airstreamy

Weekender to Prescott, AZ

October 23, 2013 by airstreamy

Our most recent airstreamy trip was to Prescott last weekend. I first called Point of Rocks RV park, but they wouldn’t allow us to bring our 3 dogs; they have a 2 dog maximum. So, I called Willow Lake RV park and they allowed us to bring the dogs. There aren’t many recent reviews for the Prescott RV parks, so we were hoping for the best. In our traditional last minute fashion, Matt and I decided to take Airstreamy out of town on Friday. Our 11 year wedding anniversary was on October 19th, which is why we decided it would be fun to get away. We got on the road around 9:30pm and arrived in Prescott around 11:30pm. The temperature was a crisp 40 degrees when we arrived; just what I wanted! Being a Phoenix native, cold weather is a welcome novelty.

I called the office when we arrived, as it was after hours. The night person then met us at the office and guided us to to our site. We didn’t have anyone on either of the neighboring sites, so that was nice. There isn’t a map of the RV park anywhere online (and we didn’t get on on-site) . We also didn’t get to choose our location in the park, but I was happy with the one we were given. If I had my choice, I would have liked one of the sites overlooking the granite dells, but they might not have been big enough for our 31 footer.

Here are some pics from the Willow Lake RV Park:

44 degrees in the morning on Saturday. Brrrrrrrrrr.

Hat and cape weather! Yippee!

There appears to be several long-term residents at Willow Lake RV Park. I only suspect that because of the patio set-ups on some and flat tires on others. Overall, the park seems to be pretty popular with all RVers.

This metal bus was pretty cool.

One of the long-term set-ups we saw.

Another vintage airstream (possibly our same year) was staying here.

I didn’t notice this carved tree stump, but of course my hippy husband sees it.

How’s that for some outside lighting. 😉

Matt spotted an old 1960s Chevy van that he can’t stop talking about.

Our first morning at the park, we slept in a bit, which happened to be a godsend! We had water start shooting out from under the kitchen sink when we were getting ready to leave. It was a super easy fix, but had we not been there, we likely would have come back to find a flooded mess. We didn’t end up heading into town until early afternoon. We decided to grab the dogs and get lunch. I had read about Raven Cafe on Yelp. We got there and saw a sign that said ‘No outside food or drink’, which Matt thought meant we couldn’t eat outside. I went inside to ask about sitting outside and they said that would be fine. There are 2 little tables out front, which are dog-friendly. Their upper patio isn’t dog-friendly because you have to walk the dogs through the restaurant, which is against health code. Matt grabbed a table and I ordered us a tofu and veggie sandwich, burrito and some sweet potato fries. They serve Blue Sky natural soda, which was really good. We had many people stop and pet the dogs. Everyone seems to love dogs in Prescott!

Hank always draws the most attention because most people haven’t seen a red boston terrier before.

Raven Cafe

Downtown Prescott is so charming. The leaves were changing colors; it was magical.

I love all the old buildings

Falling leaves…the best!

I bought 3 light-up blow mold holiday pieces from Deja Vu Antiques

Love these AZ pieces. I have several of the cactus glasses from my grandma.

Lala had to pose in front of her salon. 😉

We happened upon a spooky house in downtown Prescott:

Then, I found Christmas in Prescott! I bought lots of ornaments; I can’t pass up a good Christmas store…it’s an addiction, really.

So many ornaments!

We decided to grab our anniversary dinner from Bin 239. I got an oven-roasted vegetable panini (sans cheese) and Matt got a wood-fired pizza. We were both really happy with our meals. We got back to the trailer and decided to hang up the new LED C9 bulbs that I bought at target. Oh, and we set out our new friend, the halloween raccoon/bear. You’ll notice we don’t have an awning. Well, I thought my Prius was in park in our driveway a few months ago. But, I ended up hitting my car on the awning arm, while leaning down to grab my purse. Boo! We have the pieces to put it back together….just one of our many upcoming airstream projects.

We’re making it a tradition to take a photo in front of the airstream at all our destinations. It will be fun to look back on all our adventures!

Festive, aren’t we?

Fake candlelight dinner (I forgot to bring real candles).

We woke up early Sunday morning, ate breakfast in the trailer (with lots of coffee) and proceeded to hike to Willow Lake. It was more of a trail walk vs a hike, but there were some rocks to jump over. Here is an aerial of the RV park and it shows the proximity to the lake:

Willow lake is so beautiful. He hiked up some boulders to a cute little bench and sat with the dogs for a while.

After chilling at the lake for about an hour, we decided to gas up the truck for the ride home, find a good local brunch and then get on the road home. We had high hopes of checking out Pangaea Bakery (they have vegan options) and Lone Spur Cafe (a recommendation from a fellow RVer at the RV park), but Pangaea’s hours were incorrect on yelp; they are closed on Sundays. And, Lone Spur didn’t have any available outdoor seating (which we needed because we had the dogs with us). We ended up driving to Wildflower Bread Company, which was good, but we missed out on a *proper* Prescott brunch.

