Flamingo Flag

How do you get home to the right trailer when camping in a sea of silver?
How do you give someone directions so that they can stop by for a visit?

Home Sweet Pickled Flamingo

With a flag, of course.

Do you have a flag?

 It's not too difficult to make one. The hardest part can be finding or making an image that identifies the trailer as yours.

Our flamingo logo formed itself about a year ago, as the confluence of the retro feel we seemed to be getting with our progressive remodeling. The top hat hearkens back to an earlier, classier era of travel, the martini glass represents the relaxation that the Tin Pickle brings and the flamingo because...

...well, flamingos and Airstreams just go together, like campy and trailer camping.

Making it fly well and show from both sides took a bit of planning and some tricks of execution. Bear with me below for some tricks I learned along the way.

Casini Ranch AirForums Rally 2012

The full hookup sites have a rustic feel

April 13-15, 2012

Aluminitis.

That's what they call it. And it's the one thing that binds all of us together and draws us to gather at rallies like Casini Ranch on the Russian River.

Did I say one thing?

The grassy "F" row is just behind the farthest trailers

Well...the trailers are very pretty and all, shining in the sun or emerging from a mist. But there is more to a rally than just a lot of aluminum.

The ingredients are there to make a weekend with just the right mix of friends, festivity, relaxation, activity, conversation and solitude.

More pictures below....

Pacific Coast 2012

March 30 - April 3, 2012

The new awning got a workout in Morro Bay State Park

...In Which Barbie Tows The Pickle Herself And Causes Only Minor Damage

This was a bit of a shakedown cruise and a chance for me to learn just how many details Bart keeps track of on any given trip.

The idea of trailering solo didn't cause too much trepidation - I've was exposed to trucks and tractors and horse trailers at an early age. But all the myriad steps of setting up and breaking camp have not yet gotten fixed in my head.

New Awning - sewing and metal repair

It works!

We have a new awning! 

We have a functional awning!

 After years of not quite being able to get the Tin Pickle's awning to deploy properly, we did some investigating. What we discovered gave us a list of Things To Do Differently.

 Before we had even ordered fabric for making the replacement awning, we knew to 1) install the awning right side up, 2) be sure not to over crimp the channel that holds it at the top, 3) use a fabric that can withstand the sun, 4) use non-cotton thread to avoid rotting, 5) make the awning long enough so that it the upper awning support bars can actually reach the sides of the roller tube, 6) replace the missing left bar claw with a mirror image, not a copy, of the right bar claw, and 7) tension the awning pole enough so that the awning rolls up under the metal cover rather than sitting on top of it. That's quite an education that we have the previous owner(s) to thank for.