2011 was a very good year: so why not do it all over again in 2012?? The Airstream is in good running shape and so are we, thankfully. The Airstream recruited a powerful new power plant – still serviceable “original equipment” for Patty and Al.
Winter “snowbird” travels to Florida seemed silly with the warm winter weather so we traveled the Georgia and South Carolina coast visiting Savannah, Charleston, Cumberland Island NP, Okefenokee, then a swing along the Gulf until the Spring Breakers sent us scurrying for home. Two weeks to tidy ourselves up and then a 2000 MILE ROAD TRIP to visit family in St Louis and New Jersey. By April we were ready for a Vacation! We visited our favorite places (favorite bears and favorite trout) in the Smokies, discovered much more of West Virginia to love and of course revisited GingerPort, Joanie’s lovely Airstream Pad in New Jersey. (Anthony knows when he hasn’t seen his Meme in six weeks and Meme maps the routes so as not to disappoint.)
From there we got historical around Valley Forge and Hopewell Furnace, but couldn’t resist a run back to “GingerPort” for a big weekend event at Joanie’s library. We had a week to spend crossing Pennsylvania to the “BIRTHDAY BASH” rally of Airstreamers so we took advantage of “Mandolin Dan’s” invitation to the Benton Bluegrass Festival. Wow, we are doing that again! Hot licks, hot weather and hot barbeque courtesy of the “Grillbillies”, a loose confederation of pickers and grillers.
The BASH was also HOT, but old friends and new spent our time visiting in the shade, often in a circle with all feet splashing in a wading pool. It was cooler along Lake Michigan visiting with the Suellentrop clan at their vacation house at South Haven and even cooler as we crossed and re-crossed the Upper Peninsula. We visited the “Mothership”, where all Airstreams are born (and come for spa treatments), then, of course to “Gingerport.”
We were home in August for a month of volleyball, following Emilyn’s team around the state and watching Cassie playing JV volleyball as a seventh grader!
We are going to need a vacation!! A quick trip to see the beach, then a month of fall colors, fishing and storytelling festivals to round out our travel year. Oh yes, another 3000 MILE ROAD TRIP to Gingerport (without trailer) to visit and carry outgrown toys and such to the next crop of cousins.
Now it’s cookie baking and Christmas preparations and, of course, planning for next year.
