Sunday, July 24 There have been many pictures of the Airstreams taken by drones, and I am slipping this one in my blog! It was taken by Diane Ruby Titche and was posted on the Fryeburg Facebook page! The big news this morning was that the “honey wagon” was making its way down our row of Airstreams. The news spread, and everyone hustled to finish up in the bathroom (!) and run all the water they wanted for cleaning! It is such a nice, fresh, feeling after having our grey/black tanks fully discharged! The gals and guys running this business are HEROES to everyone at the rally! Another group of HEROES are the men and women running the shuttle service all over the fairgrounds. They keep going and going, and there is very little reason to walk from the far reaches of the Fairgrounds to the center of the activities. NOVA member Jamie is pulling a large tractor-shuttle with room for lots of people! Other shuttles are golf-carts. The Region 4 Brunch was at 11:00; we went down early to walk around the flea market on the inside of the race track. It was already starting to get uncomfortably hot, and the building hosting the Brunch was uncomfortable with no breeze. We ate quickly and then left for a run to get some grocery items. WalMart was airconditioned! At 2:00 we went down to watch the Pet Show in the Livestock Arena. The poor dogs (and owners) were very hot while they waited for the show to get underway 25 minutes late. We left. I know there is more stuff to do in the afternoon and early evening – but with temperatures reaching 95 degrees – I cancelled everything else on my agenda . . . and on my blog! I include this picture of one hot doggie sportin' his Blue Beret with style!! Monday, July 25 It started sprinkling at 7:00 this morning, and by 8:00 it was pouring rain and flashing lightening. Tom made coffee and was sitting out under the awning by 7:30, and I joined him by 8:30 – it was wonderful. The NOVA President’s breakfast was to have been at 9:00, but with lightening in the area it was decided to be safe and reschedule for 11:30. I used some of the down-time to put Pippa up on the table and groom and trim, getting off a surprisingly large amount of hair. At 11:00 people started hustling around to cook the brunch foods just two trailers down from us, at 11:15 the smell of bacon filled the air, and at 11:30 brunch was served. About 30 people attended, and the social mingling lasted for a long time. The brunch was hosted by our NOVA President/First Lady Randy and Chris, aided by Cougers and other volunteers who stepped in to help cook! After eating, Randy gave the members a pep talk to thank volunteers, and encourage people to volunteer. Tom and I headed down to hear Pee Wee Schwamborn show slides and talk about his mother Helen Schwamborn. Helen was Wally Byam’s cousin, and she began the WBCCI club. During the early 50’s Helen was the only woman in management at Airstream with all the good ole boys. Before we left the campsite, we put the awning away because of predicted storms! At 5:00 Tom and I were both back at the Silvermine as a storm blew in. Within minutes there was pounding rain – not much wind – and lightening. Two Airstreams down from us, an awning broke under the heavy rain impact – the arm just snapped! As the rain cleared away, there were at least 8 people out assessing the situation and looking to shore it up until it could be fixed! byTuesday, July 26, 2022 Tom said it was 65 degrees when he woke up this morning – but by the time I was up and outside at 8:00, it was about 70 and climbing. Tom cooked breakfast and then we were off for a few sit-and-listen presentations. Justin Humphreys, Chief Operating Officer and VP of Sales at Airstream gave an update on Airstream and the RV industry. He had great slides and statistics and described how the Airstream company has been on a roller coaster of highs and lows in the last few years. Samantha Mart, Archivist/Historian and main force behind the new Heritage Center at Airstream gave a great presentation with slides of some of the features at the Center, while leaving much of it as a tease in order to not give it all away; we need to go see it! Tom and I ate a quick lunch and by noon we were in the next-door little town of Conway doing laundry . . . by 1:30 we were back! It seemed the right time to do a good cleaning and organizing of the inside of the Silvermine while we put clean clothes and bedding away! Wednesday, July 27 We began the morning with a “Tool Kit” presentation put on by NOVA’s own Mike Miller. He had a wonderful speaking manner in front of a captivated audience and covered every tool you might need for any little FIY emergency you might encounter. Many people were writing down everything he said! We dropped by the Fiber Arts building where people come and set up machines and work on their own personal projects throughout the day. Not many were there, but their works-in-progress were all sitting out on display. At 1:00 we went to the Maine Derby Tea Party – equipped with teacups and pearls! It was a beautifully staged event with waiters serving tea and a beautiful assortment of scones and biscuits and muffins on the tables. The highlight as a fashion show with costumes spanning a timeline from the roaring twenties flapper to the rocking 50’s poodle skirts! Carol and Randy came over for an impromptu cook-out; they had been wanting to see a Blackstone grill in use. They had ham steaks, we had tenderloin, and Tom did potatoes, onions, peppers, corn on the griddle and Carol and Randy added potato salad and slaw. It was a nice evening to sit out, but Carol and I went in early to prepare for our all-day trip tomorrow.
1 Comment
Michael Miller
7/30/2022 08:06:04 pm
As always Ella, you capture the scenes and tell the story. I enjoy your blog immensely.
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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 |