After packing up everything in the airstream, we hit the road back to Scottsdale. This little cutie, Lala, sits on my lap whenever we are in the truck.

Peace out, Prescott. Our next adventure will hopefully be mid November. I’m looking forward to getting on the road again.

We have been working on a few projects in the airstream recently. We had an issue with the location of our battery, which was in a compartment on the outside of the trailer. The compartment opened up on the road, when Matt was heading home from having the brakes looked at by Camping World. That was the catalyst to finding a new area for the battery. Matt decided to fab a compartment in one of the closets, so the batteries would be safe and accessible. We started with 1 battery, but we added 2 more.

Matt has also started working on the kitchen, which we are doing one side at a time, so as to not disrupt a good travel season. We are using walnut for the kitchen, so he started making the end panels. He made a cardboard template and then cut the first one. We are looking forward to a stable, usable kitchen….hopefully Matt will have some time to dedicate to the kitchen before the end of the year.

Posted in Airstream, kitchen, living area, Renovation | Tagged 1969 airstream, 1974, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, AZ, Batteries, before photos, Bin 239, Christmas, Christmas in Prescott, Deja Vu Antiques, Halloween, kitchen, Prescott, Raven Cafe, renovation, Sovereign, vintage 1970s Airstream photos, vintage airstream, Willow Lake, Willow Lake RV | 2 Comments »

Airstreamy’s Makeover: Check Out Her New Mirror Finish!

October 1, 2013 by airstreamy

We dropped our 1974 Airstream Sovereign at M & M Truck Polishing on Thursday and picked up her tonight. M & M Truck Polishing is one of 3 or 4 truck polishing shops in Eloy, AZ, which is half way between Phoenix and Tucson. We found them originally through this post on Airforums.com. Knowing they had past experience with Airstreams was huge for us. We have been wanting to polish Airstreamy since we got her. We even bought a bunch of polishing stuff, but never got around do doing it ourselves. So, in my instant gratification mode, I told Matt we needed to take the trailer down to Eloy ASAP.

We called a couple of other shops in Eloy to see what they would quote us for a price. One shop quoted us a super low price, but I wasn’t sure if they would stick to it and we hadn’t seen any of their work. I was fairly certain that M & M wasn’t even around anymore, as the phone # on the building is disconnected and there is no photo number for them in the phone book. Luckily, as soon as we got to Eloy, we pulled into M & M and the guys happened to be there-SCORE! We agreed on a price and a timeline, then said goodbye to our old friend, Airstreamy. Her makeover is beyond amazing. I think they had 3 guys working on the polishing over a period of 5 days. My best guess is that there was at least 180 man hours in this polish job (5 days x 3 guys working 12 hour days).

If you want to take your trailer to M & M Truck Polishing, the main polisher there is Antonio and the phone # we have for the shop is 520-483-5571. E-mail me at Jennifer@TwinsAndCompany.com if you would like more info on pricing.

Here is what Airstreamy looked like when we dropped her off last Thursday:

We’ll be replacing all the blue trim and re-painting the lettering in the coming weeks.

The old WBCCI numbers are gone, but we’ll get new ones when we join. Look at how bad the banana wraps were.

They applied a diluted acid to help remove the clear coat before starting to polish.

This was a quick area the guys showed us before we left her for her 5 night sleepover:

http://instagram.com/p/etCRxvKTFA/#

Here are some in progress photos:

When we dropped Airstreamy off on Thursday, Antonio wanted to show us just how shiny the finish could be.

After just 1 pass with the clear coat still intact.

Tools of the trade.

And, here the after shots from tonight, as M &M was wrapping up the polishing:

They even polished the wheels for us.

The letters are dirty, dirty. We’ll be cleaning them soon.

Airstreamy’s first selfie. 😉

Hibbard selfie!

Let’s talk about how dirty you get from polishing an Airstream. These guys deserve major moola for doing jobs like this:

This is Antonio, the main polisher. He is awesome.

How about some before and after shots?!

They were able to remove some dents from the front panels and banana wraps…how cool is that? Our banana wraps look SOOOOO much better.

We’ll be spray-painting our LP tanks and hitch, so they look better against the polish. We also bought a Cyclo model 5 polisher, so we can get out a few swirl marks. The guys at M & M did an outstanding job-we would recommend them to anyone.

