Posted July 8, 2018 – Narrated by Carmen
Yesterday was our first day in Canada.
And, on July 18th we’ll celebrate two years on the road living in Beauty!
It’s been a wild ride …
Summer of 2016, we left San Diego and began driving north with the expectation of crossing into Canada …
But unexpected events, disasters, emergencies, storms, distractions and an eclipse put us on a completely different path …
But, that’s life, right? You can’t always pick and choose but somehow everything works out…
Almost a year ago, Beauty was invited to attend her family reunion at The Wally Byam Airstream Club International Rally in Salem, Oregon where we were assigned a venue to tell our story.
The WBCCI rally, “Living The Dream” was perfectly suited to launch us back into the “dream” itinerary from which we diverted in 2016.
After the rally, we visited friends in Portland …
… and continued north through Oregon …
Washington…
Duncan Garden – Spokane, Washington 
Nishinomiya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden – Spokane, Washington 
then Idaho for our 43rd Anniversary dinner with new Airstream friends …
Kelly and Jim 
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 
Coeur d’Arlene, Idaho
and now, the plan is to reunite with old friends in Calgary and experience Stampede.
But we don’t take future plans too seriously.
If these last two years have taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen …
But we made it to Salem!
Beauty, surrounded by her litter mates and close cousins from all over the world, glowed like a newly hatched Airstream chic in her Walbernized glory beneath the splendid Oregon sky.
Clearly, she is holding her age.
But, whoa! Navigating through a shiny maze of 650 pasturing Airstreams is like walking through a house of mirrors.
We finally learned what those big red numbers are about!
As we wandered the fairgrounds trying to find Beauty, we met friends both old and new – from LIB followers to Airstreamers we’ve met on social media and on the road.
Nancy and Loma 
Mike 
Diane 
John and Amy 
Jihong 
Evan 
Debbie, Frank and Eileen 
Fonny and Mim 
Jim, Wally Byam Airstream International President 
Josée and Rock 
Judy and Mike
And, we were surprised how many Airstreamers attended the LIB presentation and contributed valuable content to the full-timing conversation.
Many long-term travelers shared their unique perspectives, insights, and experiences, demonstrating how a widely diverse community is embracing “location independence” like never before.
Jim and I felt the love of the Airstream family and sensed a special bond with our personal heroes who have journeyed without a permanent address for a decade or more.
From all over the world they came – Tahiti, Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada – to attend seminars and events …
and to ogle glamorous young Airstreams …
and, pay homage to elegant vintage Airstreams…
and to bask the hospitality of Salem.
The Beast took a break as we toured the city on our bikes …
The perfect place for this rally!
Oregon’s legacy is exploration.
In fact, Airstream trailers were designed by Oregonian and world traveler, Wally Byam.
And, just recently, Byam’s personal 1955 Airstream was discovered in Oregon by Scott Goranson who restored #1 to its original appearance, inside and out.
Of course, the 63-year-old Airstream is still road-worthy.
That’s why we bought an Airstream.
We weren’t even Airstream enthusiasts at the time, but we knew we didn’t want a recreational vehicle with a short lifespan. Most luxury parks won’t accept trailers and motorhomes older than ten years unless it’s an Airstream.
Beauty had a lovely time at the WBCCI Rally 2018.
And, it’s comforting to imagine that our nearly new 2001 Airstream Excella may still be in commission thirty years from now, journeying to Canada, Europe, Mexico and other beautiful places …
… taking a couple of semi-retired millennials on their ride of a lifetime.
Passing the legacy along to the next generation is an essential aspect to Living the Dream American style.
And it’s good to know that Wally Byam has our back.
NJ Neuman here
I’ve been follwing you two back the year before you started your full time on the road Odyssey.
Reading every post.
We’ll be heading out in 2 weeks for an excursion from NJ to Shelter Island NY then to Cape Cod (Nickerson SP) for 2 weeks & 3 ferry rides !!!
