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loudruff · 08-30-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loudruff

We are looking forward to Labor Day. We hope some of you will come and join us. Rich Luhr and family, (of Airstream Life Magazine) will be gracing our driveway. They are going to driveway camp with us for the weekend. We are hoping to get a visit in to Cuyahoga Valley NP so that Emma can earn her "badge" there. And we are going to be hanging out together in the backyard. Hoping the weather cooperates! If you just want to come and hang out we would appreciate your driving up and visiting. Or if you want to drag the Airstream and join us we have room for several. Maybe we can throw a "potluck" together!

Let us know where you are camping!
Lou

I am bumping this to the top and hoping some of those of you off camping will see it this evening. Rich, Eleanor and Emma Luhr will be visiting for the Labor Day weekend. Anyone who wants to come and visit and driveway camp or just drive up for a visit with us is welcome.

WineStream · 09-07-2009, 06:54 AM

I hope everyone's Labor Day camping is going well. We are in the outer banks right now where after a week's work of forecast checking, the weather was to be sunny all week. As I type, it's raining and has been since about 4am. It doesn't look like today will be a beach day.

Since I have nothing else to do but drink coffee right now, I'm going to vent a bit. The W.Va tool road is BUMPY! It caused us to lose our battery and a stabilizer jack off the AS. Granted, it was 99% my own fault for not taking care of known issues beforehand, but the bumpiness of the road was the straw that broke the camel's back. So, somewhere between Charleston WV and the Virginia border the battery door at the rear of the trailer popped open and thus lies a (probably) pretty damaged Optima blue-top AGM with (what's left of) a Battery Bug attached to it. So, $400 down the drain there. The fine folks at Advance Auto Parts in Wytheville, VA were more than willing to sell me a new AGM and loan me some tools in order to install it INSIDE the AS rather than in the battery box outside as it was before. This was a change I had planned for this winter, but obviously I should have done it sooner.

My second vent is the loss of the stabilizer jack at the right front. I'm not sure if it was there Sun. night when we camped at a SP outside Durham, NC (very nice BTW) as I never un-hitched from the truck nor put down the stabilizers. However, upon reaching the campground in Waves, NC, OBX, I was setting up for the week's stay and I couldn't find the hex-end to screw down the jack. Yup, the jack is clean-gone.

So, our route took us right by Out-of-Doors Mart so I guess we'll be stopping there on the way home for a jack and likely some other items in order to save on shipping.

wannaroam · 09-07-2009, 12:56 PM

I hope that everyone is having a great Labor Day. Here it is raining, after a simply gorgeous couple of days.

I know that this is very late and last minute, but we will be going to East Harbor State Park near Port Clinton Ohio this week. At this time we plan to travel there tomorrow (Sept 8) and stay until probably Friday or Sat. If anyone else is heading that way please look us up.

loudruff · 09-07-2009, 08:24 PM

We had a great time this weekend. The Luhr family arrived on Fri. Saturday we all took a trip to Cuyahoga Valley NP. Saw the sights and went to a couple of the visitor centers there. Emma got to help demonstrate the old lock operations. We were disappointed that their Jr. Ranger badge could not be earned in one trip, but took three! No fair for travelers! But at least they got their "passports" stamped. Sunday, some of our OH AS friends joined us for a picnic in the backyard. We all learned that we are terrible at ladder ball! But we had a great slide presentation. Rich showed beautiful pictures from lots of National Parks and told us all about some of their journeys. We had great food and a nice campfire. Today it rained but it did not dampen our spirits too much. Luhrs are headed for JC tomorrow. We had a great visit and we will look forward to the next! Emma is a great stamping buddy and a great kid! I will miss her company!

Jason and Andrea, we wish you safe travels. Sorry to hear of your troubles with missing pieces and parts.

Wannaroam, We have a busy first part of the week. We have a dr. appt. on Th. but we will see what happens.

loudruff · 09-12-2009, 11:10 PM

We spent Thurs. and Fri. nights at E. Harbor SP with "wannaroam" and Frank. Had a great time visiting and enjoying the fabulous weather. Lots of good food too. Wow! Has their AS come a long way! The last time we saw it the poor ol' girl was in pieces. Now she is well appointed and looking great! Frank is doing a polishing job on her and then she will sparkle!!! And they are no longer "newbies" to the Airstreaming world. We look forward to camping with them again at PennWood. Has anyone else signed up to go there and also to Dillon SP. October is coming fast!

wannaroam · 09-14-2009, 03:34 PM

We really enjoyed visiting with you and Larry as well. And thank you for the nice things you said about our AS. It is nice to no longer be a "newbie"!

Frank is right now working on the AC problem. He called numerous people and went to the local trailer sales and did not receive any solid help from anyone. He finally took the AC unit off the trailer altogether, and believes that he has found the problem. The small front lip in front of the coil goes into a small channel that funnels the water to the rear of the unit and drain holes. It appears that he overtightened the front of the unit causing it to slope to the front of the AS, and allowing the water to come in.