I’m in love with Airstreamy all over again! ❤

Posted in Airstream, Before photos, Polishing, Renovation, Vintage 1970s Airstream Photos | Tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, Airstream Polishing, airstreamy, AZ, banana wraps, before photos, Eloy, exterior, M & M Truck Polishing, Polishing, renovation, Sovereign, vintage 1970s Airstream photos, vintage airstream | 3 Comments »

Labor Day Get-Away Trip

September 25, 2013 by airstreamy

Matt and I hadn’t taken Airstreamy out since February; she’s been so lonely just sitting in the carport. We always try to figure out when we both have free schedules and we both happened to be able to take Labor Day off. So, even though we only have 1/2 a kitchen (we have lumber to order still), we called around to RV parks in Northern AZ to see what was available. My first call was to Rancho Sedona RV Park in Sedona, AZ. They were booked on the Sunday before Labor day, so I called Rio Verde RV park in Cottonwood, AZ. Rio Verde RV park had an opening on Sunday, so we booked it and then booked Rancho Sedona for Labor day.

We grabbed all our stuff and our 3 dogs, then hit the road late Sunday afternoon. It was the first time traveling with all 3 of our dogs, which wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be. We were somewhat restricted on where we could eat and where we could go, as we wanted to have the dogs with us at all times; nobody likes a barking dog in a trailer!

We arrived to the Rio Verde RV park right past sunset and found our spot; #55. The office was closed when we arrived, so we did a self check-in. The spot was not a drive-in spot, but a parallel spot. It took a few tries to get into the spot, which seemed a bit small for our 31′ trailer. We were immediately greeted by a pack of javalinas, who lived in the hill right across from our site. They were harmless, but we definitely didn’t want to be outside with the dogs after seeing how close they were to our trailer. Our site had a big red ant problem, which was unfortunate, as it limited our outdoor time. The Verde River was the main draw to this RV park. However, our site wasn’t close enough to the river to enjoy it; all the river-frontage sites were booked on the day of our arrival. The Verde River looks like Willy Wonka’s chocolate river and there was tall grass to walk through to get up close to it. The park looks to have a few regulars; trailers that looked like they hadn’t moved in a while, which makes sense, since they offer monthly rates. There is an on-site yoga studio, which offers free yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30-6:30pm. There are tent and RV camping sites at Rio Verde RV Park and quite a few tent campers were set up on the river. For the price: $31.23/night, which includes full hook-ups, I would say it is a good place to stay, if you are in the area.

A video of our arrival at Rio Verde RV park

http://instagram.com/p/dvd3t3KTAZ/#

I was informed by a friend on Instagram that there is a glitter institute in Cottonwood—say what?! Yes, there is indeed a glitter store called Art Glitter and a neighboring building called the Art Institute Glitter. What’s even cooler is that Barbara Trombley, the owner, founded Art Glitter Institute in 1983. She is literally the undisputed queen of glitter! We went by early on labor day and they were closed. I called a couple hours later and the glitter queen herself, Barbara, answered the phone. She said they were closed, but she would let me come by anyway-WOO HOO! If you don’t know, I am obsessed with glitter. Glitter is everywhere in my life; I always have glitter cell phone cases, glitter nails, glitter shoes, etc. I walked in and was in heaven. She has a little bowl of glitter by the door that she encourages customers to place their hands in upon walking in. And, then you walk around with glitter on your hands; it was like crack for me. I ended up buying 20+ pots of glitter from Barbara. My nails have never been so happy; her glitter is epic!

Video from my Art Glitter adventure

http://instagram.com/p/dxJObJqTC6/#

After getting high on glitter (kidding), we went for a quick trip to Jerome. Since it was labor day, many stores appeared closed. We mostly went for sight-seeing, but we got lured into Mooey Christmas and Udder Things. Let’s just say that it is the Christmas store you’ve dreamed of in a Christmas store! I bought so much stuff that I had a hard time carrying everything back to the truck. I bought some light-up color wheel Christmas trees, a snowman color-changing snow globe, a trailer that plays Christmas music (it doesn’t say ‘Airstream’ on it, but it is basically an Airstream), an little retro TV that lights up and plays old rock ‘n’ roll songs, some ornaments, earrings, coffee cup, a couple salt and pepper shakers, etc. Pure holiday bliss!

Video from Mooey Christmas and Utter Things

http://instagram.com/p/dxDHuIqTGr/#

We snapped a few pics around Jerome. It would be a great place to spend the whole day; we plan to go back and do just that!

After leaving Jerome, we headed back to Rio Verde RV park and packed up to hit the road to Sedona. We arrived at Rancho Sedona RV Park and were instantly blown away by how nice it is. There were workers cleaning all around the park (we arrived just past check-in time) and the grounds were immaculate. The best part is that we reserved a spot right on Oak Creek; #79. Price: $63.90 with a Good Sam membership, which includes full hook-ups, wifi and cable TV. The park is dog-friendly- paid $2/dog and they even have a dog run.

