Our first full day of AlumaFlamingo started bright and early. Jackson got up at 6:30 a.m. which meant I did too! I walked the dogs, then rode my bike to the restrooms since we don't have a toilet or black tank yet... TMI, I know! The beauty of getting up that early was the gorgeous sunrise over acres of Airstreams. ^
The rally was serving coffee and doughnuts so I picked up breakfast and took it back to the trailer. Justin was still passed out (highly unusual for me to wake up before him). He worked his butt off preparing for this trip, many late nights followed by early mornings, so I let him sleep in. I made a run to Publix for some snacks, beer and dinner fixins. Then, we made it to the 9 a.m. "Boondocking" seminar. They covered security and safety, how to conserve water and electricity, and recommendations of great places to camp off the grid.
The next stop was "The Vision of Wally" at 10 a.m. presented by Dale "Pee Wee" Schwamborn. Pee Wee is Wally's first cousin and accompanied his mother and Wally Byam (the creator and first president of Airstream) on many caravans and later worked at the Airstream factory. He gave a detailed history and shared some great photos of the early Airstreams and caravans, as well as scans of Wally's notebooks. I was really inspired by Wally's business philosophy and work ethic. His keen marketing skills helped elevate Airstream to the coveted brand it is today. I also related to many of the statements found in his journals:
"What I want is freedom to come and go and work when I want to."
"You can live tomorrow today."
And my favorite:
“Don’t stop. Keep right on going. Hitch up your trailer and go to Canada or down to Old Mexico. Head for Europe, if you can afford it, or go to the Mardi Gras. Go someplace you’ve heard about, where you can fish or hunt or collect rocks or just look up at the sky. Find out what’s at the end of some country road. Go see what’s over the next hill, and the one after that, and the one after that.”- Wally Byam 1896-1962
At Happy Hour, we met another young couple who is full-timing, enjoyed some drinks and exchanged Airstream stories. Our awesome neighbors, Becky and David, shared their grill and we dined together on NY Strip steaks and caprese salad. Glamping is the life for me!