Dungeness Crab

Chesapeake blue crabs requires at least four per person for a satisfying dinner, often five or six if one has an appetite! Pacific Dungeness crab can be 2 to 3 lbs each and we shared one happily for dinner! Much the same body construction and picking technique but with lots more meat in the claws and legs! Quite a treat!

British Columbia steak experience!

Local restaurant in Parksville offers local Angus beef, grass fed and grain finished, prepped in 1,000 degree F Montague steak broiler.... Tomahawk steak is one kilo or 2.2 lbs for Can$146 / US$110! Did not succumb!

Salt Creek Park - Washington

We camped overlooking the Juan de Fuca straits which separate the Olympic peninsula from Vancouver Island. Very cold waters but kids were swimming in it anyway! Remember chartering a TSDY from Vancouver a few years back and chasing Orca whales for a day - I think we caught up with sea lions and dolphins! Salt Creek Park is a redeveloped old WW2 military camp and observation outpost with bunkers built with the Japanese threat in mind.

IJ gets hitched!

Our dearest friends beautiful daughter Isabelle Jane gets married today in the Temple at Salt Lake City, Utah to Jared.... we would have dearly loved to be there... we wish you our very best for a wonderful life together!

Caravan Club Reunion

We are part of a Wally Byam (designer and founder of the Airstream) Caravan Club International regional unit of which there are four such units in Virginia. Our unit #109 contingent of six travelers met for a regional lunch at Salem as part of the south east Region 3. From left our unit president Randy Rinehart from Charlottesville VA, Junior Patton who ran the famous Galax Virginia Fiddlers Convention, Xan Rinehart, Betty Patton, yours truly and Margaret. One of my tasks is to write an Airstream article every two months for the unit 109 newsletter.

Around the World Caravan

Wally Byam led a caravan on an around the world trip in the 50's that started in Japan, China, Malaysia, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, and Europe- about 45 Airstreams started and some 34 completed the trip! Several of these very old Airstreams were on show at Salem rally and we talked to Christine Charles who was on the caravan with her parents as a teenager! What an adventure unfortunately no longer possible these days!

Drones 101 Seminar

Early morning gathering of Airstream drone enthusiasts in a field adjacent to the expo center where we found five drones being demonstrated including DJI Phantom 3 and Phantom 4, Mavic 4 and a GoPro Karma. Amazing leaps in technology in just over a few years including collision avoidance, auto return, gyro stabilization for photo and video, 4K HD video and out of sight video control. Interesting this year FCC require Ham Operator Licensing for out of sight drone operation - just got that certification in May! Downside is that drone ops are forbidden in National and State Parks...

Checking out the Vintage Airstreams

With over 750 Airstreams at the International Rally in Salem Oregon there is a large contingent of Vintage Airstreams dating back to 1930's, 49's and 50's! The design changed significantly as the Wally Bryan inspired campers evolved.

International Rally Salem

Over 750 Airstreams at the Airstream rally in Salem Oregon...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WBCCI/permalink/10155274726402504/

Salem International Rally

Aerial view of the 700 plus Airstreams gathered st the State Fairground in Salem Oregon for their annual international rally.... can you see us bottom left near the amphitheater!!!

Logs on the beach

Much of the Oregon coastline is littered with logs that have been washed ashore from logging operations in Canada and from storms along the Alaskan and Russian coastlines. The logs are highly dangerous since in the water they are barely floating and almost invisible and can crush a swimmer in the surf. Anyway the water is Arctic and very cold you would not want to dip your toe in it!

Rogue River Jet Boat

Intrepid Jet boat driver takes us up the Rogue River and slides past rocks just a few inches away. Round trip of 104 miles over 8 hours starts at the Pacific Ocean in cold foggy weather which an hour upriver turns into bright sunshine. The return trip returns into fog and the accelerated speed of a down stream 30 mph boat plus swift river speed and an onshore wind made for a chilly afternoon return!

Redwood survivor!

What a redwood tree..... height 286 ft, diameter 24 ft, circumference 74 ft, age 1,500 years! On our way north near Eureka California in Humbolt County we diverted off Route 101 on to the monumental Avenue of the Giants! An amazing scenic drive through a redwood forest of the world's tallest trees for over 30 miles!

Mendocino Masonic Hall

The mysterious statue on the top of the old Masonic Hall in Mendocino - a quaint coastal town has something to do with the dawning of a new year. The large statue carved out of a solid block of redwood shows what appears to be a bearded Father Time with wings and a sickle, standing at the back of a maiden patiently braiding her hair. Standing behind a book open on a pedestal, the maiden holds an acacia branch in her right hand, an urn in her left hand. By her side is an hourglass and in front of her is a broken column.

The tableau, it seems, the figures are engaged in rituals known only to Masons. In the photo we have an additional feature... a pigeon sits on the maiden's head!

Pacific coastline

This is the most beautiful and stunning coastline largely due to the rockiness and prevailing swell and waves. From a sailor's point of view it is the most unforgiving and inhospitable coast with very few harbors and treacherous access to safe havens! The worst weather is the most impressive! This is a calm day!

Airstream upgrade!

During our month of May in wet and humid Virginia I took full workshop opportunity to build some Airstream enhancements.... this is a drop flap table made from a mix of maple🍁, ebony, ipe, black walnut and cherry🍒. Much more attractive than the green Formica!

Treats to the Rescue!

Will helped get our RAM truck bumper installed and welded steel mesh to the frame to protect the oil cooler from flying rocks on the Alaskan Highway! With almost impossible to reach bolt locations, Will made a custom 135 degree socket wrench to make this job so much easier! Thank you Will O'Treats!!

Tennis Channel travels with us!

Finally figured out our TV system after our DirecTV account was closed after we sold the condo. Tennis Channel in HD became available on DishTV in April so we installed base system at home and also bought a RV mobile Wally receiver and a Vanguard X2 dish for use on the road. After hours of frustration manually aligning elevation, tilt and azimuth on my DirecTV antenna and listening and tuning for the peak signal tone, the X2 aligns itself automatically in a few minutes! Night and day!!!