Pee Wee and I made a nice early start for the Vintage Airstream Club rendezvous location in Jefferson WI. We originally had planed another day of blue line highways but it was becoming clear that folks were not too excited about an eight hour day so the route was changed to express ways and highways. The travels were definitely sped up by this change. Very quickly we were traveling into Illinois at 70 mph.
Along the way one of the tow vehicles in the main body of the caravan had a blow out, but all in all it was a very smooth drive. We encountered very few troubles along the way. Arriving at the rendezvous was a relief to find a nice shady location with electric for just about everyone that wanted it. The weather seemed be relieved by our arrival too, for by night fall the temperatures were pleasant and remained that way since.
Our caravan leader Rob Baker had done a tremendous job. He made sure that everyone was brought through safely and is a natural leader. Anyone reading this that does not know Rob needs to get to know him. He is an outstanding guy.
Another outstanding guy is Dale "Pee Wee" Schwamborn. I have been very fortunate to have spent so much time with Dale. The illuminations on Wally Byam, Airstream, the WBCCI, and his life experiences have been a great gift to me. To say the least, I am a very fortunate man. Not only have I learned a great deal, but I have made a great friend. As with Rob, you should get to know this man.
On Saturday morning we all lined up to caravan to Madison. Everyone was ready an hour before we had to be.
Seeing a row of vintage Airstreams a mile or so long is a very wonderful sight. What people must have thought seeing us rolling down the road.
We all paraded into the Rally site and snaked around through the entire grounds. Almost everyone was out along the route waving to us and welcoming us in. We were told we would all be parked together on the grass, but for some reason when it was our turn we ended up on asphalt. None of our group was very happy about this. Fortunately it is a short walk to the rest of VAC group. We are making the best of it.
Happy Hour is a great time every evening and we are enjoying eating dinner communally.
There is really no way to express the sight of so many Airstreams. Wish I could do a better job of that.
2 comments:
There is nothing quite like a sea of silver Airstreams. Thanks, Frank, for giving us a small taste and keeping us up to date. You're AWESOME!
Thanks for documenting the journey, Frank - I almost feel like I'm a part of it. Good thing you told me that was a picture of Rob because the guy in the image looked a lot like Thor without his helmet & hammer.
I saw, in another blog, that you met a big-time publisher. I met Rich & Brett at my first forum rally (before Rich started the mag). They are both great guys (and they both liked the chicken I pressure-fried for the event). Tell them I said "hi" for me if you see them again.
May the bandwidth be with you,
Tom
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