This rally, Urban Air, is a whole new concept in Airstreaming – the chance to “Wake Up Downtown” in small town America! Urban Air is an opportunity to celebrate the iconic Airstream camper in an Americana atmosphere. As a town welcomes Airstreamers to invade the Main Street, park and camp, some wonderful things begin to happen. Read all about it! First it is necessary to position and profile the town of Logan, Ohio. Located in Hocking County, Ohio, on the Hocking River 48 miles southeast of Columbus, it is the gateway to the breathtaking Hocking Hills State Park. Old Man’s Cave, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, Conkle’s Hollow, Rock House – all are hikes and scenic views draw people to the area. The town itself is actively seeking ways to promote interest in their unique small-town lifestyle; thus they agreed to become a location for the Airstream Urban Air. The staging ground for this rally was at the Hocking County Fairgrounds where seven of our NOVA units gathered on Wednesday for an overnight. Parking together at the fairgrounds assured that we would park together on the city streets on Thursday! Present: Lou and Larry, Suzie and John, Tom and Ella, Mike and Sue, Dan and Dawn, Alan and Carie and Sue and Terry. That evening we walked 6 blocks to the downtown area for dinner, and returned to the fairgrounds for an above-ground-gas-powered-fire. Thursday morning by 9:00 the parade to town began! Airstreams trickled out of the fairgrounds for the short drive to the downtown area where the event hosts were waiting to direct our Main-street parking. We were in one of the first groups to leave, and our spots were pretty much smack-dab in the center of town. It was amazing to watch the volunteers manuever those rigs end to end and just inches from the city sidewalk. By 11:00 we were parked and unloaded and the truck was stowed in a nearby lot. By 3:00 all 75 Airstreams were parked, the streets were closed off, and everyone began to settle in for the duration. Thursday night, with all the Airstreams in place and the electricity turned on to power us up, there was a crock pot smorgasbord, followed by announcements, and mixing and mingling . . . in the street there was live music and plenty of socializing. That’s what Urban Air is all about! When the music ended at 10:00, there were plenty of little pop-up bands that gradually drifted together for a mid-street jam session. All broke up by 11:00. Friday morning was our designated day for hiking for the Old Man’s Cave trail system. Tom, Sue, Charlie Button and I were on the trail by 8:30, headed down into the gorge. The trails were blissfully clear of other people, and we were down, through, and out before the traffic picked up – back to Main Street by 11:30! We met back up with our urban group and did our civic duty by patronizing a downtown eatery . . . and a few stores. Actually, we ate and shopped all weekend long! Everywhere we went, it was like being a celebrity with business owners welcoming us and thanking us for coming. Of course, we were busy applauding them in return for hosting us! A stone’s throw from our trailer was a large Adult Beverage Oasis tent and the town Gazebo . . . every night it cranked up with live entertainment. As the sun went down the above-ground fire pits came out in the middle of the streets and the circle of come-together musicians geared up. With a little practice they were able to hash out some good music for several hours every night! On Saturday the “pimp your blimp” decorating contest took over the streets as trailers began decorating with the “Appalachian Trailer” theme. Several of our NOVA trailers joined in! I started with a picture display of my 3-generation-family in Appalachia, and inspired by that I began pulling out dusty artifacts from the attic, basement and garage. Very quickly I had enough stuff for a presentable little outdoor, Appalachian exhibit. Up and down the street, people displayed their Appalachian side in a variety of different ways. The townies came out to help vote by stacking canned goods by their favorite display, and the local food pantry was the ultimate winner. The winner of the contest was our own NOVA Redneck - John Cougar! His General Store Front Porch display was about as real as Appalachia gets . . . on the city streets! Saturday evening concluded the Urban Air with entertainment, presentations, , tributes, awards, and honors . . . and a whole lot of hand-shaking, back-slapping, and some promises to do it again next year. Sunday Tom and I were not able to pull off our quick get-away -- first in . . . last out! We watched as the Airstreams at the end of the street were hooked up and pulled out to be on their way. While one unit was hooking up, all the other trailer jockeys was standing around watching -- no pressure! Tom completed a perfect back-up the first time!
There is not much time for a turn-around as we will be heading out again on Thursday for the annual Haydocy Rally -- another Urban experience!
2 Comments
Mike
5/6/2018 02:23:58 pm
Excellent capture of the event. Thanks Ella
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Suzie
5/6/2018 05:56:59 pm
Wonderful pictures Ella, showing the fun weekend perfectly! Always love camping with you guys 💞
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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 |