What's Your Story?

[GetawA-S]

Lots of great stories here!
We started out as tent campers, hitting state parks throughout the Midwest. Whatever would fit in the econoboxes we drove… (I could claim that we were purists, but truthfully just cheap.)
Then a college acquaintance showed up at a reunion with a TRAVEL TRAILER. What? You don’t have to sleep on the ground and cook in the rain? We bought a Palomino 19 foot 3/4 pop up (all a Mercury Villager would tow) and were off! Too small for a family of four, so the next spring it was a Sunnybrook 28’ long bunkhouse towed by a 1 ton Ford van. This was great until the nest emptied out and the upkeep became too much (after 15 years. Sold, no, gave it to a retired carpenter looking for a project)
Next was a 21’ Outdoors towed by a 1/2 ton pickup. Pretty good, until the delaminating and roof degradation set in after a couple years in Florida. But mostly it towed like a parachute.
Wife says, “There’s a cute little Bambi for sale in Fort Myers.” It was sized to fit in the small space next to the house, and towed great! But, after one year, it was too limited for storage, and the unducted air conditioning doth murdering sleep.
Which is how we got to the current 23’ Flying Cloud. My backing skills had improved enough to get it in the home parking space. Still easy to tow, a skoshe more room, and simple enough to avoid those aggravating maintenance issues. Plus the nice bathroom… And it’s easy on the eyes…
So after 40 years, we have gotten to the place we wanted to be. Still purists, but in a much more comfortable setting.
Happy travels!

[Mikebrady62]

Love reading these stories. Ours is similar to many.
I grew up with a very adventurous dad. He love to fish, hunt, camp and do just about anything out doors and I loved it too. I was in the Boy Scouts along with my brothers and sisters were Girl Scouts. Fast forward to meeting my wife almost 40 years ago and she humored me with going camping with me, that is until our 2 boys wanted to go all the time too. She finally said that was a boys thing and she didn't need to be included in camping anymore. She is a beach or pool type vacationer for sure. Then our oldest announced one Thanksgiving he was going to sell all of his belongings, build his own camper and live in it with his dog and search out places in the US and Canada to rock climb. He found that passion in high school and college. My wife was panicked, she didn't understand how he was going to survive. So he did what he said and sold everything and moved back in with us for a few months while building a beautiful teardrop camper.

He traveled west and Northwest and even spent the summer climbing in Squamish BC. We each individually spent 10-15 or so days with him in different locations. My wife ended up flying to Vancouver to meet up with him. They spent a week in Squamish and the second week traveling back into Washington via the San Juans and other spots he loved in WA.
When she returned home, she couldn't stop talking about her great experience and the sights and sounds she encountered.
We decided to do a road trip out west and bring a tent for some of the overnights. We did get a VRBO in Phoenix. Then enjoyed more of the beauty of the west.
After that trip is when we started looking at campers of all kinds. Lance, Arctic Fox and then finally Airstreams. Once she was inside an AS her mind was made up. I of course being the cheap guy I am wasn't done looking. I showed her several others after the AS but every time she walked in one, she would say "nope not even close."
So, we ended up with our AS and we have both loved it ever since.
BTW Our son the traveler ended up in WA state because he fell in love with the area and then a girl. So that is one of our yearly destinations. We love being there with them but also love getting there and back.

[Bcc75]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

Love reading these stories. Ours is similar to many.
I grew up with a very adventurous dad. He love to fish, hunt, camp and do just about anything out doors and I loved it too. I was in the Boy Scouts along with my brothers and sisters were Girl Scouts. Fast forward to meeting my wife almost 40 years ago and she humored me with going camping with me, that is until our 2 boys wanted to go all the time too. She finally said that was a boys thing and she didn't need to be included in camping anymore. She is a beach or pool type vacationer for sure. Then our oldest announced one Thanksgiving he was going to sell all of his belongings, build his own camper and live in it with his dog and search out places in the US and Canada to rock climb. He found that passion in high school and college. My wife was panicked, she didn't understand how he was going to survive. So he did what he said and sold everything and moved back in with us for a few months while building a beautiful teardrop camper.Attachment 432958

He traveled west and Northwest and even spent the summer climbing in Squamish BC. We each individually spent 10-15 or so days with him in different locations. My wife ended up flying to Vancouver to meet up with him. They spent a week in Squamish and the second week traveling back into Washington via the San Juans and other spots he loved in WA.
When she returned home, she couldn't stop talking about her great experience and the sights and sounds she encountered.
We decided to do a road trip out west and bring a tent for some of the overnights. We did get a VRBO in Phoenix. Then enjoyed more of the beauty of the west.
After that trip is when we started looking at campers of all kinds. Lance, Arctic Fox and then finally Airstreams. Once she was inside an AS her mind was made up. I of course being the cheap guy I am wasn't done looking. I showed her several others after the AS but every time she walked in one, she would say "nope not even close."
So, we ended up with our AS and we have both loved it ever since.
BTW Our son the traveler ended up in WA state because he fell in love with the area and then a girl. So that is one of our yearly destinations. We love being there with them but also love getting there and back.

