Airstream sightings

[sequoiacoast]

That's pretty funny - my family is doing the same thing, but instead of points my daughter decided it's one kiss per sighting. We got as high as 13! My 14 y/o son, however, wants no part of the game - maybe I'll have to use your point system.

Maybe this counts: my daughter, in looking through our millions of catalogs, had an airstream sighting - Gardener's Supply Company (www.gardeners.com) A "vintage camper" toad house - definately a must have for the NUT in your house!

[sequoiacoast]

On a recent trip through Laytonville, CA I saw this:

[CaddyGrn]

Originally Posted by sequoiacoast

Maybe this counts: my daughter, in looking through our millions of catalogs, had an airstream sighting - Gardener's Supply Company (www.gardeners.com) A "vintage camper" toad house - definately a must have for the NUT in your house!

Sequoiacoast,

That "Road Toad" toad house is too much! I definitely think it should be counted as an Airstream sighting! Kudos to your daughter! Way to go!

Mrs. NorCal Bambi (traveling in S Tardis)

[flyfshr]

Watch out!! That's a h3ll of a first step!! Might just curtail your around the campfire libation consumption the night before.

Brad
FF

[Goin camping]

10-2-06 On Pacific Coast Hwy In Malibu. Parked in front of a motel was an Airstream 310 MH.

[Steve & Susan]

9/30/06 - I was northbound on NY Route 414 from Corning to Watkins Glen pulling OUR AS and we saw coming the other way an AS motor home - the older aluminum ones that resemble the trailers - WAY COOL!!!!

[J & K]

Spotted a beautiful trailer being hauled by a black or navy Suburban (I think)....Massachusetts license plate.....heading south on Route 16 Spaulding Turnpike. It was about 2:30pm and passing Exit 8.

Was it you?

[pinkflamingoes]

The metal polishing shop where I saw the Airstream being polished just last week was badly burned in a fire, half of the structure is gone. It's just a few minutes from my house. The carpet store next to the polishing business caught fire and burned first. Next door was the shop in the picture in post #354. It housed a model railroad club with tons of model trains, and there was also a recording studio upstairs. Musicians and model train enthusiasts lost just about everything. Seems like the nice folks really got it in the teeth this time. From what the article says, the Airstream survived with a broken window and some ash covering it (see last sentence). My heart goes out to the owners and people doing business there but...at least no lives were lost. A gal named Ingrid painted that mural, too.

Music studios, model railroad club victims of Oakland blaze

By Angela Hill

MediaNews

So much heat was generated from a five-alarm fire at Straus Carpet Co. in Oakland and at an adjacent building of businesses and recording studios this morning that it scorched a pickup truck and melted tires of a car in the Nikko's restaurant parking lot across the street, witnesses said.
``All that carpet -- everything in there was fuel,'' said Oakland Battalion Chief Mike Miller, who said it took nearly four hours and 65 firefighters to quell the blaze.
The flames fed on rolls and rolls of carpeting, vinyl and linoleum in the carpet company's colorfully-painted 6,000 square-foot warehouse and showroom at 2828 Ford Street in Oakland, near the Park Street bridge to Alameda.
The blaze was reported at 3:24 a.m. and went to five alarms in about an hour, Miller said. Flames pushed through the roof, burst into the night sky and spread to the attic of the adjacent building, which houses Universal Metal Polishing and several recording studios rented by dozens of local musicians. No one was injured, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, fire officials said. It is believed the fire started inside the Straus warehouse.
Flames burned through several power lines connected to the buildings, cutting service to about 400 businesses and residents in the area for several hours. The Park Street bridge was closed to traffic leaving Alameda, and cars backed up into downtown Alameda until the route reopened about 10 a.m. Fire crews continued to douse hot spots until about 11 a.m.
The Straus company, founded in 1975 and in business in that location since 1982, has long been a familiar sight to commuters on their way to Interstate 880 with rugs hanging in the roll-up doorway and vibrant murals covering the entire building facade, painstakingly painted in near-neon colors by local artists Dan Fontes and Ingrid Good in 2001 and 2002.
All that remained of the main warehouse and showroom this morning was a heap of twisted and charred corrugated steel with sections of the murals showing through. With all the warped metal, the scene looked more like a train wreck than a structure fire.
``When you have heat like that, it twists and warps the metal,'' Miller said. ``Supports burned and the integrity of the structure was compromised, and it all just gave way and the truss roof collapsed.''
The main Straus building is likely a total loss, fire officials said. ``I can't even begin to give you a dollar estimate of the damage,'' said Oakland Firefire. A drive-through coffee stand on the corner of Ford and 23rd suffered water damage. Department spokeswoman Felicia Wanzo-Bryant. A second Straus building closer to the 23rd Avenue side of the property was not involved in the
The owner of the carpet company, Tom Straus, remained hopeful about rebuilding -- even about the murals. ``We're gonna do 'em all over again,'' he said by phone this afternoon. ``It will be a long haul, but we'll recover.''
Also destroyed in the Straus building was the collection of the Alameda Model Railroad Club, a quarter of a million dollars worth of collectible HO scale trains and locomotives and three levels of track and scenery, said Bob Booth, a member of the club and Straus' father-in-law.
``The club is just devastated,'' Booth said. ``It's a loose group of about 10 retirees and devout model railroaders, mostly from Oakland, who have spent five years building that layout. Many of the locomotive and train cars were museum quality and irreplaceable. It's such a loss.''
Next door to Strauss is a two-story, 10,000 square-foot, gray building known to local musicians as the Ford Street Studios. It received major damage when flames barged into its attic and burned much of the structure closest to Straus.
Several local bands had practiced and recorded there for years, and many of the musicians stood outside the building today, waiting to see what was left of their equipment.
``My life was here -- drums, guitars, recording gear, amplifiers. Everything I've been recording for the past two years, back-ups and everything, are gone,'' said Erich Elleson of Walnut Creek who has an alternative rock band called All the New and has been practicing and recording his music in an upstairs unit since about 1992.
``This was my second home. We had a gig coming up this Friday. Not anymore,'' Elleson said.
Michael Bryson of San Leandro feared the worst for his two drum sets and expensive recording equipment. ``There was a lot lost for all these musicians,'' he said. ``More than I could ever describe. Plus, it's hard for musicians to find affordable space anywhere in the Bay Area. It's gonna be hard to pick up the pieces and get going again.''
Universal Metal Polishing is on the first floor of the building, and had only been in business there for about three months.
``We mostly had water damage,'' said Universal employee Pat McGwire. ``We had an Airstream trailer that we'd been polishing that was sitting out front here. It had a broken window and ash all over it, but we can probably fix that. Buff it out. A few other jobs that are still inside are toast.''

