Triumphant Trip and Airstream Sightings!

[Alumatube]

We just got back from our vacation trip and wanted to share some of it with you. This was our first trip in the Rockin' A since driving it home from Georgia in January, and we (mostly Brad) had done a lot to it since then.

We went to the Vintage Triumph Register national convention in Valley Forge, Penn. from Jefferson, Ark. (25 miles south of Little Rock). It was about a 2500-mile round trip in the 310, and we also put about 500+ miles on the 1968 Spitfire we towed up while we were there.

We saw several Airstreams on the trip, but far fewer than I would have thought. I think the total tally was eight, for a nine-day trip across several states.

We saw the first one as we left Little Rock on Saturday, July 14 on I-40. It was a Texas truck and trailer heading east (passed us), with the truck tag reading "RUF-N-IT." Note the hitch on the trailer. He passed us again later - must have had a pit stop along the line.



The second sighting was in Memphis (no picture), where we saw WBCCI #8008 headed west being pulled by a red pickup with a motorcycle in the bed.

Here's a pic of the pyramid at Memphis (sporting and event arena).



Here's a great unplanned picture I got when we overnighted in a Wal-Mart parking lot our first night out.



More to come!

Susan

[Alumatube]

The next day we saw Kenny Chesney's tour bus headed south on I-65 north of Nashville in Tennessee. I didn't think to get a pic until too late (it was early).

There was a double-axle trailer in a driveway on the east side of I-65 just south of Exit 26 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I missed it then, but got a pic on our way back.



Here's a pic of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, and one of the Corvette factory.



We saw several neat old motorhomes on the trip. Here's one of them we saw this day.



We saw this WBCCI #4560 heading west on the Louis B. Nunn Parkway, which is a wonderful road from I-65 to I-75 in southern Kentucky. It is marked as a toll road on several of our maps, but really isn't, and the four-lane divided road surface is smooth and wide. (It is the future I-66 corridor.)



We also saw this trailer heading south on I-75 south of Berea, Kentucky.



We stopped in Richmond, Kentucky and drove around a bit. There is a possibility we will move there when our project in Arkansas is over, so wanted to scope out the area and see what it was like. It's a nice little university town, and the next town down the highway, Berea, has a lot of art galleries and artisans. Neat place!

Stay tuned for the next day of travel!

Susan

[1953 Flying]

sounds like you had a great time. love thos epics.. keep em coimg

[HiHoAgRV]

The biggest thing I miss about my ex RV is towing the toys. The MG Midget and Suzuki Samurai are getting lonely.

[Alumatube]

Coolest sighting of the trip!

South of Exit 25 or so on I-79 in north West Virginia we were happily surprised to see a 325 motor home parked at a model "village" for Grafton Homes! Here's a peek to whet your appetite, but we stopped on our way back so more later...



Today's driving was intense! We went across the upper part of western Maryland on I-68 and it was nothing but lots of signs like the ones below:



The Rockin' A did GREAT! The cruise stayed on (even though we lost up to 18 mph on some grades) and it just chugged its way up and over the mountains! The highest elevation was 2200+ feet at one point. And this was one of the more unusual work situations we came across on the trip:



We stopped to eat and to see if the tire shop near the restaurant would look at the tires, since it felt like one or more of our new tires was out of round. Here's a pic of our rig next to another shiny aluminum one.



We got to the French Creek State Park in Pennsylvania (30 miles from Valley Forge) in late afternoon and got situated. It's a nice park, with electric hookups (but no water), but most of the spots (all back-in) were nowhere near level. We couldn't get level and had to sleep at an angle - they were booked full so we couldn't move to another spot. Chipmunks greeted us as we pulled in, so that made it a little better for me, at least.

Back in a while with the next set of pics!

Susan

[moosetags]

Love the pictures; keep them coming.

[vswingfield]

Hi Susan and Brad,

Glad the trip went well. Great lookin' Spit, too. Always liked BRG.

Vaughan

[safari57]

It looks like quite the trip. Enjoying the pictures a lot. It's been a very long time since I was back in that area so this is bringing back fond memories.