He is working on fixing this as I write. Also, we already took the bench out (neither of us were happy with the appearance) and he re-shaped it to have a bit more style. It is now primed for me to paint - we didn't like the lacquer finish on it either. So more changes for you to see at Penn-Wood!

loudruff · 09-14-2009, 04:38 PM

Great job, Frank! Hope that solves the problem!

loudruff · 09-22-2009, 09:14 PM

We spent last weekend working at the LaGrange Engine Show for the band boosters doing the pancake and sausage breakfast. (Which is why we missed the cool Wilds rally!) Larry and I got to park our AS at the fairgrounds right next to the work area. That saved us a ton of time and effort in the mornings! And it sure was a nice place to rest at night! Roger (MiketheFixit) and MaryLou came and spent the weekend driveway camping at our house. It was nice to have visitors who enjoy the "show" as much as we do!

So what are the rest of you Ohioans and everyone up to these days?

WineStream · 09-23-2009, 05:12 AM

Camping and fixing things, that's what we've been up to. The Wilds was fun. Lots of other kids so Parker was well occupied and even Mason got in the mix. I'm still checking things off the list on the AS after the beating it took on the OBX trip. New axles are for sure in order this winter. I'm trying to sell my motorcycle right now to support my AS habit, so I've been sprucing things up there for advertisement. With the impending winter, woodcutting and hauling has become a higher item on the to-do list. We're excited about PennWood next weekend. I think Dillon Dam is still out for us...just too much since we've already got a camping / Halloween trip planned for 16th-17th. After that, I think the AS is going up on stands for axle removal and replacement as well as some other bottom-side repairs that I've noted. I want to get a spare tire & carrier under there, too.

Mikethefixit · 09-23-2009, 06:45 AM

I don't think we are going to be able to make Penn Wood due to limited resources. We are planning on Dillon,we would like to make em all but its just not possible. Sorry we will miss you Jason and Andrea and especially the boys. We enjoyed them our last time together.
DanB
Sorry we had to miss your Wilds Trip,the LaGrange Engine Club show was our previous commitment.Hope we will bump into ya down the road.Keep your rubber bumpers on LOL.
Roger

loudruff · 10-12-2009, 08:08 PM

Larry, Loren and I have to go (with the two furry girls) to the Dock Dogs event at King's Island near Cinci this weekend. We are taking the Airstream and have to be there Thurs. thru Sun. We have found two campgrounds, Cedarbrook and Frontier Campground on the internet. Anyone know anything about either one of them? Or does anyone have any better information for a CG that would be good for the weekend? We only need electricity.
Thanks!
Lou and Larry

loudruff · 10-13-2009, 07:05 AM

I was looking for things to do in the Cinci area while we are down there. Has anyone been to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center? We will have some free time in the afternoons after Zora jumps in the Dock Dogs event.

Ganglin · 10-13-2009, 07:49 AM

We have never done the Freedom Center but the Art Museum won't disappoint...

Cincinnati Things to Do - View Cincinnati Attractions

Mikethefixit · 10-13-2009, 09:36 AM

Hi Lou
National Muesum of the United States Airforce. Come here and we will go with ya. Theres also a Museum at the old Union Station in Cinci.
Gary
So sorry we could not come last weekend.If Larry didnt tell ya. We had a funeral of a Longtime friend to attend on Thursday,that put us a day behind and the rain didnt give us any help either. I know we will meet up sooner or later.
Roger

Ganglin · 10-14-2009, 04:22 AM

Roger - our condolences to you. Sorry we missed you guys also. Despite the weather it was a good time and I had the pleasure of meeting several nice folks who did nothing but make me feel as if I were an old friend.

I'm sure we will meet up at another event - look forward to it.

loudruff · 10-19-2009, 09:46 PM

Have you all given up camping and winterized already? Anyone going camping this week??

DanB · 10-19-2009, 10:55 PM

Heck, I still got my vents open. (probably because I've got a big A** generator stored inside!)

I've got one more trip planned, just not sure where or when. I would really like to try some winter camping this year.

Ganglin · 10-20-2009, 04:39 AM

We were scheduled for Deer Creek this past weekend but it was too miserable (for us) to go. They apparently had so many cancellations that they gave us half our payment back even though we were past the deadline. I've already winterized and tucked the old boy in for a winter nap... always a sad day but leaves you with next season to look forward to.

WineStream · 10-20-2009, 05:14 AM

ours is winterized as of right now. We camped this past weekend at Cardinal Center (just off I-71 @ exit 140). It was a camp with co-workers of mine. It is really a nice campground as long as you get back in the back away from the highway.

The AS is now behind the house so that I can easily access it from the basement where the new fridge and woodshop is. I've already disconnected everything on the fridge and moved work lighting into the AS. I figure I've got about 4 months to change the fridge, build new cabinets around it, remove the oven, and build a bunk bed. Oh yeah, and new axles plus a back-end sag check / fix. Should be fun!

It seems as though my motorcycle will be sold this evening, so there's the capital to accomplish all of the above!