One thing I was determined to do with the Silvermine and His was to keep accurate records of our overnights spent and miles traveled. Here are some statistics from when we bought her on September 7, 2011 until today, November 22, 2012 . . . which means we have owned the Silvermine for a total of 412 days . . . or 1 year, 1 month, and 15 days! In that time we have spent exactly 100 nights tucked in her twinkie- shaped coziness. Nights have ranged everywhere from the mid 80 degrees (following a sweltering 104 day!) to well below freezing, and we have enjoyed thunderstorms and raging windstorms . . . all in climate-controlled comfort. Thanks to a very early spring in 2012 the only months that we have not camped in the Silvermine are December and January.
The Silvermine has left our driveway and returned safely again for a total of 30 separate outings. These include everything from a single one-night-stand to a 3-week continuous stretch on the road. She has racked up two extended traveling vacations – one including the Outer Banks of North Carolina, several southern Civil War battle sites, Grandma’s house in Texas, the Natchez Trace trail, and the Smokey Mountains National Park. Another involved exploring the trail the Mormons followed when exiting (after being kicked out of) Nauvoo, Illinois. While in our safekeeping she has added 13,266 miles to her wanderings and several upgrades to her ensemble. We have introduced her to former friends and, through Airstream association have made many new friends. She has camped with a variety of trailers: the vintage camper set, the TAB set, the RPOD set, and other Airstreams of all kinds. One of her best friends is an SOB (Airstream slang for Some Other Brand!) She has dry-camped, (without any type of hook-ups), boon-docked (in places not really a campground) coutesy camped (at the home of Aistream friends), and has also settled nicely into electric, water, sewer and cable services at resort locations. All in all she is a well-rounded little trailer – in more ways than just shape. Every once in a while, especially at Thanksgiving time (today!), I need to sit back and remind myself how very blessed we are to have developed such a network of friends through our pastime of camping!
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ROAD TRIP!!!!! Sisters Sharon Sigmon and Becky Martin, drove to our house from North Carolina on a mission to pick up the newly refurbished Coffee Cup trailer – a little 1970ish Scotty! The trailer itself was custom-fashioned to be Sharon’s “Sisters on the Fly” camper. Anyone that follows Sharon Sigmon’s blog, Postcards From The Road, already knows the story. But, for my ‘streamin’ friends, I suggest you read the story first-hand at Sharon’s blog: http://sharonspostcards.weebly.com/postcards-blog.html. You’ll want to scroll down and read the 4-day coverage in order from Tuesday – Friday! Probably, when you are done, you will want to spend some more time and go back through the archives of Sharon’s Postcard blog; it is a vision of pictures and a delightful telling of tales from her many travels. Then, don't forget to come back here and finish "my side of the story!" The destination for this road trip was Ynot Camper Restoration, located in Jackson, Michigan, just two hours straight North of Van Wert on Route 127. Proprietor Tony owns 60 - 70 vintage campers, and describes himself as a camper hoarder! He does not usually sell fully restored campers to the public, although he has a few vintage campers for sell "as is" and in need of total restoration. His business specializes in helping a customer scope out the campers on his lot, choose one, and then plan a restoration project with him to recreate a one-of-a-kind trailer. Sharon has been working on the Coffee Cup with Tony for over a year. Here are a couple pretty little projects that are being renovated at this time! Here is the star of our road trip -- The Coffee Cup! Sharon's little trailer is cuter than a small-town bistro and was ready to hit the road for the trip to her forever home in North Carolina. After 5 seasons of camping in her famous Splash-TAB trailer, Sharon is now ready to expand her camping agenda with this specialty-themed camper at Sister on the Fly happenings. Sisters are known for their love of vintage trailers and their inclination to "stage" their little travel homes inside and out with every imaginable kind of theme! If you have never heard of the Sisters on the Fly group, take a few minutes and check it out: http://www.sistersonthefly.com/ The end of the story hasn't happened yet -- as I write this I am waiting to hear from Sharon and Becky that The Coffee Cup is safe and sound in North Carolina and ready to begin her new life!
Some camping weekends are completely unplanned and just fall in place when perfect conditions unexpectedly pop up. The peak fall weather has passed, but looking ahead to this past weekend we saw a prediction of sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures and 0% chance of rain! Having never been to Alum Creek State Park and knowing that they were open throughout the winter, we made a last-minute decision for one more “final” camping weekend this season! If the goal is to enjoy 60-degreeish sunny weather in November, you could say we picked the right weekend from soon-to-arrive winter weather. Simple and low-key this trip required minimal packing and planning. The Silvermine’s water system had already been winterized, but a couple jugs of water would take care of our all our needs. Food was on the simple side and cooked at home and IPADs were loaded with books and movies for entertainment. The time-change made an impression as we were unable to leave at 4:00 and drive the 2 ½ hour trip to arrive before full darkness set in! The area of Alum Creek campground that was open was only about 1/3 occupied and there was a nice spot open across from the light of the bathhouse. In less than 30 minutes we were set up and eating hot chili in front of the campfire. Several times we commented about the great weather prediction with that promise of “0% chance of rain.” During the night when the thunder rumbled and the lighting flashed and the raindrops tapped on the roof, we were somewhat surprised, but not overly concerned. By morning the storm was long gone, the temperature was rapidly rising, the sun was out in full force, and the day was set to be a winner! We did a morning stint in the town of Delaware and checked out the numerous antique stores. Back at the campsite the weather was just perfect of an afternoon nap in the lounge-chair and walks around the campground with the dogs. All in all, for a low-key, unplanned weekend – it was the best! We were up early on Sunday, headed to a Waffle House for breakfast, and back home before noon! So ends our camping season for 2012 - - - or maybe NOT! |
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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 |