Mar 25 2018

Top 9 tow vehicle (F-250) posts… and much more!

Our 2006 F-250 4×2 Crew Cab Super Duty XLT diesel truck is a thriving star that has dependably pulled our Airstream trailer to our favorite beach, mountain and desert campsites in San Diego County for the past 10 years and yet, has only put on 22,728 miles, and now is looking for a new owner who will give it the same loving care (oil changes and service every 6 months by our local Ford dealership) as I have.

Its gleaming Silver exterior matches the Airstream trailer and together make a handsome, eye-catching couple.

Over these past 10 years this blog has documented how we use the trailer as well as its tow vehicle and the top tow vehicle posts are:

F-250 dual battery change

Our 2007 23′ Airstream Safari 10th Year Anniversary and Review

Tire pressure monitoring system

Tire pressure monitoring system II

TPMS – Update

Diesel power

Traveling and Pet Safety

Tiki time in the mountains

Fired up, and ready to go

But now our Airstream trailer has been sold and our special order 2018 Rav4 Hybrid Limited* just arrived and now its time to find a loving home for our silver F-250.

Breaking news: We just sold our 12-year old F-250 Super Duty truck for $21,000, a retention of 50% of its original value!

http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/ads/2006-f-250-4×2-crew-cab-super-duty-xlt-diesel/

See the article, “Diesel Truck Residual Values Rise With Mileage.”

Now back to our regularly scheduled program, Training the mind… focusing… and thriving.*

New episodes will be presented on my new blog: History Safari Expresso!

*This is a YouTube video.

Feb 04 2018

Top 11 Airstream care, maintenance and repair posts… and more!

This blog was started in 2008 to share our experiences camping with our 2007 Airstream Safari travel trailer, along with its care, maintenance, and repair. Website stats show that Airstreamers or Airstream enthusiasts come to this blog everyday to find information regarding over 10 years’ worth of Airstream-related subjects and care. Each blog page has a search window where specific topics can be searched and found. To further facilitate viewers’ most commonly sought after subjects, I have listed my all-time top 11 Airstream-related viewed webpages and their links:

Filiform corrosion

Wash, wax and treat II

RV refrigerator drain tube failure

Propane gas leak and summer reading

F-250 dual battery change

Quick, easy and safe RV refrigerator defrosting

Aye, there’s the rub rail

Getting my bearings…

Resealing our Airstream plumbing vent

10-year sealed battery requirement for smoke alarms!

Trailer awnings

Since the selling our trailer last August, we have moved on to new experiences that are now more appropriately conveyed in a blog that I had set up three years ago for this very purpose: History Safari Expresso, which has just been reawakened and now thrives as it takes over conveying our seasonal celebrations, holidays, meditations, outings, and the beauty we see around us.

I thank everyone who has viewed this blog over the years and I invite you to take a look at its successor, History Safari Expresso, and its new welcoming post, Hello World (Take Two), while relaxing with a hot cup of rich coffee, or a sip of wine!

Oh… There is one more thing…* The video encore: Chris Hadfield – Space oddity [SPACEX Falcon Heavy test]*

Cheers… and Thrive!

*This is a link to a YouTube video.

Jan 01 2018

January 2018 – Streamin’ new beginnings

Ten years ago we celebrated New Year 2008 at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park where I was presented the opportunity to be one of ten blogging contributors to Airstream Life Online Community.

My first History Safari Express blog post, “All Aboard…,” was launched on January 11, 2008, and began a 10 year odyssey of documenting how we used our custom-ordered 2007 Airstream Safari in southern California, while celebrating the seasons and meeting new friends.

Our Safari was built in 2006, the year Airstream was celebrating its 75th Anniversary.*

As we were celebrating New Year 2008, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park was celebrating its 75th Anniversary. In 1933, Federal land here was acquired as parkland by the State of California and the first California State Park Custodian was assigned (DesertUSA, “Anza-Borrego Desert State Park California). See the recent YouTube video, Anza-Borrego Tour.*

Ten years ago, I switched from a PC to a Mac* and acquired the MacBook Pro that I’m still using today!

We returned to Anza-Borrego in January 2008 where I explored Palm Canyon (Palm Oasis and Planet Earth).

Crossing the bridge from 2008 to 2018 has included profound ups (our marriage) as well as downs (passing of our pug Pau Hoa and corgi Mac). We take strength in remembering the words of Professor Albus Dumbledore, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light,”* from Steven Kloves screenplay for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.*

Happy and bright times in 2017 included taking our tricolor corgi Tasha on many San Diego Corgi Meetup outings (see photos) where she enjoyed showing off new collars and decorations made by Larry (who also made the jester’s collar for Sidney seen below).

