Getting Going

A Seattle Summer to Remember!

paulandlily3 Comments

Hi there! We hope you’ve had a splendid summer so far. Lily and I have been parked at home in Seattle for six months relaxing and planning out the next adventure. The weather sure did take a bit longer than I had hoped to turn nice but once it did I was reminded that summer in Seattle is absolutely spectacular.

“Seattle and the Olympics at dusk from the Mt. Baker Ridge Viewpoint.”

One of the best things about being home was reconnecting with friends and spending time enjoying my favorite eateries and home happy hours. In my opinion, happy hour at home is much more enjoyable and practical these days. Here are a few of my home happy hour indulgences.

“Spring Mtn. Napa Nectar of Joy”
“The Bloody Brunch Mega-Mary”
“The Classic Bleu-Bob-Tini”

So, here’s what Lily and I have been up to all summer.

Immediately upon returning home, I bonded with my neighbor’s Husky “Otis” and we had some amazing walks and quality dog time outside wandering the neighborhood together. Lily didn’t mind sharing me, in case you were wondering.

“This is Otis and he’s a pretty good boy.”
“Otis loves perusing ivy for rodents and sticks.”
“THIS is a happy husky.”
“Lily always answers the door when Otis comes over for a visit.”

In May, Lily and I took a road trip sans Airstream to visit our very closest friends in Northern California. We got to visit some of the amazing wineries in the stunning Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. Spending time with my favorite people drinking amazing wine is always good for my soul.

“Handley Cellars – Philo, CA”
“My most favorite people.”
“The beautiful Anderson Valley.”

Summer arrived with Pridefest and Seafair returning to Seattle after a two year hiatus. It was fun to be out mingling and celebrating at the street fairs and then have the Blue Angels roaring over my house and decorating the sky with smoke trails. Life felt almost normal again post pandemic.

“View of Seattle from Alki Beach on a sunny June afternoon.”
“Pride at the Space Needle. “
“Welcome back Blue Angels.“
“Flying in perfect formation over Seattle.”
“High arc maneuver over Lake Washington.”
“Angel dust across mighty Mount Rainier.”

Seattle had a few delightful heat waves in July and August so we took that as an excuse to escape the city for a few local road trips to visit the Washington coast. Port Townsend was a fantastic day trip for some wine tasting and exploring the little historic downtown with someone special.

“Harbor View from the Port Townsend Vineyards Tasting Room.”

Then we were off to Ocean Shores for a relaxing weekend of cooler cloudier weather to celebrate Rachelle’s birthday. I took the Airstream out of storage for this trip so Lily and I could get reacquainted with Airstream life and start prepping it for our next big trip towards the east coast.

“Camping near the Oyhut Bay Seaside Village.”

Well that pretty much wraps up our little summer break in Seattle. We will be back in the Airstream very soon getting ready to see more beautiful places and bring you along for the adventure.

“Back in the Airstream ready to go.”
“Lily is packed and ready to go.”

Our first stop on the way east is Glacier National Park and I’m very excited to get there and share the experience and some stunning photos with you so stay tuned!

Ultimate Airstream!

paulandlily4 Comments

Lily and I took the Airstream 165 miles to Portland for the month long upgrade project that will be done by Ultimate Airstreams. It was a glorious PNW rainy day and the drive down was a soggy uneventful experience. The goal is to make RV living as self sufficient as possible. So, she will spend 30 days getting the following upgrades installed:

  • 600 watts of Solar (6 roof mounted panels)
  • 6 Lithium Ion Batteries (600 amp hours total, enough to run the AC/heat pump on battery)
  • WeBoost 5G Cellular Signal Booster (for streaming my Netflix and HBO shows)
  • Victron 3000 watt inverter (to power a lot of things simultaneously)
  • Splendide Washer/Dryer combo (no laundromats for me thanks)
  • MaxxFan Deluxe remote controlled roof vent (to keep the fresh air flowing)
  • Several new USB-C outlets
  • Slow close toilet seat (because why not LOL)

On the drive down we stopped at a Washington State rest area for a quick break.

As I was leaving Ultimate, my neighbors called to let me know that my house had been broken into. I asked them to help me out with a big delivery that I was going to miss. When they unlocked and opened my front door to throw in the boxes, they caught the burglars in progress. Fortunately, they had only been inside the house a few minutes before they were interrupted. Unfortunately, they escaped out the window they shattered and ran away.

Ground level guest bedroom window shattered.

About 6 Seattle Police Officers arrived and entered my house with guns drawn.

“Seattle Police, make yourselves known!”

My RING camera and another neighbor in the RING community caught videos of them walking around my house and another house nearby. Hopefully the Seattle PD is able to use the data to make an arrest.

So, message received and understood, I will beef up my current security system before heading out on my Airstream Adventures.

First Tow!

paulandlily3 Comments

The day that I have been anticipating and waiting for finally arrived. The weight distribution hitch was installed and …. wait for it …. I got to tow the Airstream for the first time. I literally did not sleep the night before I was too excited. Lots of questions got answered this day.

I think the truck was ready too!

As I pulled out of the warehouse bay, I felt for the first time all the weight behind me. The truck brakes were like oh okay things just got serious huh?!  I put the transmission in tow mode and started off out the parking lot and into the world with my new toys.

Those first initial sensations of the truck registering with the movement of the trailer were amazing. I pulled into a strip mall parking lot just to get some space to take it all in. And, I really wanted to see if backing up was easy or hard. Let’s just say, it’s gonna take some practice!

I spent a few hours driving around – on the freeway, thru parking lots, into a roundabout, back onto the freeway, and back to the dealership. It was really fun, I just wanted to keep going and going.

Next milestone is taking the Airstream to Portland for the upgrades/upfits – solar, Li-ion batteries, WeBoost Cell Booster, washer/dryer combo, and some other cool stuff.

Delivery Day!

paulandlily1 Comment

Finally, after 6 months of waiting patiently, I took delivery of my brand new 27′ Airstream Globetrotter!!!!! Here she is “on stage” for my walk-thru and acceptance. Absolutely gorgeous!!!

The biggest surprise at first glance was the awning – it looked much better IRL than in the marketing pics on the Airstream website. And, it’s power – push a button and the entire thing extends, tilts, retracts. Soo amazing. There is a smaller awning on the service (road) side that is manually operated.

I spent about an hour on the outside learning every feature, button, latch, switch, compartment, and lever. Since I’ve been pouring over Airstream YouTube videos for over a year, I was kind of familiar with everything, but it was good to finally put my hands on the goods.

Finally inside, here are the comforts of home, exactly as I expected …

Nest steps, the Blue Ox distribution hitch will be installed and configured for my tow vehicle. On that day, I will take the Airstream out for a tow and get a feel for what I’ve gotten myself into LOL.

And so, the adventure begins!!!