Another successful year for the Canopener! What is the Canopener you say? First and foremost, it is a rally of friends and strangers-soon-to-be-friends of (mostly) Airstream owners. It is a purely democratic event, lead and directed by ad hoc volunteers, with no rules – only, at most, a few guidelines. It is a wonderful event… Read More Canopener – Jan 2022
We don’t write a year-in-review post every year, but when we do, I always start by thinking, what the hell did we even do this past year? And after going through our pictures, I’m like – wow – we did a bunch! Of course, this is not an historical world view of 2021 – just… Read More 2021 in Review – Dec 2021
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – everywhere you go! Let tacky be your guide. On Dasher, on Dancer…. We hosted Christmas caroling in the hood, kind of a tradition. All we do is put out a sign. The rest is magic. And if you want to know why we love Christmas caroling,… Read More Christmas Caroling – Dec 2021
You can choose to love him (because he’s on your team) or hate him (because he’s not on your team), but there is no disputing Tom Brady’s greatness as an NFL quarterback – the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time). The statistics are just silly no matter the criteria. We had the opportunity to see Tom… Read More Brady – Dec 2021
Let’s talk about Airstream products. Before we begin, we may want to set some parameters. If you are looking for facts, figures – you know, real, valuable information? Whoa. You have WAY overshot your mark by visiting this blog. Now if you’re interested in a half-assed story that is intellectually and factually lacking, well my… Read More Airstreaming Part 3: The Product – Dec 2021
Both my wife and I are card-carrying introverts. You wouldn’t know that from looking at these pictures, but it is true. We generally have a closer affinity to dogs than people. And yet we both feel the community of Airstreamers is one of the most significant attributes of the entire Airstream “thing”. We have created… Read More Airstreaming Part 2: The People – Dec 2021
What is it that you love about Airstreams? If you own an Airstream, you have been asked this question countless times. And if you don’t own one, you may have asked this question of others. I got to thinking about how significant and impactful Airstreaming has been for my bride and me over the years. … Read More Airstreaming Part 1: The Places – Dec 2021
Part of the misery of retirement is having time to play golf at nice places. I shouldn’t joke – many people have not the health, time, money, or perhaps interest, to do this. So it is with appreciation that I share this story. Last week friends and I played at the US Mecca of golf… Read More Pinehurst – Nov 2021
PSA (PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT) #105: PROVIDING IMBALANCED, QUASI-ACCURATE AND INSENSITIVE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS. With the Covid virus and its’ mutations still spreading, including the newest Prince Howard variant, the neighborhood was delighted to be able to get Covid testing, as well as an assortment of vaccines at the new QT Neighborhood convenience store that opened just… Read More Halloween – Oct 2021
If you are looking for a campground that is both chill and warm, this might be your ticket. We recently camped for a few days at Forth Clinch State Park in Fernandina Beach (FL), on Amelia Island, and it is a hidden gem. This state park is like Fort DeSoto Regional Park (if you have… Read More Fort Clinch – Oct 2021
We had to say bye to a friend last week. John Campbell, a former Prince Howard neighbor, passed away recently. For those who knew him, you know he was a character. Jo, John’s wife, called to inform me and share her grief about the loss of John, and asked me if I would say a… Read More Notorious John – Oct 2021
We travel 1,200 miles to get out of town, and who follows us? Our neighbors! Stalkers. And where does it go from there? Do they think we want to go out and see beautiful sights, eat lobster, shuck oysters and eat fresh seafood with them? I mean, what’s next. Seriously, we were delighted to have… Read More Out of Town Guests – Sept 2021
The surf on the NH coast has been up for the last two days as a result of some offshore storms, so I took my camera out to catch some of the sights. All of these pictures are from either Hampton, North Hampton or Rye. A few pictures are taken from the end of our… Read More Surf’s Up NH! – Sept 2021
Good morning, class. Good morning, class. Class? Class!? SHUT UP! Thank you. Now Sister Rosetta has informed me that your assignment for the last two months has been to write an essay entitled How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Who would like to read theirs before the class? Young man in the front row, please… Read More Summer of ’21
RUN! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… our kids found us! We have moved three times in the last few years, but they keep tracking us down! Next step… Witness Protection. We had Child Unit 1, Child Unit 2, and their significant others here at the cottage… Read More Invasion of the Child Units! – Aug 2021
