

2011-03-11T15:41:00.003-05:00

Here is the Bridge at Charlestown, SC. I heard it cost 164 million to build...

It was a beautiful bridge to see from all over town.

On Rt. 95 a brush fire burned out of control all week. We heard about it on tv and saw clips of it. Here we drove by fire trucks still get the hot spots. Over 14,000 acres burned..you could smell it for miles and see also the bulldozer tracks thru the brush trying to stop it. They even closed Rt. 95 some days due to heavy smoke.

March 10,thurs, we are on the road again...headed for Myrtle Beach.. we are at Myrtle Beach State Park till sunday..then northbound to Penna..home by monday?? Diesel prices started at $3.29 6 weeks ago, now we see $4.09.. here in SC it is $3.65, I will fill up today!! More Later!! God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-03-11T15:35:00.002-05:00

My nephew Roger and his Family!! Roger, Sharon, Dayran & Dakota!!

While in St.Augustine, my sister told me Roger lives by..So we went to visit them, but he was at work and the kids in school. But that night They drove up to visit us at McDonalds to see his family. We spend about an hour playing at air hockey and talking...the kids beat me at hockey!! Cute kids but warriors on the Hockey table. It was great to see them..we haven't seen them for 4 years..so a Florida reunion was Great!

2011-03-11T15:20:00.003-05:00

Here are the Pirates for tonight's Vovage on the river...cancelled!!

Here is Flagler College in downtown St. Augustine...

We arrived in St.Augustine on monday, staying at Favers Dykes State Park. A Real nice State Park, we are here for 3 nights to take in the sights. All week we toured St. Augustine area, seeing the Fort along the river..Visiting downtown stores and resturants. There is so much to see here, you need a couple more days to see it all. (I send the e-mail list pictures). We were to go on a pirate ship for a river cruise on wed night but the water was choppy and winds were 33 mph , safety first..so they canceled the cruise. But I did get to see the crew.We would have loved to been on that ship.

2011-03-11T15:10:00.003-05:00

Here is Rick & Mim Snyder fom Manheim transplanted to Florida!!

Sat March 5, we left Kissimmee for Land Yacht Harbor again for the weekend. While we were there we visited Rick & Mim at their new place in Palm Bay, Fl. They used to live in Manheim but now have moved to warmer climate. They live in a mobile home village, first they had a single wide now they live in a Big Double wide!! Great looking too! Rick gave us a golf cart tour of the village, pool, clubhouse,river,picnic area, I can see why they moved here. Mim made a lunch for us and we gabbed for awhile.
Then we went back to land Yacht. Rick & Mim came over for supper that night, I bought Lil' Ceasar Pizzas (2) for us..Rick delivered them ,I paid for them!! Yes Joe & Tom I bought. Rick brought the beer!!

2011-03-04T16:16:00.002-05:00

Katie's Kitchen.........

Why did mom cross the road?? To deliver chicken!!!

Bussin' tables at breakfast.......

Mom helping with the drinks......

March 4, Friday, we just finished a week of volunteering at Give Kids the World. As you read earlier, we delivered pizza on Wed(March 2), we kept busy all night, yes the batteries held up this time.
On Thursday,the 3rd, we worked at "Katie's Kitchen" which is a "Boston Market" run take-out orders. The villas call us and place an order, we make it and deliver to them. Over noon till 4 pm they get sandwiches then after 4pm they can order Chicken or Meatloaf or Maccaroni & Cheese with side orders,drinks and pie Too !!! The pie look awesome, but the dinners smelled GREAT!! Made us hungry each time we went out with an order. There are 142 villas here, so people had many choices for eating.
After the dinner deliveries, we waited for the parade thru the main walkway to begin. everything was decorated Christmas style. Santa shows up with a ton of toys(each child in the family gets to pick what they want after seeing Santa). Then the parade has cartoon charactors and golf cart floats. The Christmas Carols play all night. The kids get to meet all of them, time for pictures again. Cotton Candy, make your own cookies are here too. Later some go to the Ice Cream Stand for a nightcap snack of your favorite sundae?? or just a cone.
The Gingerbread House also serves Breakfast and Supper( You come here to a sit down meal). All places have a small paid staff and rely on the volunteers to fill in the jobs, which we learn quickly...This is so easy and fun, Mom and I liked the fast pace stations we worked. It made our 3 hour block go so fast.
Friday, March 4, here are are up at 6am and head for the GingerBread House to help with breakfast. We meet a whole new crew of retired volunteers from all over the USA. Some work one day a week for the winter(snowbirds, they go home in spring). Mom and I helped all the Wish families carry their trays to their tables. Some wanted us to come home and wait on them there too! This was a full breakfast, eggs, bacon, homefries, waffles, pancakes, fresh cut fruit, sausage, and drinks too. One child wanted a Hot Dog!! (Yes we made it and delivered it to the table). When they were done eating, we cleaned their tables off and bussed the dishes to clean up. After 10 am , we wiped all tables, vaccumed and sanatized all tables and chairs. I overheard some of the staff say there was 714 residents today...wow..These kids are Special and are in for a great week here. Mom and I went to check out and say our good-byes to volunteeer services, she gave us some tokens to say Thank-You for helping this week..They want us to come back next winter!! You Bet!!!

