Wednesday, April 28 This was supposed to have been the weekend of Urban Air in Logan, Ohio (Wake Up Downtown) – but the “city fathers” decided that current COVID rules would not be politically correct for this town-sponsored event. Organizer Kirk came up with a Plan #2, and arranged a group campout at nearby campground Campbell’s Cove. This is not a NOVA event, although a lot of NOVA peeps are planning to hang out for the weekend. It is a celebration of Airstreamers that won’t give up the dream of “Wake Up Downtown.” We were on the road by 10:00 – 73 degrees and hazy. As we jumped on I-270 on the north edge of Columbus, we got a call from John & Suzie and computed that they were just 5 minutes behind us! We slowed down, hoping that we would hook up with them south of the Columbus traffic. Sure enough – 20 miles before we reached Logan we saw them hustling down the highway towards us – then passing us and taking the lead on into Campbell’s Cove. Campbell’s Cove is a newish campground – actually oldish, bought by new owners and renovated. We were located in the newest part of the campground (full hookups with brand new concrete pads, fire pits, and outdoor grills) which rapidly filled up with Airstreams during the afternoon. John and Suzie brought their 1965 Globetrotter – renovated, renewed, restored and refurbished! It is such a mixture of old-style looks . . . with all modern and significant functional parts. There were several other 1960ish Airstreams present and the campground was a nice mixture of new vs. Vintage Airstreams. John hosted a rib-fest and everyone brought side dishes and, as usual, there was more food than what could be eaten. My pictures focused on the food this time – rather than the people! Tom and I contributed BBQ chicken wings, and Tom fried up some Amish onion fritters for everyone! At 8:00 thunder was heard and a check of radar showed that the major storm was south of us, but probably would bring light rain for a few hours. It only took 10 minutes to clean up and evacuate to our individual trailers. John said good-bye to everyone from his lit-up '65 Globetotter. Tom and I sat out for a while enjoying the rain on the awning and the coolness that it brought. It turned out that the rain drizzled all night, and the inside of the Silvermine was decidedly dampish. We solved that problem by closing all the windows and turning on the air-conditioning. Thursday, April 29 Tom was up to water the dogs at 6:30, and then back to bed. At 8:45 we hustled out of bed and joined a crew going in to breakfast at Logan’s M&M’s Family Diner. Nothing had changed much at M&M's since we were there 12 days ago! We were back to the campground at 11:00 – still drizzling. More Airstreams continued to arrive and I climbed the steep, slippery, grassy hill directly behind us to get some overview pics of the view of our loop. Remember, this is just our section of the campground, and there are Airstreams in two other sections. By 5:00 it was still raining, but Tom said this was the last downpour and it would be clearing up at 6:00! It did clear up, but everything was damp and soggy outside, and there was not much incentive to cook and eat outside. It seemed that everyone was doing their own thing, and we called on Alan and Carie and went to a Mexican restaurant across from the campground. It was nice to be away from the camper for a while, and by the time we were back the rain was over! A propane fire pit was set up in the middle of the gravel circle, and that gave people the motivation to come outside and celebrate in the evening! To top it off, there was a nice sunset. Friday, April 30 Bright sunshine early in the morning called for a big breakfast bash. Grills, tables, chairs and breakfast-makings hit the gravel circle and the chefs went to work doing order-up for anyone that showed up! A lot showed up! The morning remained beautiful and some chose to continue to enjoy it sitting outside, and some took off on discovery missions. Tom and I found a nearby antique mall and a craft store, and those took an hour to investigate. Then we went downtown and hit up the “Homegrown” store that has items all made by local artisans. I scored a beautiful and unique bead bracelet! Afternoon was down-time for us – walking the dogs and enjoying being outside. At 1:30 a few big gusts of wind had Tom putting the awning away, and a very dark grey sky and sprinkles had us ducking inside. Nothing more materialized from that, except that people that came back to the campsite said it had poured buckets of rain in town – just 2 miles away! Urban Air (which was cancelled this year) was to have had a new component – an art show of middle-school-aged kid-art featuring Airstream trailers. This was not able to happen as planned in the airstreams-parking-downtown venue, but Kirk did arrange a showing and judging of the artwork right out here at our campground. At 5:00 we marched up to the main campground building and viewed all the creations. They were just wonderful! Tom and a few other guys, were late arrivals to the art showing -- and cheated by hitching a ride up the hill! From