For some reason, this weekend at TCPC (Tennessee Cumberland Plateau Campground) in Crossville, TN, made me think of Weekend at Bernie’s. No, there was no embezzlement, heroin overdoses, or mafia hitmen (that I know of!), although there were a few shady characters. But there was a lot of laughing. And the weather couldn’t have been… Read More Weekend at Bernie’s (TCPC) – May 2021
If you have come here for how-to tips, you are treading on thin ice. Our law firm, Weir, Gonnaugh, Gettum, Good advises us not to post advice of any kind. Nonetheless, this post is about converting to a single fuel source for our traveling purposes: propane. And more specifically, our last step – converting our… Read More Propane Generator Conversion – May 2021
Some of you suspect, and some of you know that I may lean towards, shall we say, the far side. But what say you of my bride? Considered Saint Karen by some, she is most often acknowledged as the kind, smart, normal one in our trailer. Well, she is all those things… but wait –… Read More Meow Wolf – Apr 2021
I had never heard of this place, but leave it to my bride to always find really cool places. Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, TX must be one of the biggest state parks in the country, is listed as the second largest canyon in the country, and clearly one of the most interesting… Read More Palo Duro Canyon – Apr 2021
If you are vegan, please stop reading now. You won’t find anything I say or do even slightly amusing or entertaining. You’ll just get the same feeling my wife feels about me. Many years back during a multi-city, multi-day marketing event, a colleague and good friend who shall remain nameless (Brian Giuffrida) nicknamed our marketing… Read More Carnivore Tour – Apr 2021
I’ll get to Goose Island in a second – bear with me. We are headed to see our kids, and we are jazzed! They moved away. Now we go to them. You can run, but you can’t hide from your parents. Our trip to see our son in Denver begins in Atlanta and heads towards… Read More Goose Island – Apr 2021
I believe this is the last of my letters home to my parents from our cross-country trip in 1975, from Boston to Denver (the long way). Some of our experiences from this trip are lost in the rubble, some are reflected in these letters, and some are only vaguely remembered. One such vaguely remembered incident… Read More Road Trip ’75 (part 3) – Mar 2021
Here is part 2 of our road trip from 1975, as portrayed in another letter (from October 1975) written to my parents at the time about our cross-country travels, with my buddy David Trainor. What is amazing is the level of detail In these letters, points which I could only generalize were it not for… Read More Road Trip ’75 (part 2) – Mar 2021
The other day I found an old letter I had written to my parents from a cross country trip I was taking with my good buddy David Trainor in his 1967 Buick Special back in 1975. Think of the letter (below) as a travel blog – before there were blogs… or travel… or intelligent life… Read More Road Trip ’75 – Mar 2021
Crown jewel. That’s what Oscar Shearer is to the Florida State Park system. Located in Osprey, FL (near Venice on the west coast), this is a flat-out great state park, and it really is a beautiful cocoon away from the hustle and bustle. We may not be the only ones who think that – just… Read More Oscar Shearer State Park – Feb. 2021
The new year has started, and, yes, we are out on the road – albeit without any social plans, dinners out, friends, or family until things get better. We pulled the “Get Out of Cold Weather” card, and decided to head to Florida for a few weeks – warm up a bit. I know Georgia… Read More Head’n South – Jan 2021
I thought I’d share a little holiday/Christmas story. Maybe it’s not so little, but there is a treat for you at the end. I won’t be insulted if you skip to the end. But what kind of person does that make you? Probably like me. This story is really about the world-famous (??) Flintlock, a… Read More A Christmas Story – Dec 2020
2020 has been the worst year ever – right? Watching 2020 unfold was like watching porn. First it was titillating, then it felt unseemly, and lastly you got a sinking feeling in the pit in your stomach like you get two minutes after wolfing down a quarter pounder and large fry. No happy ending, so… Read More 2020 in Review – Dec 2020
Thanksgiving won’t be the same this year with Covid; limited or no travel, no big gatherings – I think we all know the list of “not that”. We won’t be with our kids this year – first time ever. Nevertheless, it is a time for thanks! We will be doing a Zoom call with the… Read More Thanksgiving Retro Style – Nov 2020
Any excuse to go see your kids is a great excuse. We didn’t need an excuse, so off to Denver we went, since it was right on our way to… well, Denver. Queue whisper-like Nat Geo voice: “Here you see the Child Unit in its’ native habitat.” We camped at our go-to campground, Cherry Creek… Read More Denver – Oct 2020