Things I Like....Confessions of a Happy Glamper

So....it appears that my WBCCI Unit Prez has decided that I should write a column for our newsletter.  Sounded like a good idea to me since I don't seem to be at a loss for words!!  Right now I have enough columns ready to publish to take me into calendar year 2011!!!

Attached is my first column, scheduled for publication in the next week or so. Hope you enjoy!!

THINGS I LIKE....

Confessions of A Happy Glamper

Hi...for those of you who haven’t met me, I’ve been a member of the Oregon Unit for almost three years.  I’m the girl who showed up at rallies for the day, without an AS, waiting desperately for the time that our renovation was complete.  My husband Doug & I, along with many friends & an incredibly skilled craftsman, lovingly restored a flood-damaged ’69 Trade Wind Land Yacht.

I love taking our trailer out, love being able to fully participate in a rally & not leave when the fun was just getting started, & absolutely adore the members of our Unit.  But I also have another love - filling our lovely AS with very fun, colorful, sometimes functional   & sometimes not, things - lots & lots of things!!!

This is the first of a series of columns where I’ll share with you some of the Things I Like - from the perspective of a woman who never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would own an trailer Airstream, much less  count the days until she could hit the road again!!!    Welcome to my happy & sometimes over-the-top world of Glamping (Glamour Camping). 

I realize that when you camp things get dirty - particularly in the NW with all of those pine needles & a hound dog that sheds constantly.  I was driving myself crazy constantly sweeping &, while that foldy Swiffer thing is nice, it’s a pain taking it apart & putting it back together.  After much research (ok, I knew what I wanted - just needed to make it appear to be Doug’s idea) I purchased the Dyson Animal Hand Vac.   So sleek, so progressive & so perfect.   At $270*, it’s so not cheap & some would think its 6-minute charge is too short - but for me Doug it’s absolutely perfect!!

*I’ve discovered a way to purchase it a little cheaper - send me an email at hipvintagefusion@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Happy travels - 

Mona

Isn't She Lovely...Isn't She Wonderful....

....isn't she precious...less than one summer old....I never thought AS owner's we'd be....Saving one as lovely as she.....But isn't she lovely made from love?

I hope Stevie will forgive me for some slight modifications to one of his beautiful songs...it just kept playing over and over in my head as I was thinking about this post.

I just started a Twitter account for our WBCCI Unit and, while looking for people to follow I came across several which were accounts of AS renovations.  In each one it was clear that the owner's had a clear vision of what they wanted their AS to look like when the work was done, were passionate about doing the job correctly, and...although I'm sure they were anxious to get out on the road...didn't seem willing to rush and/or compromise their vision.

In preparation for a photo shoot with our friend Taylor, we gave our beauty a good cleaning (like she really needed it since I'm compulsive about keeping her spotless!).  The weather didn't cooperate - to be expected in November in the Pacific NW - but oh, does our AS look lovely:

Always the Glamper Girl

Our new 75th Anniversary screen guard

Hmmmm....cover girl?  someday!!!

The view from the bedroom 

The "Bed Pod"

Oh yes I did mix my designers!!!

Cocktails, anyone? 

These vases were our color inspiration 

Mid-century modern at it's finest

and just for the fun of it...a little reminder of where we started:

And we were thinking what exactly???

I think I need a drink....NOW!!!

Cheers to all of you out there committed to your vision...whatever your beauty!

M

Introducing.....Miss June

Wow - it's been forever since I updated my blog....coincidentally the last time I did was right before our AS renovation was complete.  Since then it's been a whirlwind - we introduced our beauty with a Trailer Warming Party at our home; co-hosted our first Unit Rally and had an incredible opportunity to have our AS featured in a photo shoot for a pin-up girl calendar!

Talk about a small world:  I meet an incredible woman named Janele at the Nordstrom Mac counter...she stays in my life and does my makeup for our wedding....she has a friend Taylor who needs to use a vintage trailer for a photo shoot and just like that...our AS is participating in her first - and hopefully not last - photo shoot!!  

The location Taylor picked was pretty cool with an abandoned industrial feel, the model was stunning (and of course another Nordy Mac girl), our AS seemed to sit a little more confidently...particularly after we installed her WBCCI numbers,  and my husband Doug and I couldn't have been more proud of the work, creativity and commitment it took for us...and our beloved friends/contractor...to bring our dream to life.