the high patio of the Campground Office we overlooked the area of the campground where the Silvermine (and friends) were parked. Tom and I had Cornish hens, reheated in the trailer for supper, and sat out until 8:00. It was lightly windy, and the temperature was dropping quickly. We withdrew into the Silvermine! I’ll close the night with a few pictures of our little puppy buddies! Saturday, May 1 Out of bed to a beautiful and sunny morning . . . and it stayed like that all day long! We ate breakfast in the trailer and popped out of the trailer to see breakfast being grilled in the circle drive! Our goal was to take a little tour of a state park in the area . . . for future reference. Lake Hope was a convenient circle road-trip of about 60 miles. The drive full of dips and twists on a very narrow paved road . . . with no shoulders. I don’t know if Mario/TOM was dreaming he was behind the wheel of the MG, or if he was practicing for truck races. Either way, he thoroughly enjoyed his time behind the wheel. We drove the whole campground area at Lake Hope State Park; there were limited campsites where we might be able to park the Silvermine, but even the road getting back to those campsites was a bit risky. There was a dining lodge that we walked into, considered the lunch menu, decided that it might be a long wait . . . and left. Driving through the rest of the park we saw small cabins, very large cabins, the lake, and a variety of other park facilities. On the way back, we missed a turn and took a 40-mile detour before getting back to Campbells Cove at 1:30. The day remained perfectly lovely and many sat outside. We broke out the button flower vases again and several sat about crafting. I pulled my chair close to the table, and reclined, closed my eyes, and opened my ears to hear all the random discussion. At 2:00 Alan treated anyone interested to pizza, and John grilled them up in his pizza oven. At 6:00 I made sausage beer/cheese queso and served it up along with other snack food that showed up on the community table. Not exactly a full-fledged pot-luck, but plenty to take care of everyone before heading up for the concert. There was a gathering of musicians on the large outdoor patio that overlooked our airstreams. Tom left to hook up (via text-message) with Micah and Caleb to follow the INDY car race in Arlington, TX. I had Pippa with me, but she was snuggled deep down in her new best friend Ed’s coat! Eventually I reclaimed Pippa and went down to check on the race progress. A little group of us got loud enough to crash the patio music, not knowing that the hillside funneled our loud talking and laughing right up to the top to the song-fest! RUDE! That was pretty much a wrap for Tom and I, although I am sure that there was the usual campfire crew into the evening. Our goal was to be off by 9:00 in the morning, get home and clean up, and meet Caleb and Halie for dinner! A perfect end to a weekend!
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Thursday, April 22 Tuesday night it snowed 3” in Van Wert! Wednesday it mostly melted. This morning we headed out at 9:30 and 34 degrees for the Mark Wahlberg Rally. This rally has history and is a NOVA tradition and hosted by John and Suzie Couger. The idea is to set up camp on the show lot of the Wahlberg (formerly Haydocy) Airstream & RV lot in Columbus. By partnering with the dealership our NOVA members give live action to the Airstream lifestyle. As people come to look at the Airstream produce on the lot, they can also see what draws members together for group campouts. We arrived at 12:30, and at 1:00 it was snowing . . . hard! Big, wet, flakes were gusted by a brisk wind – more like February than April. Five friends had already claimed a parking spot in the Wahlberg side lot for the weekend, and we settled into the row next to Larry. We knew this surprise snow would be over quickly, and most of us enjoyed the novelty! Meanwhile the Airstreams kept arriving! By late afternoon most of the urban campers had arrived and the Wahlberg staff worked hard to give everyone access to electricity. The dealership had recently completed an addition to their showroom and there was plenty of room for a social circle inside where it was warm. At 5:00 Happy Hour started (drinks provided by Wahlberg) and sales-guru Eric Davis welcomed and addressed the group. At 6:00 host John Couger carted out his smoked, pulled, pork and coleslaw and chips, and the social talk gave way to . . . eating. Trailer count, 14. People count, 25ish. Friday, April 23 John, assisted by Tom, fired up the grill for breakfast orders promptly at 8:00: eggs to order, French toast, and bacon, on behalf of hosts John and Suzie. After breakfast it was warm enough to attempt some outside camping: small groups gathering and regrouping and enjoying Airstream talk. Tom and I had a White Castle break for lunch – no service inside, and the drive-thru window was at least a 30-minute wait. Worth it! Middle afternoon three “NOVA Jammers” set up equipment in the show room and kept live music coming at a steady rate to accompany the afternoon assembly. Dinner