[Condoluminum]

Thanks for updating post, Ingrid, but sad story for all concerned... Driven past that shop on I-880 many times.

Reminder to not take too much for granted... Hope the owner of the Airstream gets it back in good shape at some point...

John McG

[Fyrzowt]

In Avila Beach, CA tonight, saw a vintage (60's 18'-20') A/S in a parking lot. New Mexico plates, white van T/V, nobody around.

[Jim & Susan]

Passed a Classic 1000 Excella pulled by a Ford PU yesterday afternoon. He was turning off hwy 316 headed toward Winder, Ga. Maybe headed to Ft. Yargo State Park? Anybody from the forum?

Jim

[C Johnson]

Originally Posted by sequoiacoast

On a recent trip through Laytonville, CA I saw this:

I saw this creation yesterday on US 26 heading west towards the Oregon Coast. I had my window down and that truck its on is loud !

[tin sista]

Saw a sweet little bambi being towed south on 96 about 3:15 today by a hummer just outside of Howell!

[sequoiacoast]

Originally Posted by C Johnson

I saw this creation yesterday on US 26 heading west towards the Oregon Coast. I had my window down and that truck its on is loud !

That's so cool - small world!!

[Silver Threads]

10/7/06 We saw our first traveling A/S on Interstate 40 near Knoxville Tn. heading West. It's funny we were talking about how we had never seen one, and there it was! We saw a new one a couple of weeks ago in Pigeon Forge at a campground. I cant wait until we can finally start using ours! Shouldn't be long now. Maybe someone will spot us......

[Minnie's Mate]

Saw one yesterday at a Ingles in Woodbury, GA. It was in the parking lot hitched to a '70's era Ford Pick-up. It looked like an early '60's Globetrotter, I think (big guess here). But it was in good condition.

[Blu_Hwy_Lady]

There's an AS, 27ft Overlander with a For Sale sign off Hwy 36 and AI about 10 miles west of Susanville. I looked in the windows and it looks pretty good,--partially gutted. I called the number and the woman said it was a project but she'd had "too many surgeries" and couldn't finish. It has a pretty substantial bump in the streetside butt cheek and a pushed in place on the curbside. She said "$5500 or OBO" As I recall she said it was a 73. She also mentioned that she'd bought it in Michigan and towed it to CA and had a mechanic go through it and fix everything broken before she started the renovation. Anyone interested, call me on my cell 505.321.0494 and I'll give you the number.

One the road going into week three with Airylle from Bishop, CA

[Mookie]

My wife and I just got back from a 2 week trip to Southern Utah. We spotted this little beauty, doors and windows open to the elements, in Mt. Carmel. Based on the sign, it appears as though the owner has gotten sick of fielding requests to sell.



Not far from Mt. Carmel, we also spotted this wooden monster. It's not an Airstream, but I thought some might be interested in seeing the product of some creative person's handiwork.



-Mark

[flyfshr]

We saw that very Airstream on our way to Yellowstone last month. Thought we might just get shot at if we stopped for even a simple picture. You're either very brave or have a great telephoto lens.

Brad
Ff

[Mookie]

Originally Posted by flyfshr

We saw that very Airstream on our way to Yellowstone last month. Thought we might just get shot at if we stopped for even a simple picture. You're either very brave or have a great telephoto lens.

Brad
Ff

Hey Brad - yeah, we got the same impression. That's why we kept the engine running and the car in gear while we snapped the pictures.

It's really a sad sight. Except for a dent in the end segments, it appears to be in great shape.

-Mark