God Bless... AirstreamHobo and Carol

2011-03-01T12:26:00.004-05:00

"Obie" the Photographer!!

Kids' Stars on the wall & ceiling

These are the Villas that Wish Kids and their Families live in for a week...

The Entrance Sign to "Give Kids the World"

Here it is March, 2011 already!! What a month of February..AirstreamRally, Florida Flywheelers, The Last Discovery Launch & meeting many new Airstream Friends.
This week has been gratifying in helping Wish Kids from all over the World at "Give Kids the World" This is where Wish Families come to relax and see the Florida Attractions. We arrived last Sat, Feb 26 at Ponderosa Rv Park in Kissimmee, Fl. We paid for the week, so we could volunteer for a week at GKTW....Sat afternoon we manned the Castle from 3-5pm, this was where kids get to sign a star and it later gets mounted on the ceiling(over 50,000 stars are there already)by the Star Fairy, also they visit the Pillow Tree to interact with an owl and make a Wish then recieve a pillow from the tree trunk for them to keep.
After our time, we walked around to see the rest of the place. We also signed up for Sunday's detail which is Delivering Pizza by golf cart to the Villas where Wish Families live for the week. On Sunday , we arrived at 6pm to start pizza deliveries, we met 2 other college kids who also volunteered. The rush started , Both teams were kept busy till 10 pm. We were running around so much that both golf cart's went dead(batteries dead!). I went to the office for a fresh cart so we could finish the deliveries. It was so much "Fun" being a Pizza Boy & Woman for a night..cool job.. we are doing it again Wed. night 6-10pm.
On Monday,Feb 28, We reported at 7 am to help with the "Quick Beakfast bar", cereal, bagels, sausage & egg biscuit. We were in the ice cream palace for this job. Would you believe people came in for ice cream breakfast, I saw milk shakes and banana splits being served!!
We were done at 10am, then I went to the office to sign up for photographers job. A short training was necessary, I went out and took 50 pictures as a trial and then showed them my work. !!! They hired me for tonight!!! Tonight from 6-9 pm my job was to take pictures of Wish Kids roaming the village. Carol was my assistant, she kept record of the childs' villa number and the shot numbers for editing later. I captured kids/families everywhere, eating in Candyland Kitchen, the pool area, kids at their villas, the merry go round(note: there was a child in a wheelchair that had limited motion, But she had the biggest smile I ever saw when she rode the Turtle, wheelchair accessible, click,click,click she was adorable!!) At Pet petting, A Double Dare Show in the Safari Showcase Theatre. I took over 175 pics of many,many kids, Carol had fun keeping track of each shot. What a day.."Enjoyable" at Best!! We are tired walking all around, so we are taking a day off on Tuesday for local sightseeing then back to GKTW on Wednesday to deliver pizza.
Note: We met so many college kids taking their Spring Break here to help & Volunteer their time to make Wish Kids have the most unforgetable time in Florida!! Thanks Kids!! You are tomorow's Future!! PS..I sent pictures out to those on my Blog e-mail list..look for them.
ZZZZZZZZ God Bless...... AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-25T21:35:00.003-05:00

A local Hot Dog Stand.."Mustard's Last Stand!!"

Warning....Don't Speed thru this neighborhood!!! Look what they do to clowns!!

Feb 25, Friday, Today was laundry day then a drive downtown Melbourne to the Historical District...beautiful area. We stopped at "Mustard Last Stand" for a quick lunch..Chicago foot long Hot Dog/fries/drink.This was a cute little stand with signs and stuff all over the walls. Many different dog fixins' the place was busy with locals.

Back to Land Yacht for a rest. We decided to have a get together for Central Penn Unit Members here. Each brought their own supper for a long "Happy Hour" now it is dark and zzzz God Bless..AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-25T10:04:00.003-05:00

This is the Space Shuttle going up!! (This is not my picture but one from the Flickr albums)

Here are the people on the pier waiting for the launch........My Shots..

There she goes!

Feb 24,2011..Thursday...We waited 6 hours for the Last Space Shuttle Discovery to launch. We were at Titusville(at 10am) along the water sitting on the pier to watch it..Liftoff at 4:50 pm.. then a 4 1/2 hour traffic jam. They said it was a 50 mile backup from here to Orlando. People just abandoned their cars along the highway and walked to the shoreline to see it. This was an awesome view..just a long time to get out of here. Stop and crawl traffic even on Rt 95 backed up for 20 miles. The morning paper said there were 200,000 cars on the highway after the shuttle take off(I believe them!!) Yes!! I would do it again!!

2011-02-25T07:53:00.002-05:00

This is "Fred's Garage" in the Florida Flywheelers 290 acre complex. Many old buildings in the village area. Just filled with old things we used as a kid. Very Cool! These guys loved to collect anything, it was here to see!

Here is an old Gulf Station as seen in the 50's, I loved the old original signs everywhere.

This was a musical truck from Dallastown,Pa. great to talk to him. This piece was priceless. We saw alot of vehicles here from long ago.

