September, 2020
At this point in time we have done a LOT of work to Tess- the bathroom subfloor has been remodeled, plumbing and electrics have been replaced and modernized…. you can see the work here if you are interested in the behind the scenes stuff.
But we don’t have a good way of mounting a new AC unit, nor are we particularly comfortable with installing the new Zip Dee awning we bought- the supports need to be in the right spots so it doesn’t tear up the aluminum. So we hauled it over to what used to be called Out of Doors Mart, in Greensboro NC for professional installation. As the oldest Airstream dealership in the country, they should (and did) know what they were doing. They’ve since been purchased by a large RV company but hopefully still have their Airstream staff.
We worked really hard to choose the best awning color. Traditional Airstream blue is always a classic, but there were many other beautiful color combinations. In the end we decided we were yellow people and yellow would become the accent color of choice in so many different places on Tess.
Then there was the truck. Our first run had been in my trusty 1996 Suburban, which was a great work truck but a bit undersized for the long distance towing we wanted to do. I am often called an “old soul” and I have to admit I love most things vintage- I’d love to pull Tess around with a late sixties vehicle! But I do prefer some of the creature comforts of modern trucks and found what I thought was the perfect combination of modern, but not too modern, and vintage, but not too vintage, in a 2000 Ford Excursion, with a 7.3 diesel (insert manly grunt here) for plenty of towing capacity.
Literally the day after buying the truck we picked up Tess from Out of Doors Mart. Knowing we had a big trip coming up in a few weeks we decided to do a quick run to the Yadkin Valley Wine Region of NC and stay at a couple of Harvest Hosts. Our first night we stayed at the lovely Windsor Run Cellars, where the wine was amazing and the view was incredible!
Our next stop was just down the road a piece or two to Old Nick Williams Distillery. The whiskey was excellent, and they had live music to listen to and farm animals to visit. The truck performed well, and we LOVE our new yellow awning! Ready for more, well shaded adventures!
