How did you get into camping?

[safari57]

I always remember camping. My earliest and fondest memories are of camping in the foothills and mountains of AB/BC and fishing the creeks and rivers and beaver ponds. My parents always had a trailer and the youngest also slept inside while the older ones who had "come of age" got to sleep in the tent directly below dad's window which kept things pretty quiet and controlled. We did a lot of touring as kids (family singing group) so saw most of Canada and the eastern and southern US out the windows of a station wagon with a trailer in tow. The trailer was also the instrument carry-all so if it was raining to hard for the tent to go up the car would be stuffed with kids and instruments at night and the trailer was reserved for my parents (and my mom's mom who lived with us). As soon as I was married we bought a truck camper, then fold out trailer, then fold out truck camper, and a wide array of vintage SOB's while we searched for just the right Airstream and during that time we acquired a '58 Silver Steak that heightened our desire for an Airstream - that search took from late 70's to 2004. It's not that we are fussy but the Airstream had to be just right. I can't imagine not having at least one trailer out back ready to go.
Barry

[bobkelly]

The folks took me trailer camping in Yosemite when I was one year old. Wife had similar experiences including backpacking and fishing in the High Sierra. We trained the kids up the same way and now they are training up the grand kids in this fine tradition and activity. Some of our most memorable family experiences revolve around camping.

[SilverRanger]

My parents never went camping in any form, and I can't even recall visiting a state park when I was a kid. Did some tent camping in the Boy Scouts, and always enjoyed sleeping outside. During, and after college, I did a lot of hitch hiking across half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, and ended up sleeping on the ground, in trees, barns, on beaches, under the mangroves in south Florida, and some other places I don't even care to think about. My journey was cut short by a commitment I had to fulfill.

One thing for sure, I was always fascinated by Airstreams. As a teenager, I can remember seeing one go through town and think, WOW... maybe someday. Before we bought the Trade Wind about 12 years ago, we never owned a tent or any kind of camper or had much interest in camping in the traditional sense, so it's probably a bit of an anomaly that I spent the majority of my career working in and around campgrounds. I was also impressed by those large groups of Airstream owners that would occasionally spend a few days in one of our campgrounds, and then move on. Those were unique rigs, owned by a whole different breed of camper. With those big red numbers and flags, I figured it was some kind of club.

So, here I am, less than two weeks from retirement, and anxious to continue my journey to see the rest of this country.

[rseagle]

Originally Posted by Foureagles

My Cherokee Grandpa taught me a lot about getting along in the world, and how it's the hawk that gives the rabbit its speed.

Maybe my Cherokee heritage is behind it all. We've always been campers. We tent camped when I was growing up. I love being out in nature and I'm teaching my kids to love and respect it, as well.

[PWRSTRK]

We don't camp, we Airstream.

[safari57]

Originally Posted by PWRSTRK

We don't camp, we Airstream.

Now you're talking....... .

Barry

[dufferin]

We got into because of AS. Actually we bought the AS we get out of our rental apartment then we end up in a campground... but didn't think at it first... and we liked it...

[Don Cook]

I started as a boater and soon realized that Airstreams were less problematic than boats of the same size. Also Airstreams are easier to integrate into more trips that we take. (You can make a trip to Grandma's a mini vacation. Love the flexibility
DC

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by PWRSTRK

We don't camp, we Airstream.

I concur.

[bobfowler]

My family started camping (tents) back in 1963 - the summer I turned 5. We tented for a few years until Dad bought a 1968 Hilltop pop-up trailer. We used that trailer until 1975 when my folks bought a 20' SOB travel trailer (I can't remember what brand it was). I went off to the Army in '76 and did my camping the hard way, a shelter half and a rubber lady, until 1985 when my wife and I started tent camping together. We bought a slide in truck camper (big mistake) in '94 and quickly found ourselves back in a tent. We got away from the campgrounds for a few years starting in the late 90's until last year when we bought our Basecamp.

[Charlie M]

My first camping experience was in the Marine Corps. Afterward, married with four children we tried tenting, but it was a disaster. Upgraded to a tent camper which we used for 13 years and traveled most of the U.S.A. Kids grown and gone I got into motorcycle touring and camped off of the motorcycle for about 10 years. Sold the m/c and back to tent camping. Then setting up the tent camp at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was one too many times and all of the sudden I had it with the tent.

I asked my wife it she would consider an RV (Thanks to Stew Olsen of RV Today which I watched every Sunday) she said yes. I only considered an Airstream and knew I would join the Airstream club, WBCCI. The rest is history.

[59 GlobTro]

Five years ago my husband and I were at the Studebaker International Meet in South Bend, Indiana, and we saw a very cute light yellow Lark convertible towing a beautiful Dorsett boat. I decided that I wanted to "accessorize" our Studebakers with a small travel trailer that would be MY project. So we started looking for a small project trailer, got online (TinCanTourist and other vintage trailer sites), and found that the Serro Scotty trailers were small, cute, and relatively common enough to find.

A friend of ours asked, "Why not get an Airstream? They're the coolest trailers to have." We entertained the idea but didn't see ourselves putting much time or money into a car "accessory," so we settled on a Scotty. After a few weeks, we found a Scotty for $500 and ended up doing a "frame-off" restoration. In the following few months, we acquired three more Scottys. (See note below.) A guy down the street from my husband's hobby shop stopped by to see the Scotty Highlander that we rescued from a storage lot, and he asked if Will would trade for an Airstream. (Whaa???? Yeah, we still can't figure that one out...)

Well, the Airstream was too big and stinky for me to want to work on, so I asked Will if he would get rid of it if I found a smaller Airstream to replace it. By this time, Will was enthralled with the quality and qualities of the Airstream (the Scotty was just plywood, masonite, and light aluminum siding). We visited a Studebaker friend of ours who also has many silver-sided trailers (Airstreams, Boles, Spartans...), and talked him into parting with a 1959 Globetrotter.

The rest, as they say, is history. We finally went camping for the first time in our 1975 Sovereign late last summer. Oh, and this summer, we towed that 1959 Globetrotter with our 1963 Studebaker station wagon to the Studebaker International Meet in South Bend followed by our first WBCCI Rally in Perry. We had a blast! We really enjoy Airstreaming more than we ever thought we would, thanks to the many helpful and fun friends we've made along the way!

***Side note: I think Will has some type of undiagnosed OCD where he needs to own multiples of almost everything he has. Currently we have three Scottys, two M Systems (1950 travel coaches), six Airstreams, and around 35-40 Studebakers. Keep in mind that these are NOT all restored and functioning---his reasoning is that "we need spare parts---that's a parts car/trailer."