Our first rally - sort of

There is something ironic to the fact that our first rally with the Argosy wasn't an Airstream rally. Rather, it was a T@B get-together on the shores of the Battenkill River in Vermont, just south of Manchester. We had met the organizers at the Vintage Trailer Jam this year, and they invited us even though we had moved on trailer-wise. (Turns out we had other T@B friends who moved on to a lovely Sprinter-based Roadtrek -- they also attended the rally, leaving their T@B at home.)

This time, towing involved going up and down Route 9 in Vermont, a very hilly trip, complete with truck runoff ramps. (They look like fun, but I'm not about to try one, even with one of the company cars.) The van pulled like a trooper, and we had plenty of braking power and stability. It's a very well behaved trailer set-up.

Since we're without a furnace, we've been tending to camp where there is electricity so we can use our beloved electric catalytic heater. (Some time, some year, we'll get a propane catalytic installed - but I'm not doing that myself in fear of blowing up the trailer.)

Juliet had, at one point, questioned the value of a oven in a trailer. (Me, having seen Frank bake pies at the Vintage Trailer Jam, thought otherwise.) But the oven has proven to be a great asset, if only for making toast. We used it for reheating homemade cornbread for the evening's potluck as we reheated slow cooked pork and baked beans on the cooktop.

Once again, the hot water heater proved great - except for the time I didn't turn the knob quite past "on" at night, leading to it not quite fully lighting. The incomplete combustion left a big soot mark up the side of the trailer that I didn't spot until the morning. (It waxed right off at home - I do love painted trailers.)

We had a good time. Went to a farmers market (we love farmers markets) in Bennington in the morning. Going to Manchester proved to be a waste of time - lousy outlet shopping - but at least we had a great lunch. Dinner and campfire time with the T@B folks was lots of fun. It poured rain Sunday morning, the first time we slept in the trailer in the rain. No leaks (well, they all leak, but none that dripped on us).

The problem tally so far: one popped exterior rivet (by the door), a tear in the banana wrap (probably was there when I bought it), operator error by not closing the black tank valve all the way (not going to post how or where I discovered that), and the water heater mishap.

Too bad it's the last trip of the year. Next - winterizing and doing some fixes.

Tom