Thanks,
Brry

[Alumatube]

The state park was about 30 miles from the host hotel for the convention, so we put at least 60 miles on my little Spitfire "Elliott" each day, whee! The roads were absolutely GORGEOUS up there - twisty, curvy, through tree-lined neighborhoods, etc. Fun! The Limerick Nuclear Generation Station was along our route to the hotel and I got Brad to grab a photo as we were driving in the daylight one day:



Upon arrival at the hotel, we were greeted with this:



This was a concours-restored Triumph TR2. A woman talking on a cell phone was distracted and ran into them and took out their whole side. Every single panel on that side was toast. Thankfully, the owners were okay, and participated in the whole convention with the poor car.

Part of the convention consists of driving events. We only did the covered bridge tour (about 40 miles through Valley Forge park and the surrounding countryside) but they also have a TSD (Time Speed Distance) rallye, a fun rallye where you follow directions and answer questions, a funkhana (where you throw things and do things in and out of the car for fun) and an autocross. We also did the go-kart racing and ice cream run, but did them in a new Mercury Sable station wagon with several friends due to rain.

The covered bridge tour was magnificent. I adore taking pictures of Elliott at different scenic spots, and poor Brad kindly humored me by getting in and out of the car sixteen million times for me to take photos. Here is Elliott with the arch at Valley Forge and at a beautiful "tunnel." (On the other side of the tunnel bridge were huge bushes of ripe raspberries! I picked about two pounds of them, yum!)



And here is Elliott at a couple of the covered bridges we went through (four total on the tour).



The convention had several tech sessions, one of which was on fire extinguishers and putting out vehicle fires. The best extinguishers to use for fires are halon/halotron, then CO2, then a distant third is dry chemical (MESSY!). The first ones aren't cheap, but effectively and quickly smother the fire. You have to get very close to the fire for CO2, while halon/halotron works from a decent distance.

I learned the best way to approach a vehicle fire (especially in newer vehicles) is from the side. The hydraulic hood/tailgate lifts and the bumper shocks will explode to the front and rear like little rockets. If it is an engine fire, at least in an older vehicle, extinguish it through the grille. If you open the hood it can flare up with the added oxygen. Also, a BC extinguisher will also put out A fires. Just FYI! Here is a pic of the instructor starting to put out a diesel mixture fire with CO2.



Bear in mind that any smothering extinguisher works by displacing oxygen to the fire, and it will displace YOUR breathing oxygen, too! So put the fire out and get away quickly, especially in enclosed spaces.

And lastly, here is the perfect photo op we found while getting lost trying to find our way back to the park. Coventry is the location of and the name of the factory that made Triumphs in England!



Next, the big Concours d'Elegance car show!

Susan

[safari57]

Thanks for your info on extinguishers. Great pictures. We love covered bridges. Now Donna is probably wishing I looked like the guy (Clint or Robert?) but I think she looks like she did when we first met.

Sad news on the car being hit by a cell talker. They can be extremely dangerous and as unaware of what is going on around them as someone impaired with drugs or alcohol. The folks in the car are very fortunate they came out of it without personal injury. I suspect if there was a hard luck trophy or award for the get together they would have rated high on the list.

Looking forward to the next batch of photos. And as for stopping often to take pictures I suspect my wife would envy you. My idea of a point of interest stop or view point is to look back over my shoulder as we whiz past (when I'm at the wheel anyways) and say "that didn't look that interesting". Of course now that Donna is driving I look at them as places to stop, kiss the earth, and thank the big Guy for getting me that far (she'll kill me if she ever reads this).

Barry

[Alumatube]

lol Barry! I hope she doesn't kill you too much.

Thanks for the nice words, everyone! We had a great time and wanted to share with everyone, since I know how much ya'll like pictures!

Susan

[Alumatube]

One thing I neglected to mention on yesterday's post was that Brad and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on Thursday the 19th at the convention. Since we got together through our love for Triumphs (story for another day - involves the Internet, a Pacific island, chemical weapons disposal and Spitfires), we decided to get married at the national convention in Minnesota five years ago. So it's pretty cool that our anniversary falls on the national convention every year.

