2026 - Week 36 - Thursday Three

 

Thursday Three:

1. Thirty five days on the road - our longest trip! [...by one day - ]

2. And 5,170 miles!! ...living in and pulling our #AishlingtheAirstream! - our sweet home on wheels...And such a wonderful time at a gazillion different campgrounds - all different and all nice! [Craig did a wonderful job choosing our stops along the way - More on that in a blog post soon / eventually. ]

3. Time to re-enter the real world [although, we're very happy in our part-full-time on-the-road world...]

#HardwickAdventures

 

Aishling the Airstream Update No. 77

 

Our Alabama Airstream Club POP-UP Rally

at Ft. Toulouse- Jackson

 

to enjoy the advertised Christmas in July 

in Wetumpka, Alabama

 

It was a FUN

and HOT weekend.

[There's a reason we don't camp in June and July - haHAha - 

One of our goals as AL President [Craig] and First Lady [me] this year has been to camp more and in different areas of the state... 

 

As a result we've had [lots of] club members we've never met join us at each rally [- I think because different people show up when a rally is closer to where they live...] And some - like us - are willing to drive a bit too.

One of the goals while in Wetumpka was to find Summer Santa -

 

THIS is what we were expecting...

 

And this is what we found - still so fun! 

 Others found him too!

 

Wetumpka has a sweet downtown...

But honestly - we had more decorations at the campground....

Our club members are great!

And showed up in style for the 

 

Potluck Holiday Pajama Brunch!

And omgoodness, it was as good as Christmas morning! 

DEElish!

 

We had another little pop-up surprise for everyone --> we asked them to take their goodie bag and find something in their camper they could give away for a dirty Santa gift - [15 minutes, and GO!]

 

Such a fun idea!

[Not mine -]

And I think everyone enjoyed it!

 

So we took a little poll before we left and 

everyone said they would do it again NEXT July!

We loved getting to know members better -

and we LOVED watching members get to know one another! 

Ft. Toulouse-Jackson

- a basic woodsy campground with good internet, clean bath houses, cool history, and within minutes from town.

Plus - only about 30 minutes from Montgomery - 

Some of us even cleaned up a bit and went to see a play at the Shakespeare Festival...

2026 - Week 35 - Thursday Three

 

Thursday Three:

1. What a great week with about 2,000 of our Airstream friends!

2. We had vac [vintage] Rendezvous last week and moved on to Minot for the 69th International Rally!

3. We've been busy, busy,busy... but it's been oh so fun!

#HardwickAdventures…

Aishling the Airstream Update No. 76

With our friends in the Music City Airstream Club - 

at the Piney River Resort in Bon Aqua TN 

Always a fun time! 

Random photos in random order -->

We had the opportunity to tour Johnny Cash's farm

 

The Hideaway 

They've staged it as a museum 

and it was pretty cool. 

Side note - I can never resist taking 

a portrait photo of fresh fruit...lol.

 

His getaway farm reminded me of a combo of my mama's house and my Mama M's house - simple and welcoming...  We had a boxed lunch in the barn / entertainment area - 

And enjoyed seeing a bit of his car collection afterwards - 

 The campsite on the 'river' included large  concrete pads with pavilion covers - super nice!

 

Lots of room for nightly games and visiting - 

... and morning yoga in the rain

[Kinda a magical time with the river flowing nearby, rain on the roof, and a soft breeze as we welcomed the day.... 

We  also enjoyed a little session of water aerobics...

Again - in the rain, lol. 

 

 And some even floated on the river! 

It was a fun weekend to a campground I'd been wanting to see for a while.

Those sites with the private pavilions?

Excellent.

The rest? Ho-Hum.

Pool is nice.. bath houses: excellent. 

Club House: PERFECT for watching World Cup Soccer. 

2026 - Week 34 - Thursday Three

 

Thursday Three:

1. We're in North Dakota - the farthest we've ever pulled a camper... these days we're around so many adventurers that see this as their norm... but we're still a little bit in awe...

2. And waking up to temps in the 40s and 50s is pretty sweet - wearing [heavy] sleeves in August!!

3. It's rally time for us... things we're responsible for and a full schedule of events to choose from too! We have some fun days ahead.. …

Forty-three years -

and I tip my hat
To the Keeper of the stars

He sure knew what He was doin'
When He joined these two hearts

 

I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the Keeper of the stars!!

...because

It was no accident

 Me finding you 

 Someone had a hand in it

 Long before we ever knew

 Now I just can't believe

 You're in my life

 Heaven's smilin' down on me

As I look at you tonight

So I tip my hat
To the keeper of the stars

He sure knew what He was doin'
When He joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms

 

I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars!!

Happy Anniversary Baby! 

 

 

The classic 90s country hit "The Keeper of the Stars" by Tracy Byrd - 

 Songwriters: Dickey Lee / Karen Ruth Staley / Danny Mayo

Aishling the Airstream Update No. 75

 Joe Wheeler State Park 

Rogersville, Alabama 

Up, Up, and Away Rally

 

Our first time to camp in the 

newer areas since they rebuilt them after the tornado a few years back... We've always loved the Joe Wheeler Campground - 

From the internets:  "Whether you arrive by land or water, there’s no mistaking the beauty and serenity of this 2,550-acre resort park. On the shores of Wheeler Lake, the resort features a stunning, waterfront lodge with restaurant and convention facilities, a championship 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, full-service marina with permanent and overnight docking slips, modern and primitive camping, lakeside cottages, cozy cabins, and a rustic group lodge.

 

The park is divided by the Tennessee River, which forms the 69,700-acre Wheeler Lake. Bass, bream, and catfish are plentiful in the sparkling waters where sailboats and yachts cruise side by side. Each fall, Joe Wheeler Resort State Park hosts the Fall Rendezvous of boaters traveling the Great Loop--the continuous waterway that circumnavigates the eastern portion of North America, along the Atlantic Seaboard, across the Great Lakes, through inland rivers, and around the Gulf of Mexico. As many as 250 vessels dock at Joe Wheeler’s marina and attend the conference in the resort lodge, coordinated by the park’s professional meeting planners. In addition to easy access to the Tennessee River, Joe Wheeler Resort State Park offers hiking and mountain biking trails that let you reconnect with nature and take in some of the best scenery north Alabama has to offer.

 

In addition to the resort lodge, Joe Wheeler features lakeside cottages and cabins. Joe Wheeler State Park's campground has 116 campsites, 110 of which have full hookups with water, electricity, and sewer. There are bathhouses located in each section. Most sites can accommodate any size camping unit. Tents are also welcome. Picnic tables, pedestals, or fire grills are located at each site."

 It was our go-to campground back in the day - and we spent many a weekend

 with the boys there in our little rustic pop-up camper... 

In fact - it was Matt's FIRST camping trip [when he was three months old] - 

{{we've always been crazy}}

This is our friends' son putting Matt's pacie back in his mouth... lol... 

[We had a fun little camping group!]

 

This trip was planned for friends in our Alabama Airstream Club to enjoy the park and also the hot air balloons over at Pt. Mallard -

[and YES - there IS a campground at Pt. Mallard, 

but it's impossible to get just a few days during jubilee.]

 

Rain was forecast, so a few dropped out, but,  

despite the drizzle, we had a good group and great time!

 

Craig and Peter cooked pancakes and sausage one morning... yum.

We had room for both clams to be in up in the back of our site - 

with those and our awning, I think we mostly stayed dry..

And the the temps were wonderful! 

One evening we all gathered for a meal at Lash's in the Lodge...

 It was nice to have two couples who had never camped with us before. 

 

The rallies we host are pretty laid back with suggested activities 

and lots of time to just do your own thing... 

Some of the group enjoyed a byo-picnic lunch at the Jubilee field, 

 

and we were able to walk amongst the balloons and see a few inflate. 

[Cloud cover was too low for a flight -] 

 

The next morning, Craig and I got up early [as we do each year] 

 in hopes that the Key Grab event would happen ...

 

We found that it was canceled, but we did see a couple of 'free flights' 

as we were driving into town... always cool...

 So we headed back to the campground...

Love our Alabama State Parks!

 

The clams kept us nice and dry -

We enjoyed a bit of a craft time with flag photo frames... 

- and a little team building with our favorite brain game - 

Rummikub!

Always fun!

 

One of the highlights of the [long] weekend 

was our campfire at 'the old chimney!' 

- Just a beautiful setting with a chimney that survived the tornadoes in 2019. 

[From a pavilion, I think?] 

 

All in all, a very good weekend. 

Celebrating Memorial Day and sharing Jubilee with others was so fun!

Balloons are weather dependent and so unpredictable... but we just had a great time hanging out in the clam and being together - 

So - Joe Wheeler Campground

I LOVE the updated area... not sure I'd enjoy a full sun site, but there are some with shade.  Mostly level and easy to get in and out 

[the rustic side has some pretty uneven sites -] 

Clean bath houses - 

Good internet / cell service.