Motoring Thru Time Event

Took the TradeWind downtown to Phoenix's Heritage Square to the annual Motoring Thru Time event where a number of historic cars, trucks, and campers were on display. Had a great time and looked at many sweet vehicles.

My neighbor owns the 1931 Ford Sheepherder's Model AA truck which always draws alot of attention. The back has a coal furnace / stove and a fold down bunk along with a few period accessories.

One of my favorite vehicles was the '59 Chevy Apache Sedan which would make the perfect vintage tow vehicle for my '59 TradeWind. It needed some work still and I doubt the original 6 cylinder would tow the trailer properly but it sure piqued my interest. Love this possibility.

Another fine vehicle was the red Chrysler 300 next to the yellow and white Shasta. This 300 was very rare with the factory 4 speed. I wish I had taken more pictures of it as the dash and gauges was very cool.

I always have had a soft spot for the blue and white '56 Chevy Nomad. Maybe because its the year of my birth but I really think its because of the classy lines and sexy curves.

The Heritage Square is the perfect place for this event with the restored Rossen House, assorted outbuildings and renovated period correct, relocated homes from around the state as backdrops. All of the campers were in the Lath House where it was shaded and brick paved.

If you ever get the chance to check out Heritage Square, I highly recommend it besides the best pizza in the US is served right there at Pizzaria Bianco but don't tell anyone or I'll never get in.

In speaking with one of the organizers, its sad to hear this may be the last year of this event because of city budget cuts. What a shame to loose this opportunity for the public to get a glimpse of our past. I sure hope it will continue long into the future.

New Vintage Style Outside Light

I have always been quite jealous of those original outside lights that came with my era of Airstream. They just plugged in to the outside outlet and were held in place by screwing to the special socket base. Well, my original socket was a mess when I got the trailer back in 2001 and I replaced it with a newer style that is water tight with a spring loaded flip out cover.

Several months ago, I bought at the big orange home center a porch light that was all of $7 or so with the idea of converting it to plug into this outlet. Since it was a bit rainy outside yesterday, this sounded like the perfect project for the afternoon. It took me about an hour and a bit of tinkering to fabricate the plugin part that was a cord end as well as the extension arm so the light would extend out past the flipped open cover on the socket.

Once I was done, I tried it out and it just seemed too bright. I tried a smaller wattage bulb but still too bright. I needed some type of light diffuser and I had just the stuff stashed away from when I did the interior. I found this thin gold colored punched aluminum at one of the Ace Hardware stores but at only one of the stores, so not all of them carry it. The pattern is called Union Jack and this is the same pattern that was in my trailer originally although it had a minimum of five coats of paint on it then and all of the triangle shaped holes were filled in.

I digress, as usual. Back to the light. The Union Jack fit perfectly and it gives the light a bit of nostalgia and matches the interior doors and drawers. I'll put this to use next month at the 4CU's Deadhorse Ranch rally. Aaargh!!

On a different note, I'll be taking the trailer downtown next Saturday for an event called "Motoring Through Time" that the city park's department puts on. There will be a number of vintage cars, trucks and campers on display. I went last year but didn't take the trailer. Got in on it this year and my neighbor and I will be taking our vehicles. I'll post pictures of the campers.

Just back from the Four Corners Unit's Third Annual New Years Eve Rally. We had a great time, a bit chilly but that's what the campfire and libations are for. Good to meet up with fellow Airstreamers and meet a few new faces. The white elephant gift exchange was a hoot as was Pictionary while we were waiting up for the countdown. Louis, Sergio, Linda and Ken really can put on a great rally. Thanks to all four of you. Bob (dogpound) and Julianne cooked up some tasty pancakes on the new morning of the new year while everyone supplied their own bacon. What a treat. I don't know who made the blueberry tart that was on the table but I helped myself and was it ever good. Is the recipe available for our upcoming 4CU cookbook because I want to sample that again and again.

The next 4CU get together is next month at Deadhorse State Park in Cottonwood and I sure hope the powers in the capital don't shut too many of our parks down. Looks like they can't manage their $ either.

See all you ralliers next month.

Heading Out on the Road Again

We're finally getting the Twink out on the road and heading off to Picacho Peak for the 4 Corners Unit's New Years Rally. We'll be heading out tomorrow afternoon and returning late Saturday as I need to work on Sunday. Really looking forward to seeing everyone again so stay tuned for some pictures. Its been toooo long.

New Regulator

Today I was finally able to pick up a new regulator and get it installed. Also had a leaky pigtail so I replaced that as well. Now the other one is leaking so off to the RV store again tomorrow. Sure was nice to sit in the trailer and fix a cup of coffee.

Regulator Issue

With a houseful of folks expected for Thanksgiving dinner and cooking a turkey and a ham, we needed to use a second oven. Never fear, the TradeWind to the rescue. The ham was precooked so we just needed a way to heat it up. After preheating the oven and the ham put in, I went out after about 20 minutes to check on it. Once I stepped inside the trailer, I heard a loud swoooooosh sound start up. I couldn't tell what it was. I thought maybe a water pipe broke. No, that wasn't it, no water anywhere and the pump would have come on. I went outside to check the propane pigtails and couldn't see anything out of place. I held my hand around different areas of the hoses and fitting and there it was. The regulator blew where the front and back are stamped together. Not anything you could see with the naked eye but it was really shooting out of there. This regulator is only 7 or so years old and I would expect one to last longer than this. Glad this happened when it did and I was around to find the problem. I'll need to replace as soon as I can.

A New Throne

It is an absolute must to have a comfortable and functioning throne while away from home. When the old one's plastic base broke, something needed to be done. After considerable research on porcelain toilets, I decided on the Low Profile Sealand Traveller. Since the commode sits atop the black tank, a regular height one would have been too tall. Now we can take care of business in style. Installation was easy, so easy, I wish everything was this easy. No, no pictures. Who wants to see pictures of a toilet anyway? Its kind of a personal thing.