Okay, here we go. Each convention culminates in the Concours d'Elegance, the big car show. Cars are restored to within an inch of their lives and much is made of the placing within the different categories. There were about 320 cars at this event, so it was one of the biggest! The show usually takes place in a big parking lot or field, but this year we were hosted by the town of Phoenixville, with the cars all parked in their respective categories at angles along Main Street and the main cross street. Someone commented it was like Sturgis for Triumphs! Here's a pic of the street scene. It could not have been a better day - sunny, cool and a light breeze. Awesome!



Little Elliott is absolutely reliable but he's cosmetically challenged, so I put him in People's Choice and didn't even clean him or put his bonnet up - I'd rather spend the time driving him or with friends. Here's a pic of him in his place in the show.



One really neat thing was that the movie theater let us take it over for the day, and was showing a movie that one of the club folks put together from old rallye films. The theater was great, with a beautiful balcony, brass rails and the old plush upholstery and decorative mouldings on the walls and such.



And, amidst the beautifully restored concours cars, you occasionally find some gems. Here's one owned by a friend of ours. He used to have a little animated diorama on the hood where a toy TR6 would lift its rear wheel and pee on an MG, but he didn't set it up this year.



Another friend of ours is a piper, and strolled the streets with his bagpipes after his judging duties were done. He usually wears a kilt, but had to crawl in and under cars for the judging, so it wasn't really practical (although it would have answered that age-old question of what a piper wears under his kilt!).



Everyone always thinks of the TR3 or TR6 or Spitfire when they think of Triumphs, but there are some other really neat Triumph cars out there. Here is a beautiful example of a pre-war Triumph car, a 1932 Triumph Southern Cross 9, and our friends the Higleys who own it.



Here is another very cool Triumph car, a 1948 1800 Roadster. We have one of these but it needs a full restoration, so we crawled all over the car taking detailed pictures and asking questions. It is a gorgeous car, and the last production car with a dickey (rumble) seat, how cool! You can see the windshield up for the dickey seat in the left picture. It has a wood frame, aluminum body (see, it *does* have an Airstream connection!) and steel front fenders. People have no idea what it is, and everyone thinks it's a Rolls. The owner said they always get directed to the Rolls areas of the British car shows, and have to make the facilitators look at the badging to see that it is a Triumph.



And here is my favorite picture of the show, my little Elliott peeking out from the other People's Choice Spitfires.



Next, the trip home. Now back to your regularly scheduled Airstream posting!

Susan

[ArtStream]

Great shooting Susan!
Thanks,

Michael

[Happycampers]

Thanks for all the pics Susan, This bring back old memories for me as I once owned a 1968 GT6, that was a great car, very fast. Wish I still had it. Marvin

[Minnie's Mate]

Great and unique travelogue. It not only shows America and your vacation it shows a special purpose to that travel other than travel for travel sake. It also combines Airstreams with one of my other passions...cars! I especially like the vintage cars and that 1800 Roadster really rocks!

Thanks for taking us along and looking forward to the trip home.

[Alumatube]

Our trip home began at 9 a.m. ET as we left the French Creek State Park. We got the Rockin' A ready to go, said bye to the chipmunks, hooked up the trailer, loaded Elliott and headed out! It sure was pretty there, and we really enjoyed driving on those beautiful Pennsylvania roads.

We decided to take 76 (toll road) back farther west to avoid some of those steep grades on I-68 in MD. It was much nicer and had tunnels instead of huge grades. Here's the Blue Mountain tunnel. Too bad the air horns aren't working yet - I am the idiot who has to honk in the tunnel, and the one little horn we had working was pretty pathetic. Air horns would have been cool.



Here is a sign of the prohibitions for tunnel travel. I also believe you are required to turn off and shut down the propane system on RVs.



One neat thing we saw on this leg of the trip was the FedEx NACSAR racing car hauler.



We turned south onto 79 in West Virginia and stopped at the 325 motor home we had seen on the way up. No one was there, dang it, but we poked around it anyway. Apparently it is a home for the saleperson or construction foreman for Grafton Homes in that area. I left a note in their door handle with the forum address and our email address on it. We'll see if anyone contacts us.



