paying my club dues

I loaded up Anna and headed out solo this weekend. The goal of the weekend was to pay a little bit of dues to the Airstreamer's Club. I planned to make my payment in the form of erecting a water tower at Baker's Acres, the site of the Birthday Bash this summer. This was also going to be the first time towing with my new Dodge.

She towed great to say the least. Set the cruise control to 62 and let the turbo diesel hum.

Another TAC member wanted to pay some dues too. I met Ace at the New York line. He left his Airstream at home and brought his Scotty this weekend. You have to love a trailer you can tow with a Subaru.

We had one more helper on the project too. Rob's Dad came over with his 1958 John Deere 630. He used his auger to dig the four holes needed to erect the water tower. Thank you Mr Baker for your help.

We now have a 8 foot high platform with two 300 gallon tanks. These will be tied together and should provide plenty of water to the people attending the Birthday Bash.

A shocking development was waking up to a heavy dusting of snow. New York weather is very volatile this time of the year. One day your sweating in a T Shirt, the next day you are scraping ice and worrying about frost bite.

Got Ramps?

"Ramps? What the hell are you talking about?" was what my neighbor said. Most likely you are doing the same right now. Ramps are a wild onion/ garlic that grows in Appalachia. Outside of Appalachia it is virtually unknown. We went out to Mount Morris PA. for a small local festival that centers on the ramp. Mount Morris has the distinction of being the end of the Mason Dixon Line.

The ramp is very unique, for it hides in the ground all but a few weeks of the year. When it appears it is a sign that winter is over. The Mountain Folk celebrate the arrival with festivals all through the little communities. Ramps are gathered and prepared in many ways. We had them fried, in corn bread, pinto beans, in Hoopdy Hash(potatoes, sausage, eggs, and, yes ramps). We had them in wine, in butter, and in cheese. We even had some funnel cakes... no festival is complete without a funnel cake. There was no ramps in the funnel cake, it was however fried in 100% lard. That my friends is a good funnel cake.

The Ramps were the excuse for two clubs to get together. The Airstreamer's Club got together with the Serro Scotty Camper Enthusiasts. "Is that a Scotty?" you are wondering. No, that is a 1951 Mobile Scout. The organizer of the rally had hauled it out of the woods a few days before and thought some might like to see what a trailer looks like before hundreds of hours go into bringing it back.

We had a nice little turn out of trailers. The group was a lot of fun to get to know. Scotty people are very nice and open to showing off their trailers. Vintage trailer people in general are very open and enjoy talking with you.

I would swear I have seen Steve Mc Queen driving this Polaris before. I know it also is used to tow an Airstream too. Can you say "kick ass car?" Well I sure can...

We had a nice mix of vintage trailers. The trailers were part of the festival. Through out the day people came by and poked their head in. I must have heard a few dozen stories that began with "my Uncle used to own one of these...."

Anna got fitted with new window awnings. It was way too cold to actually have the windows open and the awnings on, but we are now ready for the camping season.

I do love these small town festivals. Where else do you hear local music from the front porch of a 200 year old log cabin? My youngest just loved listening to the bands play. Any chance she could she made a bee line for the cabin so she could tap her foot.

I kept making a bee line toward the classic cars and farm equipment. I just love to lear at old cars. Only one guy had to tell me to stop drooling all over his truck.

No Farmals, Rob... just a few Deeres. My buddy Rob loves his Farmal. Farmal and John Deere are like Ford and Chevy owners except there is no back window to put the Calvin peeing on the competitors logo.

A very good motto for sure. This is perhaps my new mantra of life even if it is referring to the speed of travel and not the figurative meaning I am drawing from it.

In Appalachia you find a great deal of support for the miners. We saw many signs on our trip offering hopes and prayers for the miners that died in a West Virginia coal mine a few weeks ago. Coal is a major employer and plays a heavy role in the lives of all in the region.

Somewhere in that photo is Anna. We sure did enjoy being a part of festival in Mount Morris.

Got Red Buds? Appalachia sure does. The view from the highways was spectacular. If any of you are looking to see some beautiful landscape to tow your rig through, head to West Virginia by God. It is one beautiful place.

