Remington, faithful watchdog of The Riveted Roost {By Kelly}
It's OPEN HOUSE day! Time to unveil the Riveted Roost at her first Airstream rally.
We started the day with some coffee and our banana bread from Der Dutchman, then took a stroll to the arena for the AlumaFlamingo Swap Meet. The Airstreamers were lined up with rows of tables selling all kinds of goodies. Used books, trailer and camping gear, knick knacks and odds and ends that didn't quite fit in their Airstreams, and a few crafty people were selling handmade art and jewelry.
I posted some signs at the swap meet advertising our open house: "Open House at the Riveted Roost - stop by for some frozen drinks and a tour of our vintage 1960 Airstream Overlander." We were parked in the "back 40" and I was worried people wouldn't be able to find us. It's a hot day in Florida, maybe some strawberry/lime daquiritas would entice them to take the long walk out to our trailer... I even put our pink flamingos out by the road to catch people's attention.
We cleaned like crazy, then I made a run to the store for some ice, rum and mixers while Justin made some last minute updates to Riva: baby moon hubcaps, install an exterior vent on the street side (the existing zebra duct tape covering the hole would NOT do), and install the mirror/door onto the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and install the screen in Riva's entry door.
It's OPEN HOUSE day! Time to unveil the Riveted Roost at her first Airstream rally.
We started the day with some coffee and our banana bread from Der Dutchman, then took a stroll to the arena for the AlumaFlamingo Swap Meet. The Airstreamers were lined up with rows of tables selling all kinds of goodies. Used books, trailer and camping gear, knick knacks and odds and ends that didn't quite fit in their Airstreams, and a few crafty people were selling handmade art and jewelry.
I posted some signs at the swap meet advertising our open house: "Open House at the Riveted Roost - stop by for some frozen drinks and a tour of our vintage 1960 Airstream Overlander." We were parked in the "back 40" and I was worried people wouldn't be able to find us. It's a hot day in Florida, maybe some strawberry/lime daquiritas would entice them to take the long walk out to our trailer... I even put our pink flamingos out by the road to catch people's attention.
We cleaned like crazy, then I made a run to the store for some ice, rum and mixers while Justin made some last minute updates to Riva: baby moon hubcaps, install an exterior vent on the street side (the existing zebra duct tape covering the hole would NOT do), and install the mirror/door onto the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and install the screen in Riva's entry door.
Riva's new hubcaps I had the unfortunate timing of calling Justin right as he was in the middle of installing the hubcaps. Apparently they were a bit of a hassle to put on and his dad had recommended soap to help slide them on. Well, Justin decided to use olive oil spray and it became quite a slippery situation. Ideally, he would have used a rubber mallet, but we didn't have one in our camping tool box, so he used his knuckles and brute force to get those babies on. It was not a pleasant conversation...
Justin: "What?!?"
Kelly: "I'm at Publix. Do you need beer?"
Justin: "%@#$&*!"
Kelly: "WTF, I'm calling to see if you want more beer, I thought you'd be happy!? %@#$&* <END call>"
After that, I made an executive decision to get more beer. And a big handle of rum. Of course, half way back to the fairgrounds, I realized I forgot the ice and had to turn around and go back to Publix. But I made it back to our campsite about 15 minutes before the open house started, just in time to make the bed, sweep out the trailer and get the blender set up. Justin apologized and made a point of showing me his bloody knuckles. Time for a drink!
Justin: "What?!?"
Kelly: "I'm at Publix. Do you need beer?"
Justin: "%@#$&*!"
Kelly: "WTF, I'm calling to see if you want more beer, I thought you'd be happy!? %@#$&* <END call>"
After that, I made an executive decision to get more beer. And a big handle of rum. Of course, half way back to the fairgrounds, I realized I forgot the ice and had to turn around and go back to Publix. But I made it back to our campsite about 15 minutes before the open house started, just in time to make the bed, sweep out the trailer and get the blender set up. Justin apologized and made a point of showing me his bloody knuckles. Time for a drink!
Airstream historian Dale "Pee Wee" Schwamborn, Kelly, and the Riveted Roost We had a wonderful open house. Despite our location, we had a lot of visitors and it was non-stop for what seemed like the entire afternoon. Justin made the frozen concoctions while I played hostess, answering people's questions about our restoration and showing them around the camper.
It was really nice to receive so much positive feedback and compliments from fellow Airstreamers. We've worked so hard and spent countless late nights pouring our blood, sweat and tears into the Riveted Roost - Justin especially.
This was Riva's time to shine and that she did.
It was really nice to receive so much positive feedback and compliments from fellow Airstreamers. We've worked so hard and spent countless late nights pouring our blood, sweat and tears into the Riveted Roost - Justin especially.
This was Riva's time to shine and that she did.
Photo credit: Dale "Pee Wee" Schwamborn. Thank you for taking this great photo of us inside the Riveted Roost!
Thankfully after all that, we didn't have to cook dinner. AlumaFlamingo provided a catered dinner after a spectacular Happy Hour performance by professional sword swallowers and fellow Airstreamers, Alex and Charon.
In this photo ---> Alex is swallowing a red neon light tube (think light saber). We sat in the front row with the Youngstreamers and it was quite a show. I had never seen a live sword swallowing act and I was thoroughly impressed. You could see the red light move down Alex's neck and into his chest! I have no doubt that this act is legit. They have a spine tingling show and their comedic banter really makes the performance fun and entertaining.
In this photo ---> Alex is swallowing a red neon light tube (think light saber). We sat in the front row with the Youngstreamers and it was quite a show. I had never seen a live sword swallowing act and I was thoroughly impressed. You could see the red light move down Alex's neck and into his chest! I have no doubt that this act is legit. They have a spine tingling show and their comedic banter really makes the performance fun and entertaining.
After dinner, we were excited to hear Josh Rogan play again. He did a long acoustic set of his original songs and a few covers for all the Airstreamers at AlumaFlamingo. It was a great show and a real pleasure to hear an up-and-coming artist perform and sing from the heart.
Afterwards we headed back to our site for a campfire and dessert. Our neighbor, David, made an amazing dump cake in his Dutch oven using a boxed cake mix, a can each of crushed pineapple and cherry pie filling, and a stick of butter. We topped it with some vanilla ice cream and it was absolutely sinful.
That evening, our Youngstreamer group was joined by Airstream historian Dale "Pee Wee" Schwamborn, as well as Josh and Eliza Rogan. We sat by the campfire exchanging stories from our travels. I can't imagine a better way to spend our last night at AlumaFlamingo. Thanks, y'all!
Follow our adventures on Twitter @RivetedRoost, or find us on Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram. We're posting a lot of photos to our social media sites in real time, so follow along!
Afterwards we headed back to our site for a campfire and dessert. Our neighbor, David, made an amazing dump cake in his Dutch oven using a boxed cake mix, a can each of crushed pineapple and cherry pie filling, and a stick of butter. We topped it with some vanilla ice cream and it was absolutely sinful.
That evening, our Youngstreamer group was joined by Airstream historian Dale "Pee Wee" Schwamborn, as well as Josh and Eliza Rogan. We sat by the campfire exchanging stories from our travels. I can't imagine a better way to spend our last night at AlumaFlamingo. Thanks, y'all!
Follow our adventures on Twitter @RivetedRoost, or find us on Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram. We're posting a lot of photos to our social media sites in real time, so follow along!
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