Feb 22,tues, Doug and I went to the Florida Flywheelers annual Meet in Fort Meade, Fl. This was a 290 acre field turned into a gathering place for old farm & tractor collectors to meet. There were at least 12 airstreams scattered all over that they camped in. Some never get towed again. One guy said he lives here once a year and then goes home. Tires were flat and cement blocks sunk into the ground permantley!!

There were 290 acres filled with anything old. I really like the village, garages,church,post office, tractor dealers,old shacks,truck display dealer and tractors galore. We walked all day from 10-4pm my legs say Go Home!! This was a photographers paradise..so much art for the photos, I took over a few hundred shots and loved every item. I even met a man with a 3 ton hit & miss engine that had all kinds of running belts ending at an little old pencil sharpener..cool..yes I got a new sharp pencil as a gift..Billed as the worlds' largest pencil sharpener.

We saw groups of tractors(by models) together for show and bragging rights. This show opens wed with a parade each day and Thousands of people here. We went the perfect day..no crowds and could see everything up close. They even rent golf carts here for $90/day and there were 100's of them for rent. They also have people movers, old tactor wagons with seats for rides. They say 50,000 show up each day for the weekend. Tired....back to the women at the airstream, another Great Day!!

2011-02-21T15:00:00.001-05:00

We are Leaving ...Time to Dump...

Feb.20, Sunday, Well it's over..What a week..Fun, Sun, & New Friends, we have moved off our spot and moved to the other side for an extra night. We still have elec/water, what a day to relax, the Airstream & Van are very dusty. Time for a bath for both, wow they still shine and are clean for a while. Now a time for a recap.. We arrived last sat and camped in the bull pen..no elec/water but free!!!!!!
Sunday, Feb 13, we moved to our pernament space and set up. Then reported back to the gate to sign in new arrivals from 2-4 pm. We met the rest of the committee and had a short training meeting...Let's Go!
On Monday(Feb 14..Happy Valentines Day), we reported at 8 am till 10 am at the gate..only 2 airstreams arrived but after 10am they started coming(we were off duty) JoAnn/Felix & Mom & I went to a local resturant (Dutch Heritage) for a buffet lunch. This was a Mennonite Cooking Style Food at it's finest! Just like eating back home in Lancaster County, the waitress said she was from Sugarcreek, Ohio. Home Cookin' umm umm good!! Back to the fairground to register, get our rally ribbons and programs for the week.
Tuesday(Feb 15), we had the day free till 2 pm then back to the gate to register airstreamers...Do you know how much fun it is to meet new people from all over the USA ?? We saw new rigs and well used rigs come thru the gate all week. It was interesting to see the travel stickers from caravan's they had traveled on..on their back windows of the airstream. I met a few full timers and also women towing by themselves..Go Girl!! These people are so full of "Adventure" and have traveled everywhere in North America. The field is filling up, over 300 have arrived..time for FUN!! Off to the vendors to buy "Gadgets" to make airstreaming easy & fun. Tonight is opening ceremonies & announcements for the coming week. There are many seminars to do this week, mark your booklets so you don't miss any!
Wednesday(Feb 16), We had a new "Fantastic Fan" installed today in the living area, while he was here he checked over the fan in the rear bedroom and found circuit board burned out, he replace it and also put an updated knob on the fan...no charge for any of this update/service. If you need a fan for your rig,"Fantastic Fan" is the Best and stand behind their product 100%..Thanks Jim Wood.
Then off we go for a drive along the west coast to South Venice Beach, what a beautiful drive past all the beach houses<>. we stop at the Venice Park Pier at Sharky's Den on the pier for a look. The food looked great so we waited 20 minutes for a table, looking to see the sunset later. We ate a delicious sandwich special and waited for the sunset. We walked the pier, talking to the fishermen & women too! The birds were very tame, looking for food. I started taking pictures and saw a beautiful sunset from the beach & pier. Back to the Rally for nightly entertainment.
Thursday(Feb 17), Today I hung out at the vendors and chatted then walked the rally field looking for that special photo shot. Camping World installed a new antenna on the rig this afternoon, poor guys..the hottest day to be on an aluminum roof. Only took an hour and they did a great job too. Tonight the entertainment was a lady that sang and acted (she changed wigs often) like many singing stars..Cher..Dolly..Tammy..Liza.. Petula..and many more....a standing ovation is well deserved!!! Free Ice Cream each night after the entertainment.
Friday(Feb 18) Since wednesday, we had free coffee and donuts for breakfast..no room service to the rig, you had to pick it up in person. Today we had a meeting with President Norm Beu on the club business, many new ideas were brought up and discussed. The Larry Huttle from Airstream Inc. talked about new Airstream Products and how the company is performing. Did you know 70% of new airstreams are bought thru the internet quotes? There was a new Airstream Display on the grounds for all to see.
Mom and I went downtown to see the waterfront and find the Kissing Sailor/Nurse Statue. Many were also taking pictures of them, over 40 feet tall and something to see. Downtown Sarasota has a great area to see while there, many Art Studios and open air resturants along the streets, very crowded. There was a craft show in town for the weekend.
Saturday(Feb 19) Time for a flea market for all airstream stuff (Hobbies & leftover parts) the room had over 40 tables set up..opens at 9 am..Bargains Galore!! At 1pm The Vintage Airstreams had an open house...Great to see all those old revitalized airstreams come alive with love and care in remodeling features. It took mom and I over 2 hours too see and tour all them. One even had a barber shop set up and taking donations for the food bank. Haircuts in the open air! Tonight we had a roast beef dinner for all.. over 700 people served in a 1/2 hour..4 serving lines..Great job volunteers!! Then Entertainment tonight, an Irish singer enjoyed by all. Door Prizes were a hit too.
Sunday(Feb 20). Church service at 9 am for all. The Offering collected was over $500.00 and given to a local charity. Some had already left early as this was the last day. They had 4 lines for sewer dumping..quick and easy for all. We then moved over to new site.... Well that's a recap, We had a Great Time at the 38th Florida State Rally. See you at the next Rally!!! All this for $185.00/week....Buy an Airstream and Come Along, you won't be dissapointed!!!
God Bless.. AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-17T19:27:00.001-05:00