Simply Amazing

Some things just astound me. When a killer song is connected to it then I am even more impressed. Hope you enjoy...

TAC MD-1 goes to his first rally

This weekend I went to my first rally. In all actuality, I have been to a number of rallies, but this was the first one I went to with the Airstreamer's Club. A member in Connecticut was trailer-less and wanted to camp so bad he invited people over to his house. It was all rather spontaneous how it came about so we could not resist heading North.

The drive over the Tappen Zee went real smooth. I wonder if the George Washington Bridge would have been as easy. I have sworn off the GW and plan to keep my word. When we left Baltimore it was raining very hard. Sometime in the last half of the drive the rain stopped and the sun came out. A very nice weekend was shaping up.

There was a little issue of backing into the driveway. Now how many people does it take to back a trailer in? One. Too many voices saying "right, left, straight, come straight back now, sharp left..." can really screw a guy up. An "S" curve and a long rig can add a challenge also.

There were four of us that came. There were three trailers parked down by the garage. Nice spot with electric and water.

And a cute little Bubble in the wooded site at the top of the property also with water and electric hook ups. Once everyone was settled in we all proceeded to relax and have a good old time

My girls egged Donal on with seeing who could eat the most cantaloupe. Actually I was glad to see the three kids plowing through the fruit and not some rippled Utz potato chips.

The adults however seemed to be plowing through things made of malt and grains. The recycling guys are going to get a serious work out this week. Everyone seemed to be having a real good time talking and laughing. No one ended up naked or fist fighting in the front yard though. We can always hope for next time.

Some people stopped by to visit without their trailers. It was nice to meet internet friends in the flesh. I always find it interesting to put a face to those you meet on the internet. The entire crowd was just super. Speaking of people you meet on the internet. I was contacted by a guy in Austin Texas about my love for BBQ. He wanted to send me some rub to try out. Since we were going to fix up some BBQ the timing was perfects.

So in the mail I received a very nice gift of three bottles of rub. Just in packaging alone this stuff rocks. The people who make this have chosen very clever wording to set their product apart from what (at least in Texas) must be a very competitive business. I know to better to judge a book by the ending than the cover, but first impressions were right on the mark. Big Cock Ranch makes some awesome rub.

Ava assisted me in liberally applying some Special Shit to the brisket.

There was also a nice pork butt put in the smoker at the same time.

But the main ingredient was the smoke. For 11 hours we watched the trail of smoke rise into the Connecticut sky.

A steady 225 was desired and we all tried hard to keep it there. Watching over the pit is serious work requiring a lot of discussion and copious amounts of beer.

Oh, did I mention the ribs? We smoked some of those too.

Internal temperatures reached, time for the meat to come off the pit.

The pork butt was then wrapped up and put in the oven for a little longer.

Perfect deep mahogany smoke ring on the brisket. Man I am hungry all over again looking at that prime slab sitting there on the cutting board.

Thank you so much for a great weekend Don. I really enjoyed myself and hope your household has recovered since we left.

Originally Carl and I were planning to caravan together. I guess his GPS gave him different directions than mine did. Within a couple of miles we turned left and Carl went on straight. I am sure he had a nice drive home even if we were not traveling together. After about an hour on the road the rain started back up and remained with us for the rest of the trip.

We headed down to Doylestown PA to see Fonthill. To give a brief history of the house is difficult but I will try. Henry Mercer was a tile maker in Doylestown. He did many major commissions all over the United States and created a whole style of tile work that was his own. He used his wealth to build himself a castle. The castle was built out of cast concrete and was rather innovative in how it was constructed. I am just glossing over all of this, so put it on your list of places to go see. You can thank me later.

The house is very beautiful and there are so many details to take in. Photos are not allowed inside the house, so I can only give you a glimpse of what you see in the waiting room for the tour.

The castle has over 70 rooms and you only see about 16 of them on the normal tour. It is kind of hard to believe that a house so unique and grand was built in three years by 9 men and a horse named Lucy. All the tile and all the concrete was made by hand. No modern machinery was used.

The same nine men and horse built the Moravian Tile Works next door in even less time. The Bucks County Historical Society owns the factory also.

Even today you can walk in and order the same tiles made 100 years ago. Everything is still made by hand just as it was back in Mercers day.