Our arrival at Rancho Sedona RV park

http://instagram.com/p/dxXl6AKTP-/#

When we checked in at the office, we asked the gal if anyone swims in the creek, by the park. She showed up exactly where to go; a secret watering hole just to the right of where we were parked. We highly recommend spot # 79. You can walk right down to the creek behind #79 and then walk a little bit to the right to get down to the watering hole. Since it was still summer, the weather was beautiful and the water was probably as warm as it would get (still pretty cold). We hiked down some boulders to get the the secret watering hole and fell in love with this park even more. Not another soul was around and there was a rope swing and a swing seat; perfection. We went back a couple times and brought our chairs to enjoy the scenery. Molly even did a little swimming.

Video of Oak Creek watering hole behind Rancho Sedona RV park

http://instagram.com/p/dxtmamqTIP/#

We didn’t do much sight-seeing in Sedona (we were only there for a day), but we did make it to Chocola Tree, a local vegan-friendly restaurant. We brought the dogs and sat outside on their side patio, which is dog-friendly. They have amazingly big apple trees (by AZ standards) out front in the parking lot. I had a grilled cheese one day and a raw caesar salad for the car ride home. The caesar salad was the best I have had! I bought a few raw chocolates to sample and found my new favorite, a raw pine truffle in the shape of a crown. I went back and iterally bought all of them…like 15. ha.

Matt and I picked up matching airstream shirts by a company called United By Blue. If you haven’t heard of them, check out their site. For every shirt they sell, they do trash removal from major waterways and oceans around the world. By purchasing the Airstream shirt for $34, you help UBB remove 1 pound of trash from our oceans and waterways around the world.

Sedona is magical and inspiring; we can’t wait to go back. Until next time…weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’ll see you later!

Next up for Airstreamy: Polishing. We are taking her down to Eloy, AZ today to get her polished up. We are visiting 3 different truck polishing shops (M & M truck polishing, Eloy show Truck Polishing and Flash Truck Polishing) to see who can do the best job for us. Polishing will be a catalyst to getting the exterior looking better. Hopefully, we can remove some dents from our banana wraps up front and get some rock guards soon, too. We are hoping to have a couple more adventures in the coming months.

Posted in Airstream, Airstreamy Trips, kitchen, living area, Renovation | Tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, Arizona, Art Glitter, AZ, Chocola Tree, Cottonwood, Glitter Art Institute, Jerome, kitchen, Mooey Christmas and Udder Things, Oak Creek, Rancho Sedona RV Park, renovation, Rio Verde RV Park, RV, RV park, Sedona, Sovereign, United By Blue, vintage 1970s Airstream photos, vintage airstream | Leave a Comment »

Starting To Get Dirty In The Kitchen

August 28, 2013 by airstreamy

We have been wanting to remodel the airstream kitchen, since we purchased it in 2011. We tried to live with it the way it is, with cracked counters, broken tambour, cabinet bottoms failing and latches not functioning. After our last road adventure in February, we realized that the end was near. We’ve been so busy with work (my sister and I own a real estate company and my husband, Matt, is a carpenter) that we have been putting off our various airstream projects for lack of spare time. That….oh, and the heat! Our 1974 air conditioning is a champ when it is under 100 degrees, but struggles hard when it is hotter. The heat is such a motivation-killer! In about 1-2 months, the weather in AZ will be perfect. And, hopefully, by then we’ll be able to start our adventures again, once the kitchen is finished.

We agreed to start demoing 1 side of the kitchen at a time, so we started with the refrigerator side. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to get started on this project!

Here are a couple before photos of the refrigerator side of the kitchen:

Tearing it apart:

Here is the empty space, as it stands now. The side panels will be replaced with new walnut veneered panels:

We have the old refrigerator venting, which we are going to build a cabinet around, until we purchase a 2-way refrigerator. Right now, since we aren’t planning to take more than a few weekend trips a year, we are totally fine with our electric mini fridge/freezer.

We’ve decided to go with a walnut veneer for the cabinets, green formica for counters (just like the original counters), circle latch knobs and eventually a new 2-way refrigerator. We’ll be reusing the cooktop (it is very hard to find a new 4 burner stove), the oven and the sink. I am going to paint the entry door to match the one below.

Here are a few photos of the abused sink side of the kitchen:

When disassembling the kitchen, we noticed the metal brackets in the kitchen were stamped ‘airstream’. Pretty groovy.

Here is our inspiration board for the sink side of the kitchen.

And our refrigerator side of the kitchen:

Airstreamy kitchen design (refrigerator wall)

Posted in Airstream, cooktop, inspiration photos, kitchen, paint, Renovation | Tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, cooktop, kitchen, renovation, Sovereign, vintage 1970s Airstream photos, vintage airstream | Leave a Comment »

Firestream: A New Creation From ModFire (First Look)

February 21, 2013 by airstreamy

My very talented friend, Brandon Williams, created a line of modern fireplaces a couple years ago called ModFire. His fireplaces have been wildly successful. I was lucky enough to have my house used for one of his product line photo shoots. Here are some images from that shoot (Matt and I were stand-in models…he he he):

Brandon is an airstream lover and you can see by these photos why it was a natural choice for him to create a portable ModFire for Airstreams and other adventurers!