After going through Charleston, WVa (my home town!), we saw a parasailer enjoying the sunset. (I-64 was horrible in WVa.)



We crossed into Kentucky at dusk and here is the refinery at Ashland.



No Airstream sightings this day (not counting the 325 in WVa).

One more day and we're home!

Susan

[48_liner]

Susan,

Great pics of your trip. My wife and I own a 1965 TR4A which we bought with our wedding money back in 1984. We did the VTR National in Seattle and Breckenridge, Co. way back when. It's good to see them still on the road.

[Alumatube]

Very cool, 48 liner! Was your Breckenridge trip in 2001 or was it in the 80's? We were there in 2001 - we were the ones with the Amphicar parked on our trailer at the entrance to the concours.

Brad has a TR4 he is working on restoring to be his daily driver. He really really wants to get it done, but life keeps getting in the way right now. They are beautiful cars, and my favorite body styles of the regular Triumphs.

Susan

[Alumatube]

Okay, the last day of the trip!

I forgot to say on Saturday's post that it was Bike Week in Carlisle, so we saw nothing but bikers all over the Interstate and at the gas stations along the way. We passed the Carlisle grounds on 76 and I caught a glimpse of a field that was nothing but a SEA of chrome! Imagine finding where you parked your bike amid 10,000 other bikes...

I missed a good picture of the tobacco fields in Kentucky (the barns/tobacco sheds are black there, and some of the fences, too), but here is one I grabbed out of the side windows as were were going by.



We saw via The Next Exit guide that there was a Camping World in Bowling Green, and drove around a good bit trying to find it. It is well off the highway and not marked very well, but we eventually found it. It is a smaller store/service facility, but they will be moving to a new building just off the Interstate soon.



Here was another cool thing in Kentucky - racing fuel at the pump! This pump, anyway. This is the gas my racecar uses - wish we had that here in Arkansas! It was locked with a padlock to prevent people from putting it in their regular cars, I guess.



Here's a beautiful picture I got going through Kentucky. I don't have the filters and lenses to be able to capture what it really looked like (awesome!), but the pic should give you an idea.



We stopped for gas at a Sheetz and they had the neatest tanker truck I have ever seen there. Here's The Rockin' A and Elliott at Sheetz, and the cool tanker.



We saw four Airstreams/variants today, yay! The first one was about 2 p.m. on I-65 around mile marker 36 (dang - didn't write down if that was Kentucky or Tennessee!). It was a newer trailer being pulled by a champagne-colored pickup (no pic, sorry!)

As we were driving down I-65 in Tennessee, this fellow came up behind us and passed us.



As he went around, I saw the little trailer they were towing said "West Coast Sand Rails," and he was from somewhere in California. What a trip they must have had, driving an open car like that on the Interstate! I'm sure the suspension was pretty hard, whew.

The fun part of the evening was getting into Arkansas (horrible I-40, bleah!) and having the brake master cylinder start leaking. The brakes felt spongy when I was driving earlier, and Brad said they were getting worse, so we stopped about 8 p.m. at the Wal-Mart at Exit 241 to check them out and add fluid. While there, we saw an Excella that had set up camp in the parking lot. The fellow came over to talk to Brad while I ran into Wal-Mart for fluid. He and his wife were from eastern Tennessee, and he apparently worked for a large RV dealer a while back (probably retired now). They were headed for Branson, and looking forward to it. I didn't get his name.



And lastly, I barely got a picture of the little Argosy motor home that sits beside a barn along I-40. It has a little Argosy trailer behind it, but I didn't get it in the pic (I had forgotten to look for them and had to scramble for some sort of shot before they were out of range). They have been there as long as we have been travelling that way (maybe 3-4 years).



That's it! We made it home about 10:30 and checked our email after nine days on the road. The kittles, mules and donkey were all happy to see us (the horse is at a friend's and the dog was being boarded).

I hope you have enjoyed our trip! We thoroughly enjoyed spending time in The Rockin' A and are looking forward to our next voyage with him!

Susan

[Alumatube]

Here's one more neat shot I wanted to share. I got it out the back window as we were driving through Tennessee on the way up.



Susan