WOW...Is that teardrop still in the family?
It's beautiful
is that a laminated wood of some sort?

[Mollysdad]

I was a sailor. I moved to Florida so I could follow my dream of sailing offshore, and I did. But as I grew older, the cost of maintaining a slip and the routine maintenance of a boat became impractical.
So I bought a motorhome, finally a 40' diesel pusher. I loved it. But, as I reached retirement age, with painful knees, and with friends who no longer took trips with me, it also became a drain on finances. $500 oil changes? Always some system needing attention. So I downsized.
The only trailer I considered was an Airstream. Instead of the seven steps to get in the MH, I had two. It didn't look like a downsize, people stopped to tell me how beautiful it was (is). It still had all the amenities of the MH, minus the huge storage. I still love it.

[KCurtis]

I was retired in 2019 when we started looking at everything from pop-ups to Class As. In late 2019 we found a great deal on a new Chevy High Country 1/2 ton truck with a tow package on it. We decided to buy it. Big mistake! That limited what we could buy more than I had anticipated as I was clueless on towing numbers.

In February of 2020 my wife retired. That is when we got serious about looking at what we wanted.

We started looking at a 28 foot Outdoors RV that we really liked. It was way over our trucks numbers though. We finally saw a 27 foot Airstream in a rv show in January of 2019. We liked it, but we liked a Nance trailer we saw at the show a bit better.

On the day after the show we headed out to the Nance dealership pretty much set on buying it. When we arrived at the dealership they we closed. We decided to go look at the Airstreams again since they were close by. The salesman was great. He asked us a few questions in his office and what our max budget was. He then took us to a 25 foot Flying Cloud that he said would be the largest Airstream our truck could tow. He left us along to explore the trailer for about 30 minutes. We finally decided it was what we wanted. We went and got him and said “we’ll take it”. This was early March of 2020. Nobody had masks on. When we return to pick it up on April 4th everything had change due to Covid.

We picked up our new Airstream and headed to the storage facility. It sat there until late May when my wife and I decided we had had enough sitting at home looking at each other. We decide to head to a park in Durango, Colorado. It was there we meet our friends we still meet up with once or twice a year. We’ve since traded in our 25 Footer for a 30 Foot Classic and a new heavy duty truck to tow it. Our friend bought a 30 foot Classic as well. We are on a 2 month long trip right now and will end up at the Airstream Rally. We and are still very happy with our decision to go with an Airstream.

[Nelson428]

Forgive me in advance for all the pictures.

I think a large number of us grew up camping. I remember as a kid camping with my grandfather on the riverbank sleeping on the sandbar, in a sleeping bag, by a bonfire, waking up to him, cooking breakfast and pointing out bobcat tracks all around our campsite. Once my brother and I reported to my parents, how much fun, we had on that excursion we moved in to tent camping with my parents. That obviously was not going to last very long living in the south with the heat and humidity.

Before giving up the tent, my father talk to my grandfather into helping him build a pick up Camper, which they did in my parents backyard, one winter, winter time down south is not very cold so they were able to complete that project and get aluminum siding on the pick up Camper with a refrigerator, stove, bath and shower installed. My mother made the cushions and they found a standard mattress for the over the cab bed, and we departed as soon as school was out on May 5 for the great western USA and all the national parks out west. Lordy, lordy I was in heaven. The picture below is my father, my brother, and I. Funny back then I had blonde hair now I don’t have any this picture was taken at Yellowstone.



Don’t you know that pick up Camper lasted about two years until my brother and I grew a bit. Then, my parents introduce the family to an airstream. That was my first introduction to the beautiful silver beast. I practically lived in that airstream parked in their backyard. They were built tough back then, and I can remember having to go get an extra blanket in the summertime to stay warm, because the air conditioner would freeze you.



So then I was off to college my parents moved to California, and then came the motorhome phase They were nice and fun and had lots of room or appeared to have lots of room, but were rather expensive to operate so we traveled like that for many years.