was a pot-luck with everyone subsidizing John’s Greek Grilled Chicken. As always happens at these dinner gatherings, the side dishes were a great variety and plentiful. Tom ducked around getting pictures of everyone. Starting off the picture line-up is Eric, proudly wearing his dad's blue beret -- from WAY BACK WHEN! I heard rumors that a late-night faction stayed up until 2:00 a.m. Personally, I wouldn’t know anything about that! Saturday, April 24 Morning sun and warm enough to sit outside for breakfast! Not as many people crawled out to enjoy John's eggs and pancakes, but John and Tom stood grill duty and ordered up for anyone who wanted. Today was the day that Wahlberg had advertised for people to come and look at Airstreams, view the trailers they had on hand . . . and observe the camping lifestyle we throw together. Many couples walked around and talked to us and then entered the dealership to talk silver with the sales people. I wish I knew how many sales NOVA can take credit for! Early afternoon Suzie set up a craft table and many gathered around to create a little budding vase of flowers from buttons Lunch, Jimmy Johns subs and trimmings, was provided by Wahlberg. As we gathered for happy hour a light-hearted atmosphere set in, and much of it centered around the cardboard cut-out of Marky-Mark – who was by now our best bud.. A couple of unnamed girls started it, leading to a gang of girls jumping in. Mr. Wahlberg was prepped for a night of entertainment and many claimed a photo-op. Later, after Eric passed out hats to everyone, another gang picture was taken. An Italian dinner kicked off the evening of entertainment at 6:00, getting everyone in the mood for a grand finale for the rally. (I guess I was too busy eating to get pictures of the food spread!) Wahlberg associate Hamilton hosted a trivia game to warm up the evening . . . with prizes! For good measure, a little birthday celebration was held for birthday-boy Dan -- with CAKE and singing! Then, the evening's entertainer was introduced and he spent 3 hours engaging this NOVA audience. It took about 1 minute for two-time EMMY Award winning composer and performer Dave Powers to win over our audience. Dave is a pianist, keyboardist, vocalist, and entertainer all wrapped up into one dynamite artiste. His vast repertoire excited every person that was there regardless of age or music genera preference. He kept it up for 3 hours! Somehow my little Pippa Joy was introduced to Dave, and he proceeded to hold Pippa with one hand, play the keyboard with the other hand and serenade her with little Pippa-proper songs! The rally pretty much ended on that note . . . and it will go down in history as one of the all-time great NOVA events. Thanks go to John and Suzie Couger, NOVA hosts and all of the staff of the Mark Wahlberg Airstream & RV Dealership.
Wed April 14 None of the early camping trips that we had hoped for during the last month materialized, and we were anxious to head out of the driveway this morning for our first rally of the season. Tom planned this rally at Hocking Hills State Park –“Spring is in the AIRstream.” Cooler weather has moved in this week, but highs in the upper 50s/lower 60s are acceptable, and rain is not predicted. Our two little travel pals, supervising from the back of the sofa, knew that something was up as we carried last minute supplies to the Silvermine. At 9:00 we waved goodbye; our first destination was Pastime Park in Dublin, OH. The drive was delicious with budding and flowering trees and the light green that means spring is fully here. Pastime Park has large open areas of lush grass where we walked the dogs and let them run free a bit. We searched out a Chipotle for lunch, and then ran a few errands – making a quick stop at a friend’s house. Back at the camper we sat outside and enjoyed reading and naps in strong sunshine and 64 degrees. We ate dinner at a Beer Barrell enjoying the liberty of emerging from Covid restraints Thursday, April 15 With a mid-morning departure and only 80 miles to drive, we arrived at Old Man’s Cave before noon. Two airstreams were already installed, and we pulled in and added to the line-up. All afternoon there were new arrivals and everyone was busy establishing a home base for the next 4 days. One arrival presented a problem with a very bent and broken hitch. The pro-pride hitch was completely removed and the plan was to go to Walmart, buy a standard ball hitch, and install it this weekend. By happy-hour we had 9 Airstreams present and in full camping mode. At 6:00 we gathered in low 40ish degree weather with three bio-lite fire pits and ate a taco feast. Tom issued a welcome and called on each present NOVA officer to speak. We had a great presentation of upcoming rallies, and things quickly broke up as people hustled to the warmth of the Airstreams. Friday April 16 Morning for everyone started – whenever they wanted. There was no plan for a big breakfast, and no rush to get going in the morning. A group of 11 left the campground on foot at 10:00 and followed a path down to the main Gorge Trail and to the Visitor’s Center. At that point the trail become a one-way loop hike with a descent into the chasm where the carved rock and water wonders were captivating. We stopped frequently for group pictures, individual pictures --- ANY REASON to stop for a moment! The steep ups and downs of the trail, including several sections of staircase, were hard on my knee going down . . . and equally hard going back up. We were back for lunch at noon-thirty; I took a shower and Tom went into town on a mission with several of the guys. Two more Airstreams arrived in the afternoon, bringing our grand total to 11 ‘streams and 22 ‘streamers. This rally was also a Grand Opening for baby Carlee . . . 