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 Lou has me inspired … I really love her cre8tive style for making cards and such. I think that I want to find me an Airstream etched stamp!
 After a frolicking fun shop at Trader Joe’s with the girls, slaDE~ and I bid our ‘until we see you agains’ and made a pitstop at the local propane distributor, re-certifying our horizontal aluminum tanks for another 10 years. Finally we made our way eastward towards Skydive Oz, several days out of sync with our original plans, but happy with the unexpected adventures and new friends made. 
 Again we started out the day with intentions to head eastwards for our friends in Ceres New York. However, our start was later than expected, and by the time we were hooked up, ready to depart, it was well mid-morning. All hitched up, goodbyes completed and ready to go, but with one small glitch … we discovered a flat tire on the middle right axle tire (we have a tri-axle = 6 tires on the Airstream).
I personally was happy to have discovered this here rather than travelling at top speed down the freeway.To be within reach of the Airstream Service Center with mechanics available to fix it then and there was a welcome relief. You could say that it was actually our lucky day! First flat tire in our 7 months on the road. And go figure, when the trailer was hoisted with the 5 tonne jack and I was checking for the location of the puncture with my eagle eyes, I discovered not 1 but 2 nails to have lodged themselves in to two separate tires. But as good fortune would have it, only one tire was leaking air. The rear axle tire somehow had been spared  . It was a sight to behold witnessing our trailer pitched to one side (for 2 hours!) with the full brunt of its 10000 pounds on the 3 left tires and front jack, throughout the plug and patch tire repair process. Whilst we were in repair mode, we had Ken our mechanic replace 4 Olympic rivets on the upper right skin that were on our to-do list. He was very thorough and informative (educating us in the process) for the duration of the time-consuming tasks. I was quite impressed to discover that Ken had been employed by Airstream for 48 years. That’s an incredible feat, in this day and age … literally, married to his work for almost half a century.
 Mid-afternoon, once again, we were ready to depart. Rich approached us with the idea of joining him and Eleanor at their friend’s Lou and Larry’s LaGrange Ohio (Cleveland being the closest city). I was excited at the prospect … our very first caravan with another Airstream and travelling on-the-road courtesy parking for the night (courtesy parking is when strangers/new friends offer us a place to park for the evening, with possible hookup of electricity and water). With walkie talkie in hand, we spent the next 4 hours intermittently chatting on the radios whilst enjoying the gorgeous weather and Ohio countryside views.
Lou and Larry Woodruff were remarkable hosts! They fed us a beautiful potluck-style barbecue whilst gifting us with great conversation, lessons in beading & card making, a jacuzzi soak that I literally melted in to, a resting place for the night and a starry fireside afterglow that had me lulled in to bed before midnight.
Aluma-AfterParty:
 I’d say about 1/3rd of the rally particpants left Alumapalooza yesterday in between the deluge of rain storms. A combination of the mugginess and sweltering moments of fiery sun had dried up the ground enough for a lone John Deere tractor to pull out eager rally-goers, wanting to leave before the mass Sunday exodus would start.  What wasn’t expected by me at the crack of dawn was an all-too-familiar ‘alarm clock’ sounding, transporting me back to days of life on the farm, where tractors were a daily part of my existence. The John Deere was at work for most of the morning, a beacon of green to the silver bullets fearful of being stuck in the mud. Luckily, we were in no real hurry to leave Jackson Center. I in turn wistfully watched the continuous departure of Airstream by uniquely different Airstream, sprouting wings for their next destination, many making a beeline towards home, others off in search of new adventures and drier pastures.
 The beauty of having a non-fixed schedule lies in the ability to be spontaneous and therefore open to opportunity and circumstance. Such began our day … our plan initially had been to depart straight for our friend’s Ash and Celeine’s Oz Homestay Bed & Breakfast and Skydiving Center. However, with the potential for hanging out longer with some of our new-found wonderful friends, enjoying the Alumapalooza after-party, we couldn’t help but be swayed in to staying another evening, parked on terra firma at the Terraport.
 Once we were settled in to an open slot at the Terraport (Airstreams parked in every nook and cranny … we were lucky to find an available opening), we sat down for a lovely meal of leftovers from a delicious Indian feast that Eleanor had cooked for the Europeans mid-week. What an incredible cook she is …. and her brownies are to die for .
The Jackson Center Community Days parade capped off our week of Airstream fun with a healthy dose of antique tractors, twirling & marching bands, and a squadron of antique & modern day Emergency Service Vehicles. Jackson Center is certainly proud of its community and the local residents came out in force to celebrate and show their appreciation.
yogaFLIGHT was on the agenda with several of our amazing new friends. The blue skies with a puffy cotton ball backdrop amidst the blossoming trees made for fabulous photos amidst all the shining aluminum.
 To top off a perfect gorgeous Spring’s day, a group of us went out for a fantastic meal in Sidney Ohio at ‘The Spot To Eat’ restaurant (I highly recommend the Buffalo burger on a rye bun). Made for a fabulous evening of entertainment with 10 animated interesting people sharing amusing stories and kindred spirits.
Day 5 of Alumapalooza:
 What an exciting day! I’ve been so looking forward to the Airstream open house and the ‘SWAP Meet’ (basically where vendors can bring anything they might have to sell, Airstream of origin or not) .
The open house is a time to check out other Airstream trailers, if their owners are open to visitors checking out their pride and joys. Open door means come and visit, closed door indicates ‘not participating’.
I am always looking for a forum for selling my aromatherapy alchemist concoctions and today seemed like the perfect opportunity to highlight the benefits of aromatherapy in one’s life, especially whilst travelling on the road. I’ve always been fascinated by essential oils, their potential healing properties and the beauty of their scent. To actually have people wanting to buy my all natural blends (i.e. insect repellant, varietal perfumes, exotic diffusing sprays & blends plus so much more) has me beyond excited, fuelled by my passion for alchemy and essential oils. So with that exuberance and this occasion, I leapt out of bed bright and early, preparing my display of wares under the small tent behind the Airstream factory. The weather was heavy with moisture and the precipitation held off patiently until after I had set up my table. The winds steadily picked up and the soggy muddy grounds of the rally became saturated with puddles of rain.
Yet my mood remained elevated at the diligent stream of people who flowed by with a steadiness that surprised me, for the complete hour that the vendors had their tables available for viewing. Our apartment-sized dishwasher (used by the previous owner of our Airstream and carted all the way down from Canada in the back of our truck) was of no interest to those today attending the SWAP Meet. And who can blame them? Space is a luxury in our RV, and a dishwasher doesn’t really fit in to our lifestyle or 34 foot silver bullet.
Although the rain subsided at times, the mud remained and I was uncertain as to whether the open house would be a popular event. But the sun came out to play and we had a chance to browse through other people’s beautiful homes. It’s inspiring to see so much personal cre8tivity with each and every Airstream.
 The weather changed sporadically all day, and in between, delightful seminars from Kristiana Spaulding of Silver Trailer and Kristy and Sean Michael from the LongLongHoneymoon inspired those in attendance with their cre8tive stories and inspirational lifestyle dreams. I love to see people successfully cre8ting and living their own dreams, breath by breath, with no real guidelines other than following their hearts and instincts. We endeavour to follow in similiar footsteps but with our own flair for yoga, yogaFLIGHT and skydiving to lift our spirits higher than they have ever soared!
 The evening dinner was succulent, tasty and preceded by brilliance. Joe Diamond, a bizarrely innovative and talented magician, had the audience riveted with aluminous aptitude that had me tickled by his quirky humour, slight of hand and engaging talent at ‘reading minds’. A great evening finished with a lovely walk through Jackson Center, savouring Airstream’s aluminum trailers before Alumapalooza’s mass exodus.
Day 4 of Alumapalooza:
Although it’s Friday and it feels that things should be ramping uP with the start of the weekend, Alumapalooza seems to be winding down for me. Perhaps because I know that, come Sunday morning early, the bulk of Airstreamers will hitch themselves up and hit the road in pursuit of other adventures. Ourselves included. I suppose that I’m reluctant to leave this small piece of soggy heaven where lovely new friends have been made, many through the connection of yoga and yogaFLIGHT.
So many seminars to go to today, where do I start? With an early morning yoga class to kick-start my day, I was looking forward to the polishing demo / seminar. This Fall, slaDE~ and I would like to strip our trailer of the clear coat exterior (which is peeling off in large quantities), bringing it down to the bare aluminum. At 34 feet long, I can’t tell you how much work this will be to polish Airabella to a shiny mirror-like sheen. We’re talking weeks for the whole process! Although I was hoping to pick up a few valuable tips, the approaching rain stalled the seminar and scared away any electric tools that had come out to play. And with the threat of soggy weather forecast in sporadic spurts all day, this aluminum polishing demo would have to be put on hold until next year. Drat!
For the first time all week, I was able to lie down for a quick power-nap. My blog had been suffering all week from the lack of personal time to just breath. We seemed to be running at full throttle from sunup to sundown (and beyond). So any quality ‘me’ time was truly a blessing.
The long and fully engaging / educational discussion on towing was incredibly valuable. Despite the threat of flailing awnings seeking our diligent attention, I was able to garner an abundance of useful tips and words of wisdom from Can-Am (Canadian!) spokesman Andy Thomson. I found it fascinating to hear the honest and concise facts about tow vehicles (i.e. what is appropriate, safe and necessary, at a bare minimum), especially with uS being a faithful follower and user of a Hensley Hitch. Many myths were dispelled, especially concerning the specifications around what makes a safe tow vehicle (i.e. no trailer sway, safe driving techniques, weight & balance, tire size and pressure), and whether one really needs a big heavy-duty truck to pull our long portly 34 foot Airstream. Not necessarily the case, as proven by Andy’s VW diesel Jetta that he has hooked up to a brand new 23′ Airstream; Rich Luhr is also towing their 30′ trailer with a snazzy diesel Mercedes Benz. Quite extraordinary really when you think about all the misinformation out there on the world wide web! I felt an even greater relief when Andy had a personal look at our own setuP. A sincerely nice and incredibly knowledgeable man who has done a tremendous amount of research and field testing on the towing of trailers (with a heavy focus on Airstreams).
 This evening, before dinner, slaDE and I discussed with Bob Wheeler (CEO and President of Airstream) and his superfit wife Kelly, the possibility of showing them the benefits of yogaFLIGHT through a demo of what we do. Kelly was open to the experience, and I narrated for those attending happy hour what exactly yogaFLIGHT was all about and the sequence of the unique stretches slaDE takes his flyers through. Hence, not many photos of Kelly from my viewpoint. But I’m more than certain that many people captured this unique event for Kelly and Bob’s digital Alumapalooza photo album .
Afterwards, the rally participants we were treated to an amazingly yummy and decadent dinner slaDE and I were blessed to share in the company of our new friend, Becky Blanton ~ a very talented independent writer for Airstream Life magazine. Becky interviewed uS a monthago for an article in Airstream Life magazine (SO exciting!). But in reversing the roles, Becky has just as fascinating story as we do, but with far more heartbreaking in which reality took an about face … from the vision of hoping to travel the country as a journalist and live out of her van for a year, Becky found herself unemployed, homeless and depressed in the process. But in her story of recovery (Ted.com), Becky pulled herself out of homelessness and turned her life around. She still travels and lives at large in her van, and currently is manifesting a dream of her own Airstream travel trailer, where her home will exist wherever she chooses to pull in for the night. We live this life as well, of transient freedom, using our skills based on whims of passion and flight to help feed the dream and future. Do you think that slaDE and I are considered homeless? Nomadic dream-makers, living the quintessential non-conventional life? A fine line exists between ownership and homelessness, prolifically visible in the great collapse of America’s housing market. So in helping Becky to manifest her dream, we offered her a simple sticker of Airstream whimsy to light her fire whenever that dream may seem to fade at the immensity of it all. Friendship in the form of hope, love and inspiration will out-survive any amount of debt and ‘placelessness’ that we may have in this world. Here’s to inspiring and lifting up others who are also launching skywards for their goals and dreams.
Other favourite photos from the day:
 
Day 3 of Alumapalooza:
 Morning yoga. Opening up the body, enlivening the spirit, gifting the world with light, love and energy. What better way to start our days at Alumapalooza? After our Yoga and Healthy Living workshop, participants of this glorious Airstream rally were excited about the prospect of morning yoga classes. I don’t know why I was surprised? Perhaps it was because I came to Jackson Ohio with no expectations and an open mind to any and all opportunities for spreading the yoga / yogaFLIGHT love. The response has been rather overwhelming, but I love how friendly and passionate my fellow Airstreamers are.  I’ve discovered during this spectacular rally of like-minded individuals that we are all travelling down the stream of life, navigating our own way whilst crossing paths at times, in celebration, breathing, loving and living fully. Much respect given to those at Alumapalooza who might have been dubious about the benefits and joys of yoga and yogaFLIGHT. It’s all about the breathing, the ability to communicate, the trust in both yourself and for us as teachers, and the willingness to play. I was thoroughly delighted by the audience of younger children, pets and curious adults who joined in on the fun.
To those who attended, thanks for the joyous yoga-streaming extravaganza. It’s been an awesome adventure thus far!Our days seem to be incredibly full, attending various workshops, covering topics that varied from the health of our zip-dee awnings, the techniques behind the polishing, restoring and towing of our Airstreams as well as covering the journeys of talented artists, such as Bert Gildart, Michael Depraida, Kristiana Spaulding, Becky Blanton, and Alison Turner.
Many more interesting and talented people were discovered around the corner of every Airstream, and I felt that my social stamina was in need of recharging. So that we did, eating with a group of fellow Canadians at Cafe Verandah in downtown Jackson Center. Surprisingly, for such a small village with a population of 1500 people, the food marvelled that of any 4 star restaurant I’ve ever visited.
To top of our evening of delight, slaDE and I returned to the muddy Airstream rally fields in search of play whilst enjoying the opportunity of introducing Kristy and Sean Michael to this ‘crazy lifestyle and concept’ we call yogaFLIGHT. Kristy and Sean are akin to Airstream celebrities with their amazingly viral and popular travel videos on their blog LongLongHoneymoon.
Sean spent some time interviewing us for a video episode, and managed to catch some great yogaFLIGHT footage in between the rain showers. Finding a dry patch of grass was truly lucky on this temperate clear-skied evening. Our Airstream adventures keep getting juicier with each new experience! Check out the LongLongHoneymoon‘s Alumapalooza 2010 video here.
Day 2 of Alumapalooza:
 Before today, I have never witnessed a tornado siