Shakedown Trip 2

Last Friday, we launched on a trip down to Merrimac, MA to see daughter Jen and her family — and to test out systems on the Airstream.  We often take the unit down there so that the dog and I can sleep out in the woods — saving some hassle at the house.

The rig hooked up and ready to roll down our newly surfaced driveway.

I expected a difficult trip since it was a Friday afternoon – the first weekend with school out — but it was fairly tame.  We navigated the construction work in downtown Montpelier and huffed up the big hills heading out of Vermont.

There was a neat Canadian couple parked just ahead of us in the rest area and I quizzed them on their big Class C rig, which they’ve taken all over North America.

During the last half of the trip, I was sweating out the arrival procedure since I have to stop on a sometimes-busy road, back kitty-corner into a winding narrow driveway, and then back diagonally into the woods.  It’s not hard if cars and trucks don’t show up — and we must have missed rush hour because only one car had to stop and watch Mary and I work at getting the Airstream off the road.  We are getting better, or luckier.

There’s no electricity out in Jen’s woods and the solar panel never worked in previous trips.  You can see why.

Our visit was wonderful, including a celebration of our 51st anniversary with a couple of cousins of mine whom I seldom see, but the mosquitos were tough as was the temperature and humidity.  We decided to return to Vermont a day early since the trailer was getting very warm (the generator is great but not sized to run the A/C unit.

We got home Monday, mid-day, and had a chance to unpack and park the Airstream before a series of thunderstorms.  The trip was a success: seeing the gang was wonderful, the hot water and refrigerator which had just been serviced worked like a charm, and Penny was in general, a good visitor.

The Airstream is now parked off the driveway in the only flat spot available, ready for the next adventure.