Then it was my turn to retire and all I wanted was a dog, an airstream, all the time in the world to travel with my parents to enjoy the world. Don’t let it slip by, We have been so blessed to live in the greatest country on the planet and the most beautiful region of the world. We ordered two 2015 classics over the phone with Foley RV in Gulfport while we were in Whitehorse Yukon Territory. After finishing our summer adventure drove back to south Mississippi and put the two motor homes on the market……times were good and the market for used motor coaches was as well, they sold in about two weeks. That was strange not having a rv of any type. Lucky for us it didn’t seem to take as long back then to get a new trailer. We only had to wait about 4 to 5 months after ordering them ( we were in Canada for the summer so the time passed quickly) After taking delivery of our new toys we hit the road. If you live down south or have travel down south in the summertime you know why our favorite destination is anywhere cooler. Southerners are climatized but they are still human and love to escape the “Summers 3-H’s” (heat, humidity, and hurricanes). For the past eight years we have been somewhere in the mountains for the summertime and spend the winter time somewhere along the gulf coast of Florida , Alabama or Mississippi.



This year marked, the turning point in our camping adventures my parents are now 90 and 91, celebrated 70 years of marriage to each other, and have found the travel difficult. April of 2023 they decided to move into assisted living. What a love story and life adventure they shared with each other, their children and friends. They have only camped twice since moving in April they simply go home to go camping. The Airsteram is parked in the back yard where my airstream adventure began so many years ago.
Ironic, how the circle continues.

I truly hope everyone takes the time to enjoy the blessing of life a gift God has given us, don’t wait, do it as soon as you can, time passes FAST, it’s called the present for a reason.

As the ole saying goes, live life like riding a horse.
"Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky, and live like you ain’t afraid to die, don’t be scared, just enjoy the ride!"

MY PARENTS


[4RXLA]

Originally Posted by Nelson428

Forgive me in advance for all the pictures.

I think a large number of us grew up camping. I remember as a kid camping with my grandfather on the riverbank sleeping on the sandbar, in a sleeping bag, by a bonfire, waking up to him, cooking breakfast and pointing out bobcat tracks all around our campsite. Once my brother and I reported to my parents, how much fun, we had on that excursion we moved in to tent camping with my parents. That obviously was not going to last very long living in the south with the heat and humidity.

Before giving up the tent, my father talk to my grandfather into helping him build a pick up Camper, which they did in my parents backyard, one winter, winter time down south is not very cold so they were able to complete that project and get aluminum siding on the pick up Camper with a refrigerator, stove, bath and shower installed. My mother made the cushions and they found a standard mattress for the over the cab bed, and we departed as soon as school was out on May 5 for the great western USA and all the national parks out west. Lordy, lordy I was in heaven. The picture below is my father, my brother, and I. Funny back then I had blonde hair now I don’t have any this picture was taken at Yellowstone.

Attachment 432966

Don’t you know that pick up Camper lasted about two years until my brother and I grew a bit. Then, my parents introduce the family to an airstream. That was my first introduction to the beautiful silver beast. I practically lived in that airstream parked in their backyard. They were built tough back then, and I can remember having to go get an extra blanket in the summertime to stay warm, because the air conditioner would freeze you.

Attachment 432967Attachment 432968Attachment 432969

So then I was off to college my parents moved to California, and then came the motorhome phase They were nice and fun and had lots of room or appeared to have lots of room, but were rather expensive to operate so we traveled like that for many years.

Attachment 432970Attachment 432971

Then it was my turn to retire and all I wanted was a dog, an airstream, all the time in the world to travel with my parents to enjoy the world. Don’t let it slip by, We have been so blessed to live in the greatest country on the planet and the most beautiful region of the world. We ordered two 2015 classics over the phone with Foley RV in Gulfport while we were in Whitehorse Yukon Territory. After finishing our summer adventure drove back to south Mississippi and put the two motor homes on the market……times were good and the market for used motor coaches was as well, they sold in about two weeks. That was strange not having a rv of any type. Lucky for us it didn’t seem to take as long back then to get a new trailer. We only had to wait about 4 to 5 months after ordering them ( we were in Canada for the summer so the time passed quickly) After taking delivery of our new toys we hit the road. If you live down south or have travel down south in the summertime you know why our favorite destination is anywhere cooler. Southerners are climatized but they are still human and love to escape the “Summers 3-H’s” (heat, humidity, and hurricanes). For the past eight years we have been somewhere in the mountains for the summertime and spend the winter time somewhere along the gulf coast of Florida , Alabama or Mississippi.

Attachment 432972Attachment 432973Attachment 432974Attachment 432975Attachment 432976Attachment 432977Attachment 432978

This year marked, the turning point in our camping adventures my parents are now 90 and 91, celebrated 70 years of marriage to each other, and have found the travel difficult. April of 2023 they decided to move into assisted living. What a love story and life adventure they shared with each other, their children and friends. They have only camped twice since moving in April they simply go home to go camping. The Airsteram is parked in the back yard where my airstream adventure began so many years ago.
Ironic, how the circle continues.