I enjoyed visiting Kaiser Permanente’s new, beautiful, state of the art San Diego Medical Center,* dedicated to green design while providing excellent, integrated patient care as well as exciting career and volunteer opportunities.*

Old Man Winter was ringing in the New Year with Arctic air over much of the country as a hummingbird drank at our feeder while I wiggled my toes in sunny San Diego and listened to “The 2017 Song – A Year in Review La La Land Parody,”* sung by Tessa Netting!

*This is a link to a YouTube video.

Jun 01 2017

Our 2007 23′ Airstream Safari 10th year Anniversary and Review

We brought our new 2006 F-250 Super Duty truck to Southwest Coaches and picked up our custom-ordered 2007 23′ Airstream Safari Special Edition trailer in January 2007. (See video of similar model)*

We were in our 60s, recently retired and lived in San Diego, where our favorite desert, mountain and beach getaways were all within a two-hour drive. Camping in the comfort and style of an Airstream trailer made sense to us and we bought the largest one that could fit comfortably in our driveway!

This Airstream trailer was a custom order placed through Southwest Coaches, Irvine, California. It included two factory-installed solar panels, two FanTastic Fans, and the full awning package (awnings on all three sides).

The selling point for us is that this trailer has an L-lounge that extends into a large bed and, along with the rear bed, we and our two dogs sleep very comfortably! Next to a huge, 2-door wardrobe is a 5 cu. ft. refrigerator under a built-in microwave. And the many windows brighten the day inside!

The trailer comes with a dinette table that stows away in the nearby credenza.

The galley features a large lobster sink with underneath storage and a pull out pantry.

Storage is also provided above and below the Vanity Sink.

This article is the first in a series of postings that show details of the features of our trailer and truck and why they work so well for two people with two dogs. And why this trailer and truck combo is right at home at the beach or in the mountains and desert.

Gee, ain’t it funny how time just slips away.* (Willie Nelson)

*This is a link to a YouTube video.

Jul 01 2016

Great expectations: Nests, beasts, bread, books and America

The Nest Caravan trailer prototype, designed by Robert Johans, is a sleek, new trailer with a fiberglass monocoque body that does not sit on a steel frame, which makes this 16′ trailer lightweight (about 2000 pounds) and easily towed by a standard car! The Nest Caravan prototype has a queen size bed, large counter, vent fan, and a removable step bumper for the option to install a bike rack (see video linked above or photos here). See how Robert built the prototype: “Nest Caravans – Building a new FG trailer step-by-step.” Last spring, Robert sold his prototype and company assets to Airstream Inc., where he will assist Airstream to develop the Nest, expected to be launched by late 2017 or early 2018. I have great expectations that the proud and happy owners of this new trailer will enjoy the ease of towing, not worrying and dealing with filiform corrosion, having fewer, if any, leaks, saving money on tow vehicle fuel, and feeling good about going green (it has an integrated solar panel!). Future buyers and Fans of the Airstream Nest will not have to contemplate acquiring fantastic beasts to tow this trailer!

Surf’s up and time for keeping cool along the coast and doing summer reading, gardening, hiking, house and yard maintenance, and fun cooking!

For the centerpiece of my summer reading, I have great expectations in the New York Times Bestseller, Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow, which was the inspiration for the wildly successful Broadway musical Hamilton,* winner of 11 Tony Awards!

My expectations for making beautiful and delicious challah from scratch were fulfilled by Maggie Glezer’s “My Challah” recipe on page 94 of her wonderful book, A Blessing of Bread: Recipes and Rituals, Memories and Mitzvahs – “Modern-day takes on age-old recipes for challah, holiday breads, and everyday family breads from Ashkenazi, Sephardic, North African, and Near Eastern traditions, interwoven with joyous family stories, wise folktales, proverbs, and prayers.”

I have very great expectations this summer in the new writings of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books.

A new book, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One & Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script), will be published the day following the official stage production opening in London on July 30. Other new writings include, “Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” the second in a series of stories called History of Magic in North America,* written by J.K. Rowling as a prelude to the movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,* opening November 18, 2016!

Summer for us is a time for a staycation in happy San Diego with its many attractions and a time for sharing stories and cherishing memories of our Airstream camping adventures before its time to wash, wax, and treat our Airstream in the fall.

And as we approach the fall, we also have great expectations for “the miracle that is America” as reflected upon by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in their introduction to the performance of “Hamilton” at the 70th Annual Tony Awards!*

*This is a link to a YouTube video.

Encore: See and hear the creator and star of the Broadway musical, Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda sing the production’s opening number, “Alexander Hamilton,”* at the White House Poetry Jam, May, 12, 2009.