Airstream Social Scene: First Encounter

And so it was in the fullness of time that I went out among other Airstream owners, members of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI), as they are found in the wild, camping with their Airstreams.


The WBCCI is highly segmented with regions, chapters, etc. I am a member of the San Diego unit, which had a joint rally with the Orange County unit, at Guajome park, a campground east of Oceanside, CA. The draw for me to attend this meeting was food. A big Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. Even hermits like me have a tough time turning down a great meal.


This was my first time camping out with other Airstreamer peeps, and after having the opportunity to meet some of them I pronounce them as "good people". Nice people, and very willing to help a newbie like me. For example, the unit president Joe Thomas stopped by on Sunday morning to check up on me and gave me some helpful suggestions on my tow hitch. His wife Anne made one of the delicious turkeys. And I finally met Bill Wright, and his lovely wife Kathy, who I have been wanting to thank for his email suggestion that I visit Kirk Creek campground just south of Big Sur. He and Super Don Snyder are fellow flyers, but with the distinction of being fighter pilots, and kept me fascinated with great stories. And there was Bev and Lowell who are probably in contention for the title of Nicest People on the Planet... the list goes on, and I could name some others, if I remembered their names.


It was one of those social situations where the New Guy (me) meets about 50 new people at once! It's madness, of course...


I got to rig my hammock between a very handy tree and my tow vehicle roof rack, and spent a deliriously happy Saturday morning gently swinging and soaking up some warm sun. A walk around the campground revealed absolutely zero other hammocks. How can this be? Possibly because there is a campground rule against tying ropes around trees. I need to figure a way of rigging a hammock with one end tied to the Airstream. Are you listening, Airstream Inc.? They are selling "lifestyle", right? What says "relax" more than a hammock in your campsite? It seems that if you are selling "relax" at $50-100 thousand a copy, you could afford to throw in an eyelet for a hammock rope/carabiner.

All in all, it was a successful adventure. I got out among the people, had a great meal, got hammock time, discovered a new place... Life is Good.