Well, Brandon has done it again! He has been thinking about a new product that is portable enough to be used by airstreamers. The Firestream is a polished alumimum ModFire that weighs a mere 20 lbs; a perfect towable weight. The price for this wonderful piece is in the $1950 range. This product is just being released and this is a first look at it!

Be the first to see it at the Pre-fab showcase and modern living expo in Palm Springs this Saturday and Sunday, February 23rd-24th from 10:00am-5:00pm at:

Prairie Schooner Parking Lot
Calle El Segundo and Andreas
Palm Springs, CA
92262
United States

(Prairie Schooner Parking Lot, corner of Calle El Segundo and Andreas, behind the Hilton Hotel, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

I know what is on my birthday list….. 😉

Posted in Airstream, airstream accessories, Renovation | Tagged Airstream, airstream accessories, airstreamy, firestream, modfire, palm springs modernism week, pre-fab showcase and modern living expo, renovation, vintage airstream | 1 Comment »

The Gift Of Airstream

February 19, 2013 by airstreamy

Becoming a self-proclaimed Airstreamer means that your family and friends might start thinking of Airstream and camping-related gifts to give you. And, I am totally ok with that!!! This past Christmas, we had so many people give us thoughtful airstreamy gifts.

We received this absolutely adorable airstream dog collar from our friend Nicole, which Molly will wear year-round:

We got an ornament for our Christmas tree from our friend Allison and another awesome airstream ornament (not pictured) from our friends Cody and Lauren:

We were given cufflinks and an airstream cookbook from our friends Roger and Emily:

I got airstream earrings and a Happy Camper sign from our friends Eb and Allison:

My friend Nicole recently went to Morocco and Spain. She brought me back this cute little travel bag:

Gotta love the gift of Airstream!

Did I mention that I made vegan frosted gingerbread and sugar airstream cookies for Christmas?! I frosted them sooooo quick. Next year, these cookies will be epic.

I should be caught up on the airstream blog now….just a couple months behind. 😉

Posted in Airstream | Tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, airstream gifts, airstreamy, Sovereign, vintage airstream | 6 Comments »

Day Trippin’: Two To Tucson

February 18, 2013 by airstreamy

Well, it has been a while since we took Airstreamy out of the driveway. We have been so busy with the holidays and new year that we haven’t had time to take her out on adventures, like we so badly want to. On Instagram, we noticed a lot of fun stuff happening in/around Tucson this weekend. We saw that Mali Mish and Watsons Wander were both going to have their Airstreams down in Tucson. My Instagram handle is @fifilynn and my husband’s is @hibbardcustom. I begged, begged, begged Matt to go down with me for Friday night and we would come home Sunday morning. He agreed and I jumped up and down in excitement. Besides getting to meet fellow Airstreamers, we’d be able to go to the 59th annual Tucson Gem and Mineral show, which is something that I had been wanting to go to for years. We have 3 dogs and knew we couldn’t bring all of them, so we decided it was Hank’s turn for a roadtrip. Meet Hank, our Boston Terrier from the AZ Boston Terrier Rescue. We’ll have had him for a year, come May.

The campground of choice for Mali Mish and Watsons Wander was Gilbert Ray Campground located on the West side of the Tucson mountains. We were excited to know that 2 sets of full-timers recommended this campground. Reviews of campgrounds online can be a mixed bag. I’ve come to realize that other airstreamers’ blogs are probably the best place to go for recommendations on the best places to adventure. I haven’t been let down yet!

We made the decision to go down to Tucson around 8pm on Friday and by 9:30pm, we were on the road. Matt went to fill up the gas tank on the Expedition and I went to gather weekend necessities. We packed our suitcase, grabbed some food and pulled out of the driveway.

We arrived to Gilbert Ray campground just before midnight. Dan and Marlenne (Mali Mish) let us know that they were in loop A and that there were several vacant sites in their loop. The campground reservation office was closed, so we did a self-check in, found ourselves to loop A and proceeded to back into our spot, 44A.

Here is a map of the campground:

I cleaned the inside of the airstream, while Matt got us all hooked up. Gilbert Ray doesn’t have a sewer or water connection on each site, but for $20/night, we weren’t expecting to have all the amenities. Our water pump wouldn’t work when we got hooked up, so we ended up dry-camping…thank god for dry shampoo and cleansing clothes! And, our heat was being finicky. We woke up freezing in the middle of the night and Matt had to relight the pilot.

Here’s some photos of the interior on our first night.