Happy trails & safe travels
Someday we’ll meet up
David (NJ Neuman).
I forgot to mention the star of our fleet “Althea” she’s a 28 ft AS
Cheers !!
NJ Neuman
David (NJ Neuman), great to always hear from you. You have been following us a long long time. We show your first blog comment was January 23, 2016. That is 4 days after our very first post. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for follow us on this crazy adventure. Hope someday we can connect on the road.
Love, LoVe, L❤️VE this post. We hope to make it to Oregon someday. In the meantime, Maine and Waco awaits.
Kathy and Steve, Oregon was a lot of fun and the sights were spectacular. We haven’t made it up to Maine yet, but it is on our list. Tell us more about Waco and what we could do if we were to go there. Not familiar with that area.
You guys make my heart dance. So gifted, so committed, so clever. Hugs.
Eva, we think of you a lot and send prayers you way often. Dave was one of our favorite people and when we spoke a few years ago at Beth and David’s going away party, he hugged us. We sure loved him dearly.
Wow, Carmen! Great narration to the pictures’ stories. We are thrilled we met you in person finally. Enjoy your travels in beautiful B.C. Jim & Deb, still chasing 75 degrees. . .
Jim and Deb, thank you for your kind thoughts. After following your blog for so long, it was fantastic to finally meet you two. We had a blast at the WBCCI Rally. You pulled off an amazing event!!!! Hope we connect again soon on the road.
Looks like you guys have been on the road just about a month longer than us! Isn’t it crazy how much can happen in two years? What a wild and crazy ride. I’m also, admittedly, a little jealous of all the cool Airstreams we see and the committed owners they have. While we are very happy with our motorhome, in our experience, there is not the same level of brand loyalty to any motorhome brand as there is to Airstream. It’s an interesting phenomenon we have noticed for a while now. Anyway, happy two years and here’s to many more on the road!
Laura and Kevin, we agree that some major crazy can happen in two years. Tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary on the road, so you will be celebrating yours next month, we assume. Hope someday we meet on the road! We enjoy following your blog. We have been sending folks to your site for a long time. https://livinginbeauty.net/non-airstream-travel-blogs/
We were looking forward to meeting you guys in person at the rally after following LIB since the beginning. While your posts are delightful (and informative!), you are even more delightful in person. We so enjoyed spending time with you those two evenings; discovered we have a lot in common. Also made all sorts of notes during your full-timer presentation. Carmen, you make GREAT cupcakes! Was so nice of you both to bring those by. We do hope we disabused you of the notion that Texas is a place to drive through rather than explore. Hope you will visit us in Little Rock or NTAC; safe travels and continue to share your adventures with the rest of us for many more years. Finally, we could listen to Carmen read a phone book; what a lovely and soothing voice.
Michael & Judy Shelley
Rose #5932
Michael and Judy, It was such a pleasure to finally meet you two after communications through ‘comments’ on the blog for over two years. We have placed on our wish list map Little Rock and NTAC, so watch out, we may show up some day. Phone book? I remember those things. Weren’t they printed on paper and thrown at houses back in the day?
Meeting you was one of the highlights of our time at Salem. Thanks for such a wonderful blog.
Cam and Heather. #7272
Cam, thank you for your kind words. We do enjoy writing our blog and are constantly amazed folks other than family enjoy it and read it. We too have a blast at the Salem Rally.
We’re somewhat close to you now but wondering if we’ll ever catch you. We’ve been going across the northern tier, and are now in Winthrop WA. ( Cute little town) heading towards Seattle. Hoping to make North Cascades, Mount Rainier & Olympic NPs. Then down to Oregon. Keep up the great work.
Bill & Mary Grant
Bill and Mary, Wow, so close to each other for a short time. We are still in the Calgary area, but leaving soon for a 3 week journey to Jasper National Park. The opposite direction from you. One of these days, our paths will cross!