6 months old and ready to Aistream. Dressed in an Airstream shirt, a lumberjack plaid vest, and silver shoes – she was all eyes and cute faces as she met this gathering of grandmas and grandpas! By late afternoon we were all emerging from our Airstreams and laying plans for dinner. A group at our campsite had hamburgers on the grill, topped with fried Amish Onion Fritters and sprinkled with blue cheese crumbles. An evening campfire was lightly attended as many again retreated inside from the cold! Never have an Amish Onion Fritter? Give ‘em a try: Chop 2 ½ cups of onions and add ¾ cup of milk Mix dry ingredients together then add to the onions: 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 Tablespoon cornmeal 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/-2 teaspoons salt Batter should be thick. Fry in a pan with ½” hot oil until golden brown and crisp. Eat plain or serve on top of burger of steak . . . add a few Blue Cheese crumbles! Bet you can’t eat just one! Saturday, April 17 New day – new plan . . . a trip into Logan. A long-time favorite of our Logan visits is the M&M Family Restaurant, and owner Michelle. With a plan to leave the campground at 9:45, we didn’t know if we would arrive in time for breakfast or lunch – but it didn’t make much difference to anyone. It turns out we were there for breakfast . . . and we arrived before the crowd. There were 14 of us, and Michelle welcomed us like the favorite friends we always think we are. Afterwards the girls made a quick stop in a downtown boutique, and each scored. The afternoon hike was to The Rock House – thirteen hikers strong and we grabbed a group-shot at the start of the trail! I also recorded a great picture of daddy Chris with baby Carlee strapped on for her first hike. Very aware of what was going on, she peeked out of her chest pouch to take it all in. It is a short hike, but the steps carved from stone were awkward, precarious and steep. The grotto structure, tucked in the hillside, is indeed a rock house with various, entranceways, chambers and windows. The loop trail climb back out of the hollow did not involve those treacherous stone steps – just a somewhat steep hiking trail. We all made it out in good shape; I know, because I brought up the rear to make sure everyone got out safely! Completely unpredicted (and uncalled-for,) at 3:30 the wind picked up, the temperature dropped, and it half-heartedly sprinkled. It was over by 5:00, leaving us in not-too-bad shape for our pot-luck dinner! Tom made two large pots of his “award-losing” chili and everyone brought sides: cornbread, sausage rolls, melon, cheeseball . . . strawberry shortcake and individual cheesecakes! We ate it all! Some ate around the picnic tables and some ate in their chairs, but all enjoyed the casual banter with Airstream buds. When I finally went inside for the night, one little camper was completely . . . OUT! Sunday April 18 Some were up early and off hiking, while others lingered around the campground in a beautiful sunny morning. Sadly, some were packing up and saying goodbye and heading for home. Only 4 hikers stuck to the morning hiking schedule, leaving at 10:00. I did a shower, walked the dogs, and joined a few good chat and goodbye sessions. The hikers did Cantwell Cliffs – a longer hike with very steep stone steps carved into the rock. They came back no worse for the wear, with descriptions and pictures that made the rest of us a little jealous. We batted around ideas for going out to eat on this last night, until John mentioned he had his pizza oven with him; a trip to the grocery could provide pizza for all! With not much fuss John whipped out 13 personal pizzas, individually custom crafted with all the toppings. The pictures show how enjoyable this was. Thank you John! A final campfire circle lasted 3 hours and grew smaller as the cold set in. The guys that finished it up were gathered in a tight ring around the Biolite fire and they held out until the last piece of wood was burned up. We left Monday morning by 9:00 and took the long-cut home via Cincinnati for a chance to see Micah. Turn-around time is going to be quick, as we unload and redo our packing approach for an urban campout in downtown Columbus on Thursday. Oh, and I need to mention that we have predictions of up to 4” of snow on Wednesday!
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Archives
October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |