when: May 28 - 31, 2010
Located in the northwestern corner of Massachusetts. Come and explore the Berkshires and Southern Vermont. A wonderful, relaxing Rally in the Valley.
The registration form for the Rally in the Valley is now available at the following link: rally-in-the-valley-registration-form.pdf
Have a look at the January newsletter. There some interesting articles, including a report of our first rally of the year in Myrtle Beach. The old newsletters are also available. Look under “Newsletter” in the column on the right side of your screen. There are old newsletters there from the last few years. They are filled with great stories and pictures from our rallies. Enjoy!
Here’s the registration form for the 2010 Cherry Blossom Rally:
2010-cbr-registration-form-20100105.pdf
For those of you have never attended the CBR, it is certainly one of the most successful of all rallies put on by the Washington D.C. Unit. You need to act quickly, because rally will sell out very quickly.
You may wonder about the weather that early in the season. Well, the rally folks have that problem solved! There will be a big tent for everyone to gather, and the tent will have heaters to keep you warm. There are games and activities for the kids and the adults. During the day, you can tour the nation’s capital since the farm is just minutes away from the Metro line; that way you can avoid all the hassles of parking downtown. The food is great and the friends you’ll make are many. You won’t be sorry you came!
This is a “buddy rally” which means you can invite a buddy who is not a member of the club ….or even if they don’t have an Airstream.
By Marc Weimer (webmaster)
Several times on rallies, I’ve heard people saying that we were “just camping”. I think we should change that to say, “Just Airstreaming” !! True, we are camping, but we are doing more than that. When I was a boy, we’d take a tent, go out on an island in the middle of a lake and camp there for two weeks. That was camping. But when we go to a WDCU rally, we are doing so much more than what my family did out on that island.
So, what is Airstreaming? It’s the good times, it’s the food, it’s the people, it’s the Airstreams, and most of all, it’s the friendship we share. That’s what it’s about. Our trailers are well built, fashionable and (mostly) reliable. Most of us are proud of our trailer, and glad we own it. We can spend our camping trips seeing the sites in the area, and having fun with old and new friends …. not drying wet canvas and sleeping bags, fixing leaky water tanks, or attempting to set up a complicated tent before the storm hits! We can enjoy the out-of-doors, but we can be comfortable and dry in bad weather. We can go wherever our Airstream can take us, knowing that a comfortable bed and a great warm meal await at the end of our travels ….and you know who slept in the bed the night before!!
And it’s great to think that there are other past generations of Airstreamers that enjoyed life a little more, because they were members of this great club (WBCCI). Wally Byam built his trailers so you could go on an adventure …to see what awaits you around the next corner; and that’s just what we want to do in the WDCU. It’s all about Airstreaming: so much more than a trailer ..a legacy, a lifestyle, a family! So, yes! We’re ”Just Airstreaming” !!! …And isn’t it great!
Peter and I have just returned from Garnet Horner’s Crooked Road Caravan. What a stunning success this trip was! We had so much fun and enjoyed so much good music that we ended up wishing we could go again and soon. Well, Garnet has agreed to do this caravan every other year, so read his comments and John DiBella’s comments and then plan to sign up early for the 2011 repeat.
The 2010 rally schedule is at the end of the November newsletter (and on this website). One of the things you’ll notice is that we have three rallies in June; two of them on the same weekend! The timing for Wally’s Birthday Bash was switched after the Airplanes & Airstreams rally was already planned, so some of you will have to decide which one to go to. At this point I am planning to go to the International, which is in Wyoming, so I’m glad not to have to make that decision.
We’re introducing a new segment called, “So You’ve Been Where?” Please take the opportunity to write to Greg and let him know what wonderful campground you’ve discovered or even what campground you’d never go to again. Make sure to give him the website and phone number and if you have photos of your trip, all the better. We have a wealth of knowledge and many miles under our collective belts, so let’s share it.
There are a few legislative issues that you need to be aware of and they are attached (in the November Newsletter). Read them over if you are interested and get back to me with your opinion. We’re going to try and have an interactive voting button installed into our website so I will know how you want me to vote when I need to.
The next gathering is Paul Waddel’s Myrtle Beach rally in December. This is a low-key rally and any beach in the winter is the place to be. Get your coupon back to Paul as soon as you can make plans.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Cheers, Star
April Hershberger has created a new WDCU brochure that you can print up and distribute to possible new members. It’s a good idea to print up a few so you can have some with you when you are out traveling. On one side, it tells who we are, and on the other side there is a membership application. After you open the following link, you can print the brochure on one sheet of paper. First print page 1 on one side of the sheet, and then print page 2 on the other side.
WDCU Membership Brochure.pdf
I just started a new page on this site called “Photos“. You can find this page by looking on the list under “Menu” on the right side of your screen. I am looking for links to pictures (and video) of WDCU events past and present. I found some great pictures of the 2009 Cherry Blossom Rally and put a link to them.
Check out our new photo archive site. You can find a number of old pictures and some videos there by clicking on the tabs for “photo” and “video”.
Several of our members have their own photo web sites, or blogs that have great pictures, and I would like to put links to them here on our WDCU website. That way we can all find them easily and enjoy them as much as I did when I found them. So, if you have pictures on the web, or know where I might find some, please contact me at marc@penn.com
Our new Membership Chairman is April Hershberger. April is from Springs, Pennsylvania. She and her husband Andy are enthusiastic collectors and restorers of vintage Airstreams. They started out with a 2005 Airstream, but soon sold it when they were smitten by the charms of the older units. They currently have a 1939 Clipper in their collection as well as several other models up to 1967. April and Andy often travel with four dogs on their adventures. Check out their website at ClassicAluminumTrailers.com.
April takes over from Margaret Natof who was pulling double duty as Membership Chairman plus club Treasurer. Margaret deserves a round of applause for handling the extra responsibilies.
Anyone who wants to inquire about joining the WDCU or has questions about membership should now contact April Hershberger at <ahershbergers@mac.com>. April will be glad to help you out.
Greetings from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the Home of Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather forecasting Groundhog! The following Proclaimation has been broadcast:
Hear Ye, hear Ye, hear Ye!
On Gobbler’s Knob on this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009; Punxsutaney Phil, Seers of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper. He Greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.
After Casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions on more time!
And as he looked,
“A bright sky above me showed my shadow beside me, so 6 more weeks of winter it will be!”
So, there you have it. You don’t have to be too quick about getting the Airstream ready for spring yet. You still have six more weeks of winter weather to contend with.
Pictures taken in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Bill Jacobs, Past President of the WDCU, and our good friend, passed away on Tuesday, December 23, 2008. His passing was sudden and unexpected. He died at his home in West Virginia. He will be missed…
Bill was a soft spoken gentle man. His humble appearance belied a vast intelligence and generous heart. I don’t think there was a subject that Bill didn’t know something about. He knew how to have fun like a kid and he knew how to behave like a gentleman. I never heard him speak ill of anyone. He loved kids and he loved books. He enjoyed his Airstream.
I feel privileged to have known him and to call him a friend. I wish he hadn’t left us so suddenly and so soon. There were so many more roads we could have traveled down to see him.
I hope I see him again some day when I travel down that last road to our final sunset and I hope we can sit around a golden campfire and enjoy each other’s company once again. I’ll miss you, Bill.