My girls seemed to really enjoy the tour of the house and the factory. They were enjoying the warming bench in the hearth. Yes you sit inside the fireplace with the fire in front of you.

The tile around the fireplace was very beautiful.

Mercer enjoyed telling stories with his tile. Make sure you folks go check it out. We will be going back soon. We did not get a chance to see the other museum downtown that documents the tools and trades that built America before the Industrial Revolution. Maybe someone will contact me and we can have a rally in Doylestown.

Our next stop was Lancaster County. There is nothing like stepping back in time. The Amish of Lancaster County still live an agricultural lifestyle using horses and shunning all modern convinces. Have you ever wondered how to tell the difference between an Amish farm and one by someone else? It is very easy, the first sign is no electric lines going to the house. A bigger give away is that the farm is ALWAYS immaculate. No fading barn paint or broken fences. No junk laying around the farm yard. Everything is perfectly groomed and well cared for. They might not be harvesting a few thousand acres of corn every year, but they sure look very successful at making a farm work.

Unfortunately the rain showed no sign of letting up and many attractions were still not open for the season. We decided to head for home.

Along the road we saw the old ladies shoe...

A few months back I wrote about Sam and his Boles. Some comments have come in and he wanted to respond to those comments but could not. I thought I would post his email and some photos. Hopefully this gives Neppy some answers and provides all of you something to read. I know it has been slow on this blog all winter. Anna is now out of storage and this blog will be rolling soon enough.

So, from Sam...

Hi Frank--
I just noticed a comment on your blog about the "stop" light on my Boles. I dunno if it is me or my senile computer but I cannot seem to respond to the person who made the comment and asked the origin of the light.
Maybe you could relay for me?

I took the light off the back of a 1956 school bus. Actually two of them. I remember them to be original on buses then. Yes, I was riding school buses then. When my Boles was built only one tail light was required and installed in the center. So in my rebuild I had a five inch hole in the aluminum to patch or fill and I elected to use the "stop" light to fill the hole. I don't think the "stop" lights were ever used on travel trailers, but I just couldn't resist. I always have liked something that would start comments or questions.

I took the Boles on its maiden (after rebuild) voyage last week. About 2 hours down a dirt road to a fishing hole. Nothing broke or fell off and the ice cream was in perfect shape three days later. I have a few more details to take care of (don't we always?) but it is pretty much complete. Now I need to get back to the Safari and do some "upgrades" for the trip to Minnesota for the family reunion in June. Time to get the Boles out of the barn and get the Safari in. Does it ever end?????

Spring is getting here ............... warm one week and snow the next. Typical for here.
Hope all is going well in your part of the country.
Sam

I never thought a message was complete if a few photos were not included. So ............ Riverside camp............

AANNNNHA... AAHHHNNAAA... I miss you so.

I had gone into Winter determined to embrace it. I was determined to find some deep apreciation for the cold and the snow. I have many friends living where it is much colder and much snowier than Maryland. Well folks, I officially hate Winter. I want the trees to leaf out, the birds to sing a happy song(not the one they currently sing of desperation... tweet tweet, oh shit, the snow is tweet tweet coving all the food tweet) and to be able to wear a t shirt again. I hear my Birkenstocks crying in the closet. I have had more than enough winter this winter for certain.

I mostly miss Anna though. She sits out in the field with the other ladies of Frank's Trailer Works. Until the 15th, the road into Mikes house had not been plowed out. He had a well stocked pantry and just stayed put after the big snow. Eventually he had to break down and pay a guy with a front end loader to dig his mile long driveway through the woods.

I went over to see how the ladies fared. I cranked open the propane tank, lit the cat heater and mixed a cocktail. For an hour I just sat on the couch and day dreamed of past trips, future trip, and anything that came to mind.

I sure miss my Mistress.

From Marcus

For Marcus, to Marcus, and now from Marcus....

I went to the mail box and instead of my notice that I won the Global Power Lotto prize of ten gazillion dollars, I found a non descript envelope from Austin Texas. Marcus wanted to be sure I was able to fix up some ribs with the proper rub on them. I think a trip to the butcher for a slab or two is in order for this weekend.

Thank you Marcus. I am very grateful...