I truly hope everyone takes the time to enjoy the blessing of life a gift God has given us, don’t wait, do it as soon as you can, time passes FAST, it’s called the present for a reason.

As the ole saying goes, live life like riding a horse.
"Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky, and live like you ain’t afraid to die, don’t be scared, just enjoy the ride!"

MY PARENTS

Attachment 432979Attachment 432980

Beautiful story!

[tvketchum]

We grew up in families which camped.

After we met, we camped- in her Pontiac Aztec. Then a tent. Then a pop up. All the while, we were looking at retirement. Research led us to Airstream longevity, and we set our sights in 2012, 2013 at buying a new 2014.

While at the in laws at Lake of the Ozarks, a 2008 showed up on Labor Day Weekend at the Springfield, MO dealer. A new trade in, we called them late Saturday afternoon, and they would be open on Labor Day.

We drove down, got there before they opened, looked around the outside, and the salesman came out, unlocked it, and said he would be happy to answer any questions, just see him inside.

We looked at it, and each other, and said this must be for us. Well cared for, exactly what we wanted, and we went in to talk. A couple of hours later, we said sold, get those other people looking at it out of our trailer.

We have never looked back, except in the rear view mirrors.

[Airsurfer]

My wife and I were tent campers until our early 60s. We had a friend who was responsible for selling a 2008 19’ Ocean Breeze Bambi. He brought it to our house to try it out. The owner bought it and towed it 40 miles before realizing he didn’t like towing trailers. It sat on his property for six years before we became the second owner. We owned it for five years and loved it, but once I retired and we started traveling more, we knew we needed something larger. And we had drunk the koolaide and joined the Airstream cult. We sold the Bambi for $3,000 more than we paid for it and upgraded to a 2018 23’ Flying Cloud FBQ. After 25,000 miles (including three months in Alaska/10,000 miles) we think this is the perfect trailer for our style of camping.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by Bcc75

WOW...Is that teardrop still in the family?
It's beautiful
is that a laminated wood of some sort?

The teardrop was sold after he lived in it for about a year. He made a great profit on it as well.
The curved top and front was made from thin walnut plywood cut into strips and he stained them different colors.

[Bcc75]

Originally Posted by 4RXLA

Beautiful story!

Yes!!!!! Awesome story.
J. Nelson you have hit the nail on the head and thank you for this. We are all truly blessed to have these opportunities and life on this earth this is indeed short. Make the most of the time that you are given.

Aluminum fades, batteries die, trucks wear out, but memories will last a lifetime.
It's not as much about the trailer, or even the journey or the destination itself, but the people that you share it with.

I love the way J Nelson honors his parents in this story. What a lifetime of camping memories I am sure that you have. Perhaps if we meet on the road someday I would love to hear about them. This reminds me so much of my own story with my wife's Grandparents. Her stories of camping with them growing up and my entry into the family in my early 20's. Her Grandfather introduced me to Airstreams and I have been in love with them ever since. I cherish the times that we got to camp with him, even if it was prior to us owning our own Airstream.

Today, I will start prepping our trailer to depart next weekend on a weeklong trip to the coast with my wife and adult daughter. My mother and father in law will be traveling with us, in their own camper. They are in their late 70's. Three generations making memories. Can't wait.

[Nelson428]

Originally Posted by Bcc75

Yes!!!!! Awesome story.

J. Nelson you have hit the nail on the head and thank you for this. We are all truly blessed to have these opportunities and life on this earth this is indeed short. Make the most of the time that you are given.



Aluminum fades, batteries die, trucks wear out, but memories will last a lifetime.

It's not as much about the trailer, or even the journey or the destination itself, but the people that you share it with.



I love the way J Nelson honors his parents in this story. What a lifetime of camping memories I am sure that you have. Perhaps if we meet on the road someday I would love to hear about them. This reminds me so much of my own story with my wife's Grandparents. Her stories of camping with them growing up and my entry into the family in my early 20's. Her Grandfather introduced me to Airstreams and I have been in love with them ever since. I cherish the times that we got to camp with him, even if it was prior to us owning our own Airstream.



Today, I will start prepping our trailer to depart next weekend on a weeklong trip to the coast with my wife and adult daughter. My mother and father in law will be traveling with us, in their own camper. They are in their late 70's. Three generations making memories. Can't wait.

You are right Life is about making memories. The memories give us and reinforces, our character it’s what makes our life uniquely ours and enjoyable.

Safe travels on your journey