Geez Louise!

Yes, that's me (Louise) and like it sounds, I tend to fly by the seat of my pants and get myself into (and out of) a few pickles here and there, but hey, life is suppose to be an adventure, right?!?

I grew up in Eugene, along with my 5 siblings, who I love to pieces!! I have two precious kids (ok, not kids anymore but love beyond measure), who have grown into the neatest people on this planet!!  Seriously!!   I'm single, retired and the proud owner of a 2011 16 ft Bambi Sport Airstream.  Just to let you know, I bought the Airstream 8 months before I retired.  Yep, I couldn't wait! 

So here I am, about to embark on my first trip ever (Airstream or otherwise) to drive across the United States with my gal pals. Talk about fun!!  I've always had a thing for driving (I must have been a race car driver in another life...) so I'm lovin' this!!  Ciao for now!

Meet the Chics: Thelma

Last weekend was our first official Airstream rally of 2012 - it was awesome to hear that so many of our friends in the group were following our upcoming road trip!!  Aside from the obvious (Lucy is sooo Lucy) everyone wanted to know each of our Pen Names.  For those of you reading this blog because you know one, a few or all of us....or don't know any of us and just find it entertaining, we've decided to each write a post which gives you a little insight as to who we are.

So just who is this Thelma chic?  Someone who is absolutely astounded that she owns an Airstream...and LOVES IT!!!  (Actually, I own a few of them but that's another story).  Never in my wildest imagination did I think that my life would be so enriched with the friendships and adventures I've had since joining the Oregon Unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club Intl (WBCCI).  I love the big red numbers, I love visiting everyone's AS because it's an extension of their personality and...wait for it....I love camping (actually - I call it Glamping...glamour camping).  As I write this post, I'm sitting in my beloved GiGi (aka GlamperGirl) at Stubb Stewart State Park in OR looking outside the window at sunshine - hard to believe I awoke to a winter wonderland yesterday morning!

I grew up in Seattle - my sweet mom still lives there; am married, no children, one darling hound dog named Mellie (or Snork...depending on the sounds coming out of her hound dog nose).  I've been in sales the majority of my professional career although I'm finding that my passion for marketing may take me down a different path in the near future.  I'm a self-professed Shoe Dog and have been known to pack waaayyyy too many shoes but it would be so awful to need that perfect pair and know they were sitting at home, right?  I like to think I'm pretty good at merchandising our Airstreams (okay...there are five of them:  a '56 Flying Cloud named Alice, a '58 Bubble aptly named BubbleLicious, a '61 Bambi named Rogue, an amazingly renovated '69 Tradewind named Kalakala, and GiGi - a 2011 CCD Bambi Int'l) and am constantly on the hunt for just the right lamp, clock, rug to put my personal stamp on their interiors.  I'm a certified Apple-junky...typing this post on my MacBook Pro, snapping photos with my iPhone, using my amazing new iPad3 as a mobile hot-spot...what more could I ask for?? 

Most of all - I'm proud to say I've surrounded myself with some pretty amazing people who inspire me, make me laugh and offer me hugs when I need them.  Life is pretty darned good.

Thanks for following us on our roadtrip - 62 days and counting until our adventure of a lifetime begins.

Thelma

and then there were Four!!!

It started with a simple "hey, are you going to Alumapalooza?" and quickly became a reality for not one but four friends.  Jackson Center OH....here we come!

A little background for those of you joining us on our grand adventure:  

What's an Alumapalooza?  The third annual gathering of 100 Airstreams...and a week filled with fun, new friends and incredible memories and Why Jackson Center (JC) OH?  Because that's the headquarters (or Mothership) for Airstream, Inc.  We can't wait to tour the factory...just think, all of those bright, shiny objects!!!  Who are these Chics?  We live in Oregon, we all own an Airstream trailer and we are going to have a blast!!!

Before we could even begin to answer all of the really important questions like "should I bring my own pillows?", "what are we going to do about food?" and, most importantly, "where are we going to go ....you know, poo?" we had to first plan our route.  Of course that entailed a sleepover @ Lucy's house!!

With the men in the other room tryin to plan their "man-venture"...cuz they were so not invited to join our road trip....Lucy, Ethel and I (Thelma) pulled out our laptops and began mapping our course.  Our strategy is to take a more leisurely, scenic route on the way to JC and then three of us will head home while Louise continues her journey eastward.

We're going to spend the night with friends in Idaho and enjoy some beautiful scenery (think Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands)...staying at a KOA here and there and yup, a hotel in Peoria the night before we roll into JC where we can shower, and whatever else we need to do ;), before making our grand entrance!!

Glad you could join us on our Chic Roadtrip!!

Cheers - 

Thelma, Louise, Lucy & Ethel