Birds..Birds..

Little house??

Lets play Volley Ball...

Everyone watches the beautifulSunset.........

2011-02-17T19:20:00.002-05:00

A View of the Rally....Sarasota,Fl.

Rows & Rows of Airstreams

Pack'm In!!

Feb 14, Mon..Today Mom & I are at the gate from 8-10am to register airstreamers. Relax the rest of the day..meet & greet old friends.
Feb 15,Tues, We have gate duty from 2-4pm, lots of airstreamers arrive. We process them then off to the parkers to park. There are over 321 rigs here. We ordered a new Fantasic Fan for the airstream. He will install it on wed at noon. He also will check out the rear fan to repair it.
Feb 16, Wed, after the fan is installed we head for South Venice beach. Lots of beautiful homes along the coast. We eat at Sharky's Cafe on the pier. Delicious chicken sandwich and fries. We then stayed for the sunset...BEAUTIFUL!!!
Feb 17, Thurs. We had the new antenna installed today. We also had a happy hour supper with Sanders, Sollenbergers, Olshefskis,Buchers, & Obers.

God Bless..AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

What a Sunset!!

Red Sky is Awesome!!!

37 miles to go, we arrive in Sarasota at 3pm and park in the bull pen for the night with about 75 rigs are here. No hookups overnight, they will park all of us in the morning. You should see the beautiful sunset(see the pics)Wow!
Feb 13, Sunday, we wake up , make a Spam/eggs/potatoes for breakfast..Then we wait our turn to park..11:30 we park, Buchers, Olshefski & Obers together. We get water/electric very shortly. We are working the gate of incoming Airstreamers between 2-4 pm with Buchers. We handle about 20 rigs, collecting passes and $$$ from those registrating today.
Tonight we have a Hot Dog Dinner, they were foot long with Bake Beans, coleslaw, chips, and a drink. I Love Bake Beans!!! Ask Carol, she hears them all night long?? Tomorrow we report at 8am till 10am for the same job. We work 2 hours a day Sun, Mon & Tues. There are many volunteers helping to make this a sucessful Rally..more Later ZZZZZZZZ
God Bless..... AirstreamHobo and Carol

2011-02-14T10:43:00.001-05:00

Thessa & Carmon Shollenberger at their home in Sun City, FL.

Feb 12, Sat., Time to pack up for Sarasota. The rig was grimmy from 1800 miles, so I decided to wash it before we leave..thats done, hitch up and round the park we go..saying good-bye to all and some last minute Huggs. Down Rt 75 we go 87 miles to drive today. I see Sun City Exit and decided to call an old friend from the club (they sold their Airstream),Carmon & Thessa Sollenberger..yes they are home. We stop for 15 minutes(when have I ever stop talking for 15 minutes?) Thessa invited us for lunch Too! Hot Dogs, Bake Beans, Apple Salad too! Yum, Yum, I gained 15 lbs this week!! Thanks Carmon & Thesssa for a great lunch and view overlooking your back yard and big waterpond..what a great place to live..Do you need a border?? I'll come back anytime. Carmon even gave me some parts to use on my trailer. After 2 hours..Hee Hee..we are on the road again. Aren't Airstream Friends GREAT!!

2011-02-14T10:41:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Banquet Hall at Travelers Rest..

Then off to see others. Friday night Carol & I caught up on laundry and listened to the 50th Anniversary Party for residents, this was for 15 couples in the Park who are married 50 years...We salute You!! We were in the back of the room while the wash was running. We watched the Newly Wed Game live with 3 couples..Great Funny Answers!!

2011-02-14T10:36:00.001-05:00

Bill & Carol Abbot on the porch of their home in Travelers Rest...

Feb 11, Friday, Today we visit all the Central Penn Members that live here for the winter. They were Klingers, Taylors, Abbots, Olshefskis, Magalskis. We also visited Stewart & Margaret Natoff (WDCU Members) We enjoyed visiting with all and catching up on the latest news, here and at home up north. Everyone wanted a tour of our new rig and we enjoyed showing it off.
Lunch was here ..Carol and Bill Abbot invited us for a light lunch?? Taco Soup, cole slaw, apple salad mix, and a fruit cup...Wow that was Light? Carol sure knows how to fill us up. They also gave us a tour of their new Park Model home..very..very..Nice! Just the right size for a winter home..Thanks Carol & Bill for a delightful lunch and visit.

2011-02-10T23:14:00.004-05:00

The Buzzards are glad to see me??

Happy Hour is for the Birds!!

It is cold here, we had to make a campfire tonight.

We arrived at Travelers Rest, Dade City,Fl. at 3pm.

Feb. 10, Thursday. Time to move on south...We packed up and had everything ready for hookup. First we wanted to see if the Manatees are in the river today. We walked out the long boardwalk thru the moss covered trees. Watching the black birds(?) fly overhead. We arrive at the end of the pier to flock of Buzzards on both sides of the rails, on the roof, down the steps to the dock, at least 50-75 of them. They are just waiting for food on the river.
Back to the camper, hookup & leave for Dade City. Following the highway south, I called 4 different state parks for a campsite?? Each time I met a "NO" sorry Full. One last call to Travelers Rest, they have 5 sites left and I am 50 miles away, first come first served, no reservations. The gas petal got more pressure to arrive quickly. We arrived at the park at 3pm, still 5 sites left. 120 miles today, 12 days on the road and 1,700 miles later we have arrived. We will stay here till sat am then off to Sarasota to help as a volunteer.
We got set up..full hookups, cable too and wi-fi. Beautiful park with over 600 spaces and golf course. After supper I went up to the social hall to play cards with the Central Penn Members that live here for the winter, great time and social time. ZZZZZZZ
God Bless ..AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-10T16:14:00.002-05:00

Love those Florida Oranges!!!

Here is DJ"s out door kitchen/Pavilion

Deer just passin' thru!! 11 of them

One Cool Outdoor Living Pavilion..

February 9, 2011 AirstreamHobo Travels...Manatee Springs, Fl

Feb 9, Wednesday, What is that bright light coming thru the skylight and windows?? Wow, they call it the Sun, 2 days in a row. Today the temps were in the 70's. We walked out the boardwalk along the springs to the docks to see the Manatees, we saw lots of Buzzards in the trees. We also saw Mullet fish jumping out of the water, also a few turtles swimming about, they would come up for air then dive down to the bottom. They were covered with moss on their shells. People told us they saw 2 manatees earlier, we missed them.
Off to town for propane, glad I checked around, one wanted $5.90/gal, Ace Hardware was $3.90/gallon. a difference of $16.00 to fill a 30 pound bottle. Ace got my business. We also stopped for a bag of oranges, what a colorful stand.
We stopped along the way back for firewood...this was cool.. this guy had an outside patio/pavilion as his living room. It had a hammock for a bed, the inside wall was all kitchen cabinets with stove/sink/refrigerator. along the ceiling he had pots and pans hanging ready for use. A campfire ring with chairs around and 2 hanging chains for pots and grill. He said he cooked alot of oysters and other fish food. He had all kinds of signs/tools/pictures hanging from the rafters. He said he lives out here all year. Then off to his cabinet shop, tons of wood and tools everywhere. He also had a 1951 Airstream in the yard for sale($1,500) It was covered in green mold and the interior was in great need of repair..no bathroom and no floor in the rear just framework. The whole place was fenced in with 2 dogs(friendly) covering the whole compound. This looked like a place from Robinson Cruiso..I really enjoyed talking to DJ, he seemed like a character that just makes a living and has fun in life collecting odd things. He said he gets most of the things free from remoldeling jobs he does. He does like to fish and has 2 boats to use. Cool Guy..Got the firewoodI almost forgot to pay him, he coughed and said $$$ Please and I paid him, then back to camp.
When we arrived at the airstream, there were 11 small deer walking thru the campsites, they were tame and just walked on thru. Time for steaks (no not deer) on the grill..yum, yum, Another boring day in the life of the Airstreamers.
God Bless..AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-09T13:20:00.002-05:00

HELP!! WE can not afford Florida Diesel Prices!!! Send more $$$$$$$$$$$

2011-02-09T13:07:00.003-05:00

Check out the name of ship?? and one laying on the top of it???

Cheap Shutters ............

Look at Brother Flying..someday we can too!

Old fishing pier/building ..

Feb 7, Monday..It's still raining..I don't think we are in Florida???? We decided to go over the bridges to Apalachicola,Fl to see the old waterfront docks. The sun is trying to come out. There are alot of closed up and old buildings that are sort of neat to see, but business are no longer operating. I did take a few pictures..Birds, Buildings, Antiques, Bouys, and just alot of artsy things. The town has a waterfront look to it, the old stores are now gift shops and lots of old boat items antiques for sale. After a few hours back to the Airstream.
Feb 8, Whats this?? The sun is out..it's warming up? That figures , we are leaving this island today to head south We leave around 11 am and take a drive down Rt 19 thru Perry then onto Chiefland to Manatee Springs State Park. Beautiful park in the wild trees. First thing we see is 4 deer crossing the road at the Ranger Station. We check in and head for site 36..a pullthru..Leveled , then hook up to electric...what no electric..back to the office, they can't fix it. So we move to site #98..I checked out the electric first..Yeah it works. Now I set up the rest while Mom makes supper...I am tired after a day of driving and setting up twice.. There are 2 other Airstreamers in the park, I talked to one from Alabama, they are going to Sarasota Too....ZZZZZZZZ

God Bless..AistreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-07T13:27:00.002-05:00

Sand Dunes on St George Island

Looking over the bay...

Carol's favorite sign?

It's 5 o'clock some where!! Click on any of the pictures for full size...

February 7, 2011..AirstreamHobo Travels...St. George Island,Fl.

Here we are Monday am awaken by Rain again!! But the last few days were busy. We left my Cousin "Ginny" on friday am after a delightful thursday evening supper and catching up on news. The last time we saw her was when we at Perry Ga. in 2006.
By 8 am we are heading down the road to St. George Island. A beautiful place by the Gulf. The campground is 6 miles from town all by itself on the tip of the island east. We have water and electric hookups ($24/nite). We emptied the holding tanks before setting up camp. We are in a cozy spot of site #5 and can watch all incoming campers. We are surrounded by bushes for privacy. The camp is 2/3rds full and we see license plates from everywhere, New Mexico, Michigan,New York,Wisconsin,Maine,etc. We even saw 2 tents set up.Starting friday we are here 4 days till tues am. It is misty/cloudy all day friday &saturday..This is Florida?
Finally... Sunday(Feb 6) we see blue skies and puffy clouds. Mom and I go for a walk around the camp, it is nice and only 10 minute walk to the beach. We go over to the beach in town and walk and collect a few shells and I take pictures.
Today is Super Bowl Day!! We tried to set up the "Dish" but it doesn't work for anyone in camp. "Direct" does..I guess I will be switching soon!! After several attemps, we decided to go to town to a local "Sports Bar/Locals hangout" "Harry A's" to see the game. They put out a Free Buffet of Hot Dogs/Hamburgers/Chili/ Tacos/Melted Cheese & Stuffed Mushrooms. There are about 75 locals here enjoying the Super Bowl..they have TV's everywhere, one large screeen in the main dining room. Mom and I were in the side roomThe TV was right at our table. Our waiter was Tammi and a very good waitress. We ordered Cokes for drinks and thats all they charge us for. Of course I left her a "Big Tip" we watch the Packers & Steelers battle it out, I could tell we were in "Packer Territory" But us Steelers Fans yelled just as loud!! Great Game till the end..Yes the Packers won!! We were here from 6:30 till 10pm and had a great time. We even met a lady from Lancaster,Pa. ... Small world ain't it?
Back to camp. Here it is 9 am, monday and Raining & Thunder this time AGAIN!! I guess we will take lots of naps today. We are leaving here Tues am for the west coast down to Sarasota,Fl to the Airstream Florida State Rally. Mom and I are working registration, over 200 are expected.. I sure hope it warms up and sunny by next week!
More later in the week..God Bless AirstreamHobo and Carol

2011-02-05T18:33:00.001-05:00

Feb 4, Welcome to Sunny Florida!! Rain..Rain..Fog...Rain Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow??

2011-02-05T18:28:00.002-05:00

Feb 3, Here is Cousin Ginny wanting to run away with the "Obers" to Florida..Sure come along!!

Here is my 3rd wife Ginny(Cousin) and 1st wife Carol.. They both Smile for Me!!

2011-02-05T18:09:00.001-05:00

Feb 2,2011 Here we are at Dacia's House for free parking. Dacia is working 12 hour days, maybe someday she can caravan with us in her Airstream. Thanks Dacia & Mom for the 2 days in Chattannooga.

2011-02-02T19:48:00.001-05:00

A Trolley at the Train Museum

The View from the Mountain Top..at the Incline landing...

The Delta Queen docked Downtown

A Yellow Coke Truck?? It Looked like a 50's truck

2011-02-02T19:43:00.001-05:00

Down by the waterfront ...

One building reflecking off another Glass building.......

Not a bad desk by the window office...right?

Old time Grill..50's look

2011-02-02T19:37:00.002-05:00

An Art Fence of Sprockets and Cables

Signs to everywhere..............

A Brick Tractor...

The Chattannooga Choo Choo...

Feb 2, 2011 AirstreamHobo Travels ..Florida Bound

Wednesday, Feb 2, Relaxing this am..set up the rest of the trailer..Level & Jacks down.. After lunch, we head fo downtown Chattanooga.
What a beautiful downtown, lots of art, down by the waterfront cool walkways & the Delta Queen in dock. We searched for The Incline,(a cable car that climbs the hill) we found it, however it was closed for repairs till March 1st. We then drove to the top of the incline and what a breath taking view.
Then off to The Point, a National Park overlooking the city. We then followed the signs to " Rock City" Yes, it was open however it was cold and windy on the hill and only one car was there on tour. We decided not to do this attraction because of the long trails and "Cold!!" . We then continued down to the city to look aound at art objects and buildings. We found "The Chattanooga Train Museum" Again, we were the only visitors,wrong time of the season, I guess. Back to the Airstream to eat and relax, I guess we will leave tomorrow to head south to Florida.

God Bless...AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-02T10:36:00.002-05:00

Twins..Old and New...Dacia's Airstream and Ours .......

Febuary 1, 2011... AirstreamHobo Travels..Florida bound..

Here it is Tuesday am, we slept in till 9 am then got underway at 11 am down Rt 81 to Tenn. then to Chattanooga for a free night at an Airstreamers' house..Thanks Dacia.. We arrived at 6 pm 340 miles today the last 30 miles in heavy rain. Time to set up and hook up the water for the first time..wet..wet..wet.to the skin. Then hookup electric. Time to dry off with a Hot Shower..ah ahh.. then a great spagetti supper. We then visited with Dacia and showed her our new airstream. Long day, time for some zzzz Good Night!!

God Bless...... AirstreamHobo & Carol

2011-02-02T10:33:00.002-05:00

Here we are in Sportsman Park, Radford, Va. for the night

Camped under the Rt 81 Highway..The Trucks buzz on by above us!!!

January 31, 2011..Florida Bound...AirstreamHobo Travels

Here we Go!! A storm is coming tuesday or Wednesday, so we decided to pack up sunday and monday am. Everything is packed? by 11:30 am, we hook up and leave at noon. We go 50 feet and get stuck in a snow plowed bank along the driveway. Rockin' back and forth we get free and head for the Penna. Turnpike east to Carlisle and head south on Rt 81 thru Pa, W.Va.,Maryland then Virginia. We are Rollin' & traffic is fair, we drive to Radford Va.(375miles)Tonight arriving at 7pm. Stay at Sportsman Rv Park along a river under the Rt 81 Bridge(quiet?) It is a Passport America Park, 50% off, $14.00/nite full hookups. Yes the furnace is ON!! Within the hour it is nice and toasty in our new Airstream, first day/nite in it, so nitey nite till tomorrow then off to Tenn. to some courtesy parking at an Airstream friends house in Chattannooga,Tn.
......God Bless..... AirstreamHobo and Carol

2010-12-28T08:16:00.003-05:00

This is Street side of the 1991....

1991 Airstream Excella for sale.. Click on above to see a bigger picture. Carol and I have found a newer Airstream(what else?)So we have listed this one for sale on http://www.airforums.com/Classified . If you want more info contact me obclown@ptd.net and I will send you a complete list of specifications and more pictures inside and out. The Airstream is in good condition with many new things updated this year. We have enjoyed this trailer alot and we hope you will too!!

Here is another shot of the 1991 Airstream.....

2010-10-31T00:45:00.004-04:00

We left Skyline Drive on friday am and headed for a free nite(courtesy parking /airstream members only) at Paul Waddell's (Virginia, Paul, and Mary Kim) home. We got settled in and Carol made supper of Spagetti/meatballs and salad. Just relaxing and shootin' the breeze. Paul has a balloon trip on sat am ...I am getting up!!

One of Paul's Airstreams....

Paul didn't fly today because of high winds..but Bob did take off..we watch them lift off..

It is amazing what you see roaming the highways at 7am in Virginia....They don't bite? After returning home at Waddells, we packed up and left for Penna. arriving home at 4 pm..What a Week!!! 1,200 miles and beautiful leaves everywhere.... Now to practice my Banjo (hee..hee..)See you later...

2010-10-31T00:38:00.001-04:00

Here are leaving the final end of Skyline drive.

One last peek at the leaves and valley.

I love Tunnels....creepy!!

Say good-bye to the coyote!!

2010-10-31T00:25:00.003-04:00

Just a beautiful drive..........

Each tree has it's own personality!!!

They make a fine couple..

Deer everywhere at dusk and dawn Too!!!

2010-10-31T00:18:00.001-04:00

Cabins at Skyland on Skyline Drive

Great View!!!

The hemlocks are just bare everywhere!!

Just some puddles in the rocks.

2010-10-31T00:08:00.002-04:00

The sunset sky over Skyline Drive.

I love plain dead trees..they have cool branches???

Just the right framework to a beautiful skyline and valley.

Even rocks frame the valley.

2010-10-30T23:52:00.003-04:00

Here it is wed,Oct 27, We arrived at Skyline Drive,Va. The leaves are in full color and it is beautiful all along the drive. We decided to stay on the drive for 3 days and camp at Big Meadows and drive from there for one day excursions.

The rocks are a great back drop for the mountains.

Here is the turn off for the camp. we are in site 104 for 2 nights. Boon docking only..which means ..no electric..No water..No Sewer. But I have a tank full of water and an empty sewer tank and I also have a generator for recharging the batteries. We have a nice site along the road and can see everyone coming and leaving. I run the generator about 2 hours a day to recharge..no running after 9pm. But thats OK, our batteries carry us thru till morning. Carol and I play 500 Rummy each night till 9/10 pm. I won 5 out of 6 games(hee hee). Carol makes a big breakfast in the morning..then off to tour the drive. We see deer along the way too. We saw a coyote when we were leaving friday am. I also saw a 9 point buck..wow he was a big one!!

Look at this view...forever and ever!!

2010-10-26T21:54:00.001-04:00

This was a Glass Works barn with all the trimmings around it.

More old barns...I Love Old Things..People Too!!(Hee Hee )

Just park it there over by the tree..I will rust away here!!

2010-10-26T21:49:00.001-04:00

Country store in Check, Va. on Rt 221

This a door on the local Hardware Store in Floyd,Va.

Homemade bridge from the back road across the creek to their home....

2010-10-26T21:40:00.002-04:00

An Antique Tractor and road grater in a front yard..way back in the sticks(woods).

This house is totaled air conditioned...I took over 200 pictures tha last 2 days of old barns and houses in the mountains of Virginia. I guess they don't have paint here, but the buildings make great art exhibits. I drove about 150 miles ..all back roads, on some I think I heard Banjos playing!!!

Most people had every truck and car they ever owned still in their yard.

Here is a farm house left abandon..what a shame, lots of farmland around this homestead.

2010-10-26T21:27:00.002-04:00

They even have Hex Signs on barns here.

This is a log cabin barn?

On Monday we took a 100 mile drive thru the mountains on back roads. We past many old homesteads, some liveable some just left go!! Way back a lonely road we came across this waterfall, what a perfect setting.

Here is Tom Cook and his wife Carol & her son Andrew. We had dinner at their house on monday night. What a good time with fellow airstreamers. This Club is the Greatest way to meet friends and keep in contact with them. I met Tom 3 years ago in 2007 at the Sarasota Rally in Florida and kept in touch all this time until till we met again..Ain't friends neat!! In airstreamin' you meet people from all over the USA and can drop in when in their backyard. Thanks Tom and Carol for a special supper.

2010-10-26T21:16:00.002-04:00

Sunset from Highland Haven,Va.

A fellow airstreamer, Tom Cook, Showed up sunday noon & we had a light lunch. Then we went to Floyds' Store for the sunday afternoon Jam. Tom plays the Bass Fiddle and was loaned this one from the floor to play for a couple songs. The owner was impress with Tom"s music playing with his Bass. He thanked Tom for playing. There were at least a dozen locals playing today.

Here is the circle of players. A donation jar was placed for donations for a local children's music class. We watched for over an hour then left.

2010-10-23T20:35:00.002-04:00

Back Roads in Virginia

Cool Aprons?

Saturday's Jam..Locals get on Stage..She had a great voice for bluegrass tunes.

Virginia has great lookin' barns everywhere..they use them until fallen down.

2010-10-23T20:25:00.003-04:00

Stage Fans.....

Floyds Country Store...Home of Friday Night Jamboree for over 100 years ..since 1909

The band tonight was a family of 9, Cousins, uncles, dads, sons, daughters..Fantastic Players!!!!

A local favorite. Everyone(girls) wanted to dance with him

2010-10-23T20:17:00.001-04:00

The place is Full-- wall to wall people. Popular Place

Waiting for show to start

I bought a Banjo today..Maybe I can learn to play?

All kinds of chairs are used.

2010-10-23T11:26:00.003-04:00

Hello..anyone in there?? A Casket for sale in an antique market

Here is a warehouse of Blue Grass Music for sale. They sell most by internet service. Thousands of titles and players.

They even have a Poster from "Manheim, Pa." in the music store..awesome to see

Today we are on the Crooked Road "Musical Trail" We stop at Floyd's Store, known for friday nite Blue Grass Jams. What an awesome show for only $5.00 Starting at 6:30 pm with one hour of gospel music, at 7:30 the Blue Grass Begins. I never saw such a rush for the dance floor to clog!!! Carol was so Thrilled??? We sat for 3 hours just enjoying the music and dancing. Many had cleats on their shoes and danced the night away..Young and Old. Every hour a new band took the stage...Twang..twang..Great American Music in the making..Live!! Saturday has the locals coming to jam all over town. Then sat nite a sit down concert will play <$12.00 a ticket>.Then Sunday from 2-5 the streets will be crowded with pickers!!! I guess I will go alone sat & sun.... She doesn't know what's she is Missing

2010-10-23T11:17:00.003-04:00

Here are Hay Rolls along Rt 220 before Floyd, Va.

Alot of barns are in disrepair along the roadside in Va. Some of them look artisic in their own way.

The milk weed have bugs resting in the sun on them.

We are parked under beautiful trees here in Virginia Haven Airstream Park in Copper Hill, Va. What a view of the mountains from our patio.

2010-10-22T14:59:00.002-04:00

Here I am "Obie" at the Manheim Farm Show in October getting a smooch from a Fan!!

There are all kinds of flowers entered for the flower contest..they are awesome colors...

Here are some gourds in a basket for judging..

Here is a pumkin that weighs 670 pounds with a cute little boy just sitting around.

2010-09-06T00:14:00.003-04:00

Here is a real Swimming Hole..This was in the White Mountains along a road. The parking lot was full and so was the water. The people were having more fun than at a water park. Some were just sunnin' on the rocks ..others were sliding down the nature made water slide...weee..weee..Here is my link to photo albums. Enjoy!!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/NewHampshireWhiteMountains#

2010-09-05T22:39:00.002-04:00

What a view from the top of Cannon Mountain Tram Ride

See...this proves we were here!!

This was the lake from below..awesome view of it now.

This old general store had everything that a Wal-Mart would have and had all the registers open(1)....

2010-09-05T22:32:00.001-04:00

View of the lake in New Hampshire..

Even the Moose are Bad!!

I just loved the little cabins.

The rivers were dry beds of mostly rocks, but pretty

2010-08-31T09:26:00.002-04:00

Here is an old Drug store with oringnal displays made into an antique shop..fine woodwork

The best signs are made by hand?????

I love old doors..the colors are cool

Closed today but awesome to walk around the porch full of Junk...