1974 airstream | airstreamy

Posts Tagged ‘1974 airstream’

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

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 on October 1, 2013| 3 Comments »

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:

View this post on Instagram

It's happening!!! We just dropped #airstreamy to get polished! Mirror finish, here we come. #airstream #liveriveted #1974airstream

A post shared by Jenny Hibbard (@fifilynn) on Sep 25, 2013 at 5:34pm PDT

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! ❤

Read Full Post »

Labor Day Get-Away Trip

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 on September 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

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

View this post on Instagram

So far, the dogs love being in the airstream. Thank god we aren't tent camping….there are javelina all around us! Getting ready to make some dinner. #airstreamy #airstream #liveriveted

A post shared by Jenny Hibbard (@fifilynn) on Sep 1, 2013 at 7:42pm PDT

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

View this post on Instagram

@aymiespitzer Art Glitter is pure magic!!

A post shared by Jenny Hibbard (@fifilynn) on Sep 2, 2013 at 11:20am PDT

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

View this post on Instagram

In Jerome and found this magical place. Let's just say my wallet is lighter. #jerome #christmas #airstreamy

A post shared by Jenny Hibbard (@fifilynn) on Sep 2, 2013 at 10:27am PDT

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

View this post on Instagram

We arrived at Rancho Sedona. This place is ah-mazing. Our spot, #79, is right on Oak Creek #ranchosedona #sedona #oakcreek #airstream #airstreamy #liveriveted

A post shared by Jenny Hibbard (@fifilynn) on Sep 2, 2013 at 1:26pm PDT

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

View this post on Instagram

Radness! Getting ready to go in the water! And swing on that swing!

A post shared by Jenny Hibbard (@fifilynn) on Sep 2, 2013 at 4:38pm PDT

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.

Read Full Post »

Starting To Get Dirty In The Kitchen

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 on August 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

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)

Read Full Post »

The Gift Of Airstream

Posted in Airstream, tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', Airstream, airstream gifts, airstreamy, Sovereign, vintage airstream on February 19, 2013| 6 Comments »

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. 😉

Read Full Post »

Day Trippin’: Two To Tucson

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 on February 18, 2013| 9 Comments »

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.

Read Full Post »

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

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 on November 27, 2012| 4 Comments »

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!

Read Full Post »

Airstreamy…picking up where we left off

Posted in Airstream, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, living area, Renovation, tagged 1974, 1974 airstream, 31', 74 airstream, Airstream, airstream remodel, airstream renovation, bathroom, bedroom, cooktop, flooring, inspiration photos airstream, kitchen, renovation, sofa bed, Sovereign, vintage airstream on July 20, 2012| 1 Comment »

Christie and I have been dreaming of going camping, so we decided to get serious about getting the airstream camp-ready. We basically took a long hiatus because the Airstream needs SO much work. We decided to focus on the plumbing, as this is the system that needs the most work. We already have the toilet. Today we went to Camping World to pick up supplies for installing the toilet. We bought black and gray water tanks last year. We need to mount them, which requires a lot of work. It’s amazing how much goes into making all the systems work. A 70s airstream like a classic car and a old house combined; repairs aren’t always as simple as they seem.

After a lot of research, we decided against getting a tankless water heater for the airstream. The reviews online are surprisingly bad. I was looking forward to reducing the trailer weight and contributing to a green renovation, but all research pointed to an LP 6 gallon water heater. We bought our new Suburban water heater through PPLmotorhomes.com. We’ll be spray-painting the new exterior door silver, so it matches the airstream.