Failures are merely opportunities for growth. We’ve experienced a few such “opportunities” over the last few days. Fortunately, scattered amongst these opportunities we have found moments of joy and friendship.
This past weekend we traveled to Cannon Beach to attend a gathering of the Oregon Airstream Club which is dubbed the “Leak Test Rally” due to the inevitability of January rain along the Oregon coast. The weather did not disappoint, but the experience was wonderful despite the opportunities.
We arrived Thursday around 12:30. We had timed the drive from Portland to minimize the disruption in my workday and to ensure I had time to set up before my scheduled Zoom meeting at 1:00pm. Arrival and initial setup went reasonably smoothly, although the “opportunities” started almost immediately.
The first was a quick realization that we were running on battery power only, rather than the shore power which appeared (from the 50a surge protector) to be hooked up and functioning correctly. Turns out I had allowed some dirt into the portion that connects to the trailer, which I dug out with a small stick, because I am a high-quality repairman.
The next “opportunity”: the cell service at the south end of Cannon Beach is remarkably weak, made worse by being inside a metal tube. My Zoom call started cutting out immediately. Over the last 29 years, Micki has become quite attuned to my Angst-O-Meter, and she realized it was running high, so she jumped to the truck and started unpacking the Starlink. Kudos to her, because up to that point she had literally never touched any part of the system. I excused myself from the Zoom to help Micki, but the Starlink fought back. After about 10 minutes without success, I grabbed my computers and drove five minutes into the middle of Cannon Beach to finish the call from the driver’s seat of the truck.
The next opportunity presented itself when I returned an hour later to find Micki bundled up on the couch, understandably cold because the Alde hydronic heating system was not actually producing heat. I turned on the heat pumps within the AC units as a stopgap and started googling. As it happens, we have some air in the lines, which is probably related to the recent warranty service visit where the dealer replaced a controller of some variety. I’m now learning how to bleed the Alde system.
After digging into the Alde system, I returned to our moody Starlink dish, which it turns out merely needed to be moved to the other side of the trailer, pointed in a direction that would minimize the impact of the trees. I also hooked up the WeBoost in order to help our cell signal. That would be enough problem-solving to get us through the weekend, although the bleeding of the Alde system remains an issue to be resolved later. We consoled ourselves Thursday evening with Micki’s delicious cooking, this time scallops and shrimp with noodles. Life could be worse.
On to the good stuff! We really enjoyed hanging out with our fellow Airstreamers, making new friends and hearing lots of travel stories. I’ll be honest, on the surface it struck me that the commonality of Airstream ownership might not be sufficient to catalyze a connection with strangers. I was wrong. Here’s my theory: The ordinary class of travel trailer owners are weekend warriors who want to go “camping” with increased warmth and amenities, but Airstream owners by and large spend a staggering amount of time traveling and/or living in their trailers.
From the stories I heard over the weekend, it strikes me that the cause and effect is backwards, meaning Airstreamers don’t merely spend increased time in their trailers because they purchased an Airstream, but rather they have purchased an Airstream because they want to spend time in their trailers. The core commonality amongst Airstreamers is not just Airstream ownership, but rather a unique desire to spent a lot of time in a trailer.
We are in that class. Before this trailer, we owned a tent trailer in which we spent a LOT of time. We routinely spent a week or more in the trailer working remotely and exploring Bend, Wallowa, Pacific City, and other areas. When we considered long-term travel plans, we explored a great many options (fifth wheels most seriously) before landing on an Airstream. This weekend, we discovered others on this same path, purchasing an Airstream for the express purpose of spending vastly more time than the average weekend warrior. One couple we quickly befriended were just on the tail end of a four-week trip to Arizona and back, just the two of them and their very sweet dog. Others had spent as much as 18 months living in their trailers.
While in Cannon Beach, we also took the time to have lunch at Fireside Grill, which has been a favorite of ours for a long time, and to visit a couple of the local shops.
I also had a Friday night gig with Stump City Soul back in Lake Oswego, so we commuted from Cannon Beach, leaving our trailer for a while. While there, we spent some quality time with good friends, which was also amazing. A couple of the friends had been close in our lives 15-20 years ago, but had we gradually lost touch, so reconnecting was nostalgic and rejuvenating. We had a few other friends attend the gig, and although I got to spend a little less time with them over the evening, it was great to see them. The gig ended at 11:00, and after packing out, getting gas, and driving back to Cannon Beach, returning to the site at 1:30am.
On Saturday, the rain came down in earnest, but it only seemed to bolster our spirits. We spent more time with our new friends, hanging out, chatting, snacking, and enjoying the shared experiences. We took a much-needed nap after the late night on Friday. The best part of Saturday was the opportunity to spend a day avoiding work fret, putting the “opportunities” in perspective, and toning down our worries about the various unchecked boxes in preparing for the Florida trip. The Angst-O-Meter was essentially zero for one glorious day.
That reprieve ended early Sunday morning. When Micki woke and stepped out of bed, she put her foot in some sort of wetness on the floor by her bed. Immediately we feared that the “Leak Test Rally” had done its job and actually found a leak. But after disassembling a good part of the bed in search of any source above, below, or within, I found nothing. In the end, I’m convinced it was merely condensation. The stumbling heating system had left the morning temperature quite low in the trailer, so it makes some sense. We’re buying a dehumidifier.
Alas, the “opportunity” presented by the Alde system returns to the forefront. It’s now added to the list of boxes to check before leaving for Florida a week from tomorrow. The list is growing instead of shrinking, and my Angst-O-Meter has once again climbed toward the moderate zone. But oh what a great weekend it was.
Mouse House Adventures 
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