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Originally scheduled for our aluminum anniversary in September but delayed by a series of tornados which ripped through the area, we finally made it to Florida in November. But the delay made it possible for us to attend an Airstream rally at the Blue Spring State Park & meet many other people I had gotten to know over the course of the refurbishment on airstreamforums.com. Of particular note was Curly, another Airstreamer with whom I swapped a tremendous amount of email as he pursued a similar refurbishment on his ’72 Overlander.

Luckily, our maiden voyage had prepared me for towing the Airstream in a pouring rain. But eight hours of it? It rained from the time we left home until we pulled into a KOA in the Florida Panhandle. Unfortunately, the journey also either revealed an undetected leak around the air conditioner or caused it. It leaked just enough to make a small mess, but did not hurt anything, and it only leaked while driving in a constant, pouring rain. Happily though, it was the only issue we had with the Airstream over the entire 11 day trip. But the best thing was that it only rained while we were on the road, not while were enjoying the sites of Florida.

After a restful evening at the KOA, we hit the road to find some unusually heavy rain. At one point we were almost stopped on the interstate it was raining so hard. Although rain was the theme for the next few hours, it did let up at one point to reveal some patches of blue sky. “What do you make of that cloud?” Kim asked me of a particularly interesting formation. “Oh, probably a tornado” I joked. Think of ‘a lead balloon’. To make up for it, I started scanning radio stations for local weather reports.

A short time later, we pulled into an old Mom & Pop gas station/souvenir shop. Daniel & I simply ran through the rain to get inside while Kim took the time to get an umbrella for her & Jared. A short time later, Daniel decided to stay with his mom inside the shop while I went back out to check running gear etc. With the check-list somewhat shortened by the rain, I slid behind the wheel just in time to see Kim all but dragging the Boyz back to the Suburban unaided by the umbrella. “DRIVE EAST NOW!” Apparently, Pop had been monitoring a television, and advised Kim of a tornado or straight line winds which had touched down in the county just west of where we were. Upon hearing the news, Kim assessed his building, and decided we would be better off elsewhere.

Deciding it was time to hear what the National Weather Service had to say about the events unfolding around us, I quickly retrieved the handheld CB/Weather radio from the Overlander. Although not happy about the short delay, Kim was happy to have a weather news source. So happy in fact that she did not mind having to listen at an awkward position to allow the tiny whip antenna to stick out her partially cracked window. I see a fixed CB antenna for the Suburban in our future (the Overlander already has one).

Nothing developed weather-wise, and after a half hour or so, Kim decided we were proceeding East significantly faster than bad weather was, and came off alert. We finally drove into nice weather, and arrived at Blue Spring State Park Friday afternoon to find several members already there. It is the most unusual feeling to have both a lot in common, and common ground with a whole lot of people one has never actually met. But there we were discussing Airstream topics, and asking each other follow up questions on material previously posted on the forums page.

We spent the rest of the day, and the bulk of the next day talking with everyone & taking in the Park’s attractions. Saturday’s dinner was a potluck affair where I cooked up 18 pounds of fresh fried chicken. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. A big thanks to fellow Airstreamer Edie for breading the chicken while I cooked, and to Curly for providing the LPG so I would not run one of my two tanks out until after we reached Disneyworld (LPG at Disneyworld was priced amazingly reasonable). Although I did not want to leave the following morning, The Mouse was expecting us, and I had all but lost my voice after talking with everyone so much.

We had a bit of excitement on the interstate about 30 miles away from Disneyworld. Traffic was moderate, and I was in the middle lane doing around 65 mph. There was a minivan three or four lengths ahead of me in the left lane, and I could see him coming up on a tire laying on the road.

Thinking he would probably swerve left to avoid it, I sat up in my seat just in case he slowed before swerving into my lane. None of the above - he drove his right hand tires OVER it. In slow motion, I watched the tire sail 15 feet into the air as it headed in my direction. Abruptly swerving to the right, and then trying to correct, the Airstream started to fishtail.

I think I could have straightened it out with just the throttle, but I didn’t practice reaching for the electric brake’s manual lever for nothing! I hit the electric brake lever hard, and punched the gas. Everything straightened out almost immediately. Funny thing was that while I busy trying to save the Overlander, from Kim’s perspective it appeared the tire was going to hit me. She was apparently trying to figure out how she was going to steer while I picked rubber out of my teeth (or vice-versa ). Due probably to the slipstream around the Airstream, the tire missed us completely. I don’t know how the people behind us fared, but we didn’t hear anything on the news about it.

Disneyworld, with Kim’s careful planning of what to do each day, was lots of fun. Fort Wilderness, although it lost many trees during the spate of hurricanes, was still an extremely nice, wooded campground. With one boy still in pull-ups, I found the plethora of small garbage cans dotting the campground, and emptied at least once daily, to be a major bonus. Much to our surprise, although the bathhouses were clean & well maintained, we found it easier to use the Overlander’s facilities.

We found the busses & boats provided by Disney to be more than adequate for transporting us to just about everything we wanted to do during our week-long stay. The mighty Burb did take us all offsite one afternoon for groceries, and just Kim & me onsite to a remote occasion for my birthday steak. Kim lined up a Disney-approved grandmother to come to the Overlander, and watch the Boyz while we marked the occasion. She even washed the Boyz’ supper dishes! . Other than those outings, and a shopping expedition by Kim, the Burb sat at the campsite blocking the Boyz from running their toys into the campground loop.

For those of you planning a Disneyworld trip, apparently, nowadays the rage is to rent a golf cart to more effectively get around the campground. We chose not to, and were not subsequently disappointed with our decision.

I did find the weather in Florida to be interesting. During the refurb, I took great pains to ensure I would have a working air conditioner suitable for handling Florida’s heat. I don’t believe we ended up turning it on. Although the daytime weather was warm enough for shorts, the Overlander’s three, roof top vents provided adequate ventilation for all the day time we spent at our site. A few evenings even got cool enough to run the heat.

As a confirmation that it was time to hit the road, it started raining. Luckily, the first leg of our trip back home was not kicked up a notch by flying tires or tornados. Strangely, as had been the case with all our other campsites for this trip, it stopped raining long enough for us to make camp. In time though, the rains returned, and we sat in the Overlander watching television as dinner plans were contemplated. Hmm, let’s see: Should we all get dressed, load up, and head out into the cold hard rain in search of a restaurant in South Alabama, or should Tom just go forage the store by himself & return with fixings for a hot meal? It was a tough decision for some of us.

I found a Winn Dixie supermarket without much trouble. Although tired, and now getting wet, I did try to help a fellow in the parking lot jumpstart his diesel flatbed truck. The truck obviously had problems other than a weak battery, and I had to give up. I only mention it because it seems no one ever needs help on a bright, sun-shiny day.

Winn Dixie sold me a box meal & dinner rolls. Reading the box, the directions called for the delicacy to be baked in a regular ole 9X13 inch pan. Hmm, that didn’t ring any bells. The cookware in my Overlander consists of all the pots & pans we used to lug around while tent camping. I couldn’t recall ever cooking in an oven during that time. Kim couldn’t either. The only pots I had that were big enough to accommodate the repast were not oven safe. What would Martha Stewart do? I don’t know, but she probably wouldn’t do what I did which was to make a “pan” out of two layers of aluminum foil (no rivets though ). Hey! It worked!

The trip home to North Alabama went without incident. The air conditioner leak has since been repaired, and a steel 9X13 inch pan now sits in the Overlander’s cabinet. As soon as I get the Suburban a CB radio antenna, we’ll be ready for the next adventure!