Take a look at images from the photo shoot (attached)...plus a silly photo of my husband running through the shoot.   For the 2011 Dogs & Kittens Calendar click here.

Stay tuned for updates on our Glamping adventures

Mona

At This Point.....Why Not?

Just to make it really clear........I'm not frugal - I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!!!!

I like nice things - actually I LOVE nice things.  Definitely been an interesting process restoring our '69 Tradewind - I'm the Glamper Girl and my hubby is happy in his Coleman Pop-Up (mancamping at it's finest).  As we get closer to the end of our restoration journey we seem to have become even more free-spirited in expanding our long-expired budget.  My Nelson clock, his (ok mine but he thinks it's his idea) new TV, my crazy sick eBay glasses, his.........uh, man stuff - tools, sanders, did I mention tools? 

But when my sweet, patient, hard-working hubby decided to replace the original belly-pan (which btw was holding a significant amount of really gross stinky flood water dirt in it's bowels) with Diamond Plate....really, how could I say no?

Yup...I said it.....our AS has a Diamond Plate Butt....at this point why not?

That Familiar Orange Apron

Can I Help You Find Anything?

Until a few years ago, I couldn't find my way around a Home Depot with a map!!  I'm the goofball who took my electric screwdriver in asking for "the other drillbit"...not realizing that you could just take out the Regular bit and flip it around...poof, there's the Philips!!  I'm pretty sure they're still repeating that story at my local HD

After innumerable trips to the three local HD stores near our trailer storage I've channeled my inner fashionista and can find my way, almost blindfolded, to the item "the boys" sent me to get.....and if I can't, those very nice people who wear the Orange Apron are there to point me in the right direction.

I've always loved the feel, and smell, of hardware stores so to me, HD is just a HUGE hardware store dipped in Orange.  A big thank you to each and every one of the always smiling, always helpful employees who helped me when I came in holding some random piece of electrical equipment I needed to replace - your approachability...and the fact that you don't just point but rather take me to where I needed to go was much appreciated by this Renovation Rookie.

Well How You Doin' Mr. Nelson?

......said the Airstream to the clock.  From the day a friend...or maybe I should call her an enabler...slipped the Design Within Reach catalog with the DWR Bambi on the cover under my office door....I vowed that, if we ever owned an AS, it would have a MUCH more hipster clock than the silly sputnik in the DWR version.

DWR....consider yourself out-hipstered.  We have the perfect wall space reserved for Mr. Nelson - he's the thread that ties all of the color and design inspiration together.  There's considerable competition tho....the black Herman Miller molded-plastic chair from Dania...kinda diggin' it more than the new ones which so do not have the whole fiberglass thing going on, the Russel Wright Eclipse glassware collection discovered on eBay (yes, I really did set my alarm for 2:30 am to make sure I won THAT bid)....and the piece de resistance, the abso-frickin-lutely amazing kidney-shaped couch from our neighborhood Kitchen Kaboodle store!!!

Tick-Tock

Less than two weeks until the formal "coming-out" party for our beauty.......with honorable guests like Nelson, Miller, Wright in attendance - nothing can outshine their brilliance like our AS "Godfathers":   Vermouth, Joshie, Brian, Shane, Don Wayne, Tod....and, most importantly, Greg and my hubby Doug

Time flies.......

LIGHTS....CAMERA....ACTION!!!!

I FEEL LIKE I'M DREAMING...


It's amazing when you work and work and work and then look up to find that your vision is coming to life exactly how you planned.  Over the last few weekends every time we step into our AS that vision and the dream get closer to being reality!! 


There have been so many big, time-consuming, never-ending projects: updating the electrical, installing the new interior skins, the interior build - but finishing each one just meant there was another looming.  Who would have thought that crossing off final punch-list items could be so monumental? Interior trim, kickplates, drawer and cabinet handles - this last 10% is the most rewarding but seems to be taking the longest time to finish.


LET THERE BE LIGHT


Holy cow - I think we've owned these lights for months, maybe even a year.  Each new visitor to Area 51 (our code name for the AS garage) gets a special preview of the absolutely gorgeous lights purchased from Lux Lighting in Portland.  They were then lovingly repackaged and placed back on the shift for that undefined "day in the future" when they would be installed, and working, in the AS.  That day is here - the two dimmer switches (yup, I saw dimmer) work, the lights bring a soft, glow to the interior creating a sexy ambiance and I am officially a very happy girl!!


YOU GUYS ROCK


Snaking the 120v wiring through the along the top spine of the trailer was one of the two hardest things the guys (my darling husband Doug and our equally darling friend Josh) had to do - they pushed back at first knowing the amount of work ahead of them but then, maybe after a few beers, they decided to surprise me voila!!   

This Isn't What We Signed Up For

at·ti·tude

noun

• the position or posture assumed by the body in connection with an action, feeling, mood, etc.:
• a manner of acting, feeling, or thinking that shows one's disposition, opinion, etc.:
• one's disposition, opinion, mental set, etc.
• AERON. the position of an aircraft or spacecraft in relation to a given line or plane, as the horizon
• BALLET a position in which one leg is raised with the knee bent and the arms are extended
• SLANG  a quarrelsome or sullen disposition or temperament
• SLANG a posture or pose of being cocky, haughty, etc.

It's all about how you approach things, it's about choice, seizing the opportunity and doing the right thing.....basically, it's all in the attitude.


Our First Trailer:

The first trailer my husband and I owned was a darling little 16' Shasta - a turn-key piece of nostalgia.  We searched and searched and finally found her in Warrenton, OR - all we needed to do was add our personal touches and we hit the road.  We met some pretty amazing people along the way, all of whom wanted to step inside and share their memories of family camping trips.  We were welcomed at rallies by almost everyone - mostly the group of people I'll call "have-nots"...meaning those who did not have an Airstream...at least that was our impression based on the attitudes of the "haves".  We drove all the way from Hillsboro to almost the Canadian border for our first official rally - fellow Shasta owners had saved us a space near them and we tucked right into the crowd.  It was a pretty awesome time - we met some amazing, fun-loving Canadians who we're still in touch with today as well as got the chance to see a myriad of vintage travel trailers.  Aside from the Canadians, did I mention how much fun they were?, all of the other AS owners seemed to keep to themselves - no big, we loved owning a SOB!!

Our innocence quickly ended - during the open house at our first big rally some people came through our Shasta and essentially burst our bubble..."oh, you have so much work to do", "where will you start?" weren't what us as proud parents wanted to hear!!  We left not sure if we'd ever attend another of those rally things....and pretty sure we didn't want to be "one of those people" who owned an AS!!

Fast Forward:

Here we are today...owners of a '69 AS Trade Wind which we've been lovingly restoring - ok, so we were in denial...nothing wrong with changing your mind!!  Proud members of the WBCCI, we joined our local Unit almost immediately after we became offical owners.  We've attended breakfasts, holiday brunches, often driving to rallys for the day just to see our newfound friends and their AS.  My husband Doug and I respect the rich heritage of the WBCCI club and it's members...and make it a point to drive through Land Yacht Harbor in Lacey, WA and wave at anyone we see whenever we're in the area.  We've spent countless hours scouring the internet admiring other AS restorations and trying to convince our friends that they too need to become "one of those people".    I've been an advocate for change - realizing that we need to find a way to connect with the next generation of owners - developing a Facebook page for our Unit and thrilled to co-host my first official AS rally.  Along the way I've realized something's not right in the bigger WBCCI org...lot's of malcontent, distrust and outdated ways of running a business....up until now I've just steered clear of that.  

Up Until Now:

Someone please explain to me if you can how, in an era where leadership is maturing, membership is dwindling and the economy is unstable, we can turn our backs on someone simply because they aren't a WBCCI member?  When I heard from a new and trusted friend that a single, 60-ish year old woman from TX who is in town visiting family, asked to join a  caravan to the International Rally in Gillette, WY so that she could travel in safety...and then heard that a long-time member of the WBCCI said "no she can't join our caravan because she's not a member" I thought wtf?

This isn't what we signed up for:

If this is the mindset of the organization Doug and I have joined, if we would rather turn away from a non-member rather than do the right thing (and maybe recruit new members along the way) then we've made the wrong choice.  Our numbers aren't on the trailer yet, nor is the Wally Byam sticker.  We can take it or leave it - what we won't do is become "one of those people".  It's all in the attitude.....I don't think Wally would approve.