Picking up the Airstream in New Jersey!!
On Sunday I left for New Jersey with my Buddy Kevin to go pick up our Airstream! We left from Nashville TN at 4pm Sunday night and arrived in Lakewood NJ the next day at 1:58pm (13hr drive), Our "orientation" with Colonial Airstream was at 2pm..... I"m always on time ;)
Here are a few pictures from our trip!
This was 30 seconds after I first saw the Airstream!! What an exciting moment! Keep in mind, we had actually never seen this model in person, so this was my first time ever.
This is my buddy Kevin Banks who made the trip with me. Every airstreamer needs a traveling buddy for your first trip! Kevin is a family photographer and you can see his work on his website www.kevinscottbanks.com
Here she is all hooked up for the first time! We bought a used 2011 F250 diesel truck with 139,000 miles on it and it saved us a lot of money, but it wasn't easy! I had to do a ton of research! When we hooked up the Airstream, we realized the brake lights and turn signals didn't work! But Colonial Airstream was amazing at helping us fix the problem before we hit the road!
The very first thing I did when I left the dealership, was to go to an open parking lot and practice parking! This was my first attempt... I have to say, I love to back this thing up! But, keep in mind, that I am one of those guys that loves a good challenge ;) After parking a few times, we hit the road in the dead of night, looking for a place to stay. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a place to stay, so we called Colonial and asked them if we could stay in their parking lot over night... they said yes and we couldn't have been happier!
I learned a lot on the way back to Nashville, like where to get diesel gas while towing a huge 30ft Airstream. I learned how to change lanes, pass other cars, how to be patient, how to call ahead to camp grounds, and to never drive on toll roads again if I can ever manage to!!
It wasn't long before my confidence of driving the Airstream took me to one of the busiest cities in America! We randomly decided to drive through downtown Washington DC! I have to say though, it was cool! The Airstream is actually very easy to tow, but you have to be very careful around corners and when changing lanes. Basically, if you are a safe, but aggressive driver, who is always looking ahead and behind, you will be fine. At the last second, I made a turn in front of the Lincoln Memorial, where there was a perfect place to stop and take a picture of me with the truck and airstream again.... because you can't have enough of those pics ;)
We stopped traffic for this shot! I let Kevin out of the truck and he ran to take this picture of us in front of the Washington Monument!
That night, we stopped at Jelly Stone Camp ground in Virginia and did some fun pictures at night! You can see my photography at www.joehendricks.com
After all my travels, the scariest part was trying to fit into my driveway. It's a long driveway, but it's a tight fit.... but I nailed it on the first time! The whole trip was an amazing experience and I can't wait for what lies ahead for us in the future!
I'll be making a HUGE announcement soon, along with pictures of the Airstream inside and out before to long. Thank you for following and if you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask them!!
Joe