I had asked my facebook friends to give me some recommendations for vegan places in Tucson, and I received a lot of responses. We knew we would be out all day, so we decided on places for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in advance. Before heading out for the day, we went on a walk around loop A with Hank.

Our camp site

Occasionally, we saw wild animals (kidding). Check out this pomeranian that was flirting with Hank

You can tent camp at Gilbert Ray, too.

A panorama of Gilbert Ray campground from loop A

I wish I took a better photo of this retro Boler….it was soooo cute! For more info on Bolers, check out Bolerama.org.

There were several Airstreams in our loop A

Pardon my thumb….another Airstream

Hibbards + Airstreamy

How’s this for a sweet photo of an Airstream in the Tucson desert?!

We decided to pack up and head to town for the day. Our first destination, LaCave’s Bakery, a vegan-friendly donut shop. We parked and noticed a car show across the street.

LaCaves Bakery has been around since 1935. The donuts=epic!

We grabbed a dozen donuts (oink, oink) and decided to find the gem show. There were multiple gem shows open this weekend, which made it a bit confusing for us. We showed up at one site, to find out it was the site of a gem show last weekend. Then, we decided to hit the 22nd Street gem show. I thought this gem show was a let-down. I really wanted to see some unique modern pieces.

We then went searching for the main gem show, the 59th annual Tucson Gem and Mineral show. Upon pulling up, there was a line for tickets out to the street. I didn’t want to wait in a long line, so we decided to grab some lunch at a recommended vegan joint called Loving Spoonfuls. Matt had the Route 66 cheeseburger and I had the adzuki burger. We really enjoyed our meals, which came with potato salad and chips. They even gave us a water dish for Hank.

We did a little sight-seeing around town. There are some great mid-century neighborhoods and the cutest historic houses. I found that I took photos of mostly fixer-uppers….I think that is probably the most charming thing about Tucson. A house could be ready to fall down or covered in graffiti, but it sits there; it doesn’t get knocked down like it would here in the phoenix metro area.

We decided that we would try to go back to the large gem show and the line was gone! I wasn’t expecting there to be sooooooo much to see. The gem show was beyond worth the $10 admission. The dealers here had some of the nicest jewelry I have seen! I honestly could have bought like 20 pieces, but I practiced restraint. I really was on the lookout for modern pieces, and there were at least 10+ dealers with the raddest pieces I’ve ever seen! I told Matt he didn’t have to go in with me, so he took Hank for some sight-seeing. If you decide to go to this large gem show, plan to give yourself at least 2-3 hours there. I felt like I could have easily spent 4+ hours there.

I walked away with an amazing sterling silver and assorted gem bracelet. I really liked the modern style and colors.

I bought a special ring for my sister, which is very similar in style to the settings in my bracelet

Here are some photos I snapped at the show. I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos of the higher-end designer pieces.

Matt picked me up from the show and we went to find dinner. We had a recommendation of Guilin Chinese, which is vegan-friendly. I got some vegan ‘veg chicken’ fried rice and ‘veg chicken’ kung pao. Matt got regular chicken fried rice and vegetarian egg rolls. This is some of the best vegan Chinese food I have ever had! Yum! We got our food to go, so that we could try to catch the sunset at our camp site. We got back a little too late to get good photos, but we caught the tail-end of the colorful sky.

We ate our dinner and decided to see if we could meet up with Dan and Marlene of Mali Mish. They came over to see our Airstream and then we got a tour of their fabulous airstream. Their airstream is was the 2nd airstream I have ever been inside of. They have a 2007 Airstream International 25FB Ocean Breeze. I loved the color theme and layout, which included a bamboo-look vinyl flooring (this may be an option for our future flooring, when we remodel the kitchen) white cabinetry with bamboo plexiglass doors and a very beachy decor.

Here is a photo from Mali Mish’s instagram feed, from the Gilbert Ray campground

Dan and Marlene allowed us to take a couple photos inside, as we are going to use their interior as inspiration for our future remodeling.

We hope to run into Mali Mish on future adventures. Check out their blog about their full-time adventures Mali Mish.

We knew another set of airstreamers had just arrived on Saturday, so we messaged with them to arrange to meet up. Amanda and Tim of Watsons Wander have a 1999 25 ft. Airstream Safari. They snagged a great space in loop H of the Gilbert Ray campground. Here is a photo of their Airstream from their blog:

Amanda and Tim are full-timers and have redone the interior of their airstream. It gives us a lot of ideas for cabinetry hardware, flooring, and window coverings.

Tim and Amanda, it was so nice to meet you! Hope to see you guys soon!

We enjoyed a quiet night in our airstream Saturday night. And, we woke up early to get ready to head back to Scottsdale. Once we hit the road, I recalled that I had read about a truck polishing stop in Eloy, AZ called M & M Truck Polishing on Air Forums. I couldn’t find a phone number anywhere online, so Matt agreed to have us do a drive-by to see if they were open. We found them at 518 S. Penn (it actually ended up being on Sunshine).

On the way to Eloy, we saw this hotel sign, but it seems that the hotel didn’t exist anymore.

We got a quote direct from them and at $1500 for our 31 footer, which I think it is a steal. They said that if we make an appointment in advance, they should be able to have it done in 2 days. I can’t wait to see reflections in our airstream very soon!

We saw an airstream on our way back to Phoenix

I have the travel bug! I envision a future trip to Oak Creek Canyon in AZ as our next day trippin’ adventure.

Posted in Airstream, bathroom, bedroom, Day Trippin', Fellow Airstreamers, kitchen, Lighting, living area, Our Favorite Blogs and Sites, Renovation | Tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, coffee, Gilbert Ray campground, inspiration photos airstream, kitchen, Mali Mish, renovation, Sovereign, Tucson, Tucson gem and mineral show, vintage 1970s Airstream photos, vintage airstream, Watsons Wander | 9 Comments »

Our Maiden Voyage to Malibu Beach RV Park In Malibu, CA: Day 4-5

November 27, 2012 by airstreamy

DAY 4:

On our final day in Malibu, we relaxed in the Airstream until early afternoon and then decided to drive about 3.5 miles down the Pacific Coast Highway to the Malibu Pier. Matt went mountain biking with a friend in Topanga, while we frolicked on the beach.

The Malibu pier is over 100 years old!

It wasn’t too crowded with people when we were there.

This bird was begging to have his photo taken.

I guess the shaved ice is a summer thing. It would have been a nice treat!

Matt and Christie usually get tired of my constant picture-taking, so they walk ahead of me. ha.

There are warning signs about the mussels.

It was a foggy day on the beach, which cleared towards sun down.

Gotta love the beach!

This side of the pier was far less popular with surfers and beach-goers.

A surfer catches a small wave on Surfrider beach.

We saw a lot of surfers out on surfrider beach.

2 surfers catching a wave

The fog was setting in…

The malibu pier from surfrider beach

I caught a fog rainbow.

We were bundled up because it was in the high 60s.

Christie and Matt on the pier…with the fog.

We sat down to eat at the cafe on the pier, but they had just closed.

So we headed about 1 mile down the street to Plate, which has vegetarian and vegan options, in addition to meat dishes. ‘Earthy California Cuisine’ is their slogan.

I ordered a vegan burger and sweet potato fries…it was mighty tasty.

We stopped by Pacific Coast Greens grocery store and got some ice cream. Matt found this coffee ice cream by Blackbean. He said it was awesome.

At night, we had an old friend, Matt, over to see Airstreamy.

We heated up some thanksgiving leftovers in the oven for him.

He brought Christie and I flowers. So pretty!

We picked up some christmas light necklaces at Disneyland and decided to take more fun shots in front of the Airstream.

My neck is glowing…

Matt’s shirt is by O’Neil…also bought at Disneyland.

Happy holidays, from The Hibbards!

We set the camera on a timer and this was a long exposure.

Holiday cheers!

DAY 5:

We checked out of Malibu Beach RV park in the morning on November 24th. We realized that someone had stolen our battery, once Matt tried to hook up the trailer to the Expedition! We assume someone knows what they were looking for. We had the battery when we arrived because Matt was able to unhook from his truck without shore power. We realized on the way to CA that the battery compartment wouldn’t lock (it is located on the outside of the airstream). A guy drove past us on the freeway in CA and said the battery compartment was open. We pulled over and the battery was still in there. We will be buying 2 new batteries and moving them inside, away from prying eyes and hands! Our trip home was a short 6 hours and 40 minutes. Matt drove the whole time; he is a saint.

I am thinking our next trip should be up to Northern Arizona to play in the snow. Now, it’s time to investigate RV parks and camp sites in Prescott and Flagstaff!

Posted in Airstream, Trips | Tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, malbu pier, Malibu Beach RV Park, Malibu RV Park, plate malibu, renovation, Sovereign, surfrider beach, trips, vintage airstream | 4 Comments »

Our Maiden Voyage to Malibu Beach RV Park In Malibu, CA: Day 3

November 26, 2012 by airstreamy

DAY 3:

Our 2nd full day in Malibu was Thanksgiving. We went to Whole Foods in Thousand Oaks the night we arrived, so that we could stock up on food for our stay. We bought prepared turkey and gravy, Gardein for me, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce and rolls.

We decided to set a timer on the camera and shoot more photos of us being silly by the airstream. Fun times!

3 turkeys in an airstream for Thanksgiving!

We hadn’t done much exploring at Malibu Beach RV Park, so Matt and I decided to go on a walk up the hill and down the bluff.

There were 4 Airstreams, including ours, at the park. This one had 3 tires on each side, so we are guessing it was larger than our 31 footer.

There was a lovely Argosy facing the ocean down a few spots from us.

These people had the right idea….next time we’ll bring bikes. They also had movies playing on a screen on the side of their RV at night!

RVers apparently get very into holiday decorations. Love this turkey inflatable. Also, we saw lots of dogs walking around. Some people even set up little pens or tents for their dogs to run around in.

It wouldn’t be an RV park without flamingos.

You are on a hillside, so snakes live around these parts.

We are in the front row, but there are elevated sites up higher…pretty incredible views.

Pretty much anywhere in the park has an amazing view.

Lots of palm trees and greenery, with a beachy backdrop

Mandatory ocean background photos

Airstreamy got some neighbors overnight…we are on the right.

There were some $$$ coaches here….some I looked up were like $450,000 RVs!

Like this Prevost one… $$$$

Nice view from a large site up top

We walked down a path below the park and looked up to see Airstreamy.

I totally forgot to buy some of this wine at the onsite store! Happy Camper is the coolest name ever!

We got back to the airstream and started prepping for thanksgiving dinner. Matt worked on the green beans.

I worked on stovetop preparations, with the gravy, green beans and stuffing. We only brought 1 pan with us, so we ended up having to spend $22 at the onsite store to buy a couple more.

Matt lit the oven for me, so we could bake my gardein and heat up their turkey.

Matt stung up some Christmas lights our grandma had given us.

Then, we started our feast at sunset (which is at like 4:30 in the afternoon).

My plate is gardein, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll and cranberry sauce.

We had a blast!

Seriously….beyond epic views (epic is a major California word that I brought back to AZ with me).

Tomorrow is a lazy beach day!

Posted in Airstream, Renovation, Trips | Tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, cooktop, exterior, flamingos, kitchen, Malibu Beach RV Park, parking, renovation, Sovereign, vintage airstream | 2 Comments »

Our Maiden Voyage to Malibu Beach RV Park In Malibu, CA: Day 2

November 26, 2012 by airstreamy

DAY 2:

We woke up to an overcast day and decided to make some coffee (we brought our Keurig) and watch some TV, while we all got ready for our trip to Disneyland. It was our first time using the shower in the airstream. We have a 6 gallon water heater, which means that you have to take a very quick shower or turn the water on and off, to get a full shower in. I didn’t master a showering technique yet, but I am hoping that I can work on a more efficient way to wash my hair. The toilet works great and I like having the handle behind the toilet, instead of a floor lever. The sink and faucet work great, too. We did encounter a leak in the main valve for the water heater, but it was so slight that we just put a bowl under it.

We’re ready for Disneyland!

When we were departing, we decided to snap a few shots in front of the airstream….they turned out pretty cool with the fog in the background.

The last time Christie and I were at Disneyland, about 26-28 years ago, I cracked my chin open at the Disneyland Hotel and had to get stitches. Christie remembers me ruining the trip, with my fall. I made sure I went back to the scene of my accident to take a photo of the lobby where I fell.

Matt had never been to Disneyland before. His main mission was Space Mountain. Had I known that Space Mountain was a nauseating, head-pounding roller coaster, I would have spent the 75 minutes we waited in line doing something fun. Ha!

We stayed at Disneyland for 12 hours. We got to ride most of the rides, which was awesome. We rode Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice In Wonderland, Disneyland Railroad, Disneyland Monorail, Finding Nemo submarine, Enchanted Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, It’s A Small World, Jungle Cruise and Mad Tea Party. It was a winter wonderland there, especially at night.

Christie is obsessed with Christmas and we got to go into a candy store and watch candy being made (as seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives).

This was Christie’s smile for about 12 hours.

The parade at night was amazing. Lighted floats with the best Disney characters and Christmas decorations everywhere.

The enchanted tiki room was cool. There was a singing bird named Fifi, which is my nickname.

We took the train around Disneyland a couple times. There was even a train called the C.K. Holiday. Christie has the same initials and loves the holidays, so that was pretty cool.

There were soooooooo many people at Disneyland….it was bananas.

It’s a small world is beautifully-lit at night. We waited in a rather long line for this ride, but it was so enchanting with a dazzling light show.

The castle at night was amazing. We didn’t go inside, but I wish we would have.

If you love Christmas, you have to go to Disneyland this time of year. It is pure magic!

We didn’t end up getting back to Malibu Beach RV Park until after 1:00am, as Disneyland is about 50 miles away from Malibu. When you travel for so long getting to your RV destination (7-8 hours), an hour or two on the road is nothing!

Posted in Airstream, Trips | Tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, airstreamy, disneyland, Malibu Beach RV Park, renovation, Sovereign, vintage airstream | 4 Comments »

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