I've recently returned from a most wonderful vacation on the Olympic Peninsula. Like the majority of my vacations, this was taken with the Airstream, and its newly remodeled bathroom was wonderful.

The first night was spent in Olympia, down at the Airstream club, and after that we were off, traveling north alongside the Hood Canal.

That took us to Port Townsend where we had three wonderful nights in all. Our spot at Port Townsend was once again in the Marina this time we were on the very point at which the Puget Sound and the Straight of Juan de Fuca meet, with out little trailer stationed at the base of the light marking that spot. The water was perhaps 20 steps in front of the Airstream, perhaps 5 steps to its side, the ultimate in water front property.

Port Townsend is a fun town for shopping and sightseeing and I did quite a bit of that. Restaurants have also greatly improved in the town through the years, and both the Port Hudson Café, and T's Restaurant were truly wonderful in their own ways.

Leaving Port Townsend we were off to a little resort on Crescent Lake. Again we had a spot right on the water (it pays to make reservations many months in advance) and a great time was had hiking around the lake, and rowing through it. We were there for two nights, in truly spectacular weather.

From Crescent Lake we made our way to the Pacific Ocean at La Push. Like last year we pulled the Airstream right on to the beach and had a truly wonderful time spending our days there beachcombing and simply absorbing the natural beauty of that spot. The spectacular weather held at La Push as well, not a cloud in the sky, which is rare indeed for the northern Washington Coast.

Of course as all fans of Twilight know, La Push is free of vampires yet full of werewolves, this separation the result of a treaty reached between the two groups years ago. I confess that I enjoy the books, but the level of fandom shown by some readers, especially teenage girls, is almost eerie. Everything in Forks and La Push seems to be referencing Twilight, and people vacation there just to walk where these fictional characters walk. To each his or her own, but to my mind, it is a bit strange.

All in all, a truly wonderful vacation, but I'm always glad to be back home as well, and it was wonderful having all my toys of torture available again!

Posted by Milliscent at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I returned this weekend from a nice long vacation to Cannon Beach Oregon. I've gone there about this time for the past few years now, and it's always a wonderful time. The beaches of the Pacific do seem to be the world's best places to relax.

It was an interesting Airstream time, good and bad too. When we arrived in the town we learned that there was an Airstream rally, so the beautiful aluminum trailers were in abundance. Including two beautifully restored specimens from 1955. It is amazing how wonderful they look with only a few thousands of hours of hard work! Lucky for me, I smiled at the owners a bit and got to tour them both. My own Airstream had some trouble though, so it's back to the Airstream Doctor for it next week.

My vacation was about a day too long though, and I was missing home by the time it ended, but the day before yesterday I unpacked, and yesterday I got to start playing in the dungeon again!

A splendid trip, but it was overshadowed by great sadness upon my return, more on that in my next post.

Posted by Milliscent at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Given that so many people are unemployed right now, I thought that I should post about what must be a superb opportunity for a handy person interested in owning his or her own business.

RV repair. Specifically I think Airstream repair, with a focus on vintage units.

There just aren't that many RV repair places out there, and most people who own an Airstream will not take it to a normal RV repair place because of the differences in construction. Adding to all of this, some RV repair shops will not work on vintage units due to their presumed fragility.

How bad is it?

My Airstream repair guy is about 3 hours from my house. He charges just under 100 dollars per hour. He is very good at what he does, but he is also the only guy around who specializes in Airstreams, and who likes working on vintage units.

It took me about a month to get an appointment with him this year for my annual spring fix ups. He's had it for over a month now, and tells me that he is so backed up with work that it still isn't done.

He's got a two-person shop, plus his wife does the bookwork. It seems to me that at his rates, with his constant employment, and the lack of similar service providers in the Pacific Northwest it would be a great field to pursue for those who like fixing things and working with their hands.

Posted by Milliscent at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wally Byam's concept behind the Airstream trailer was not one of camping. Rather he created the Airstream for travel. Boulevard camping if you will, a Hilton Hotel room on wheels.

It does though seem that the Airstream will work for high adventure; I bring the following for your Tuesday reading enjoyment:

Has Anyone Else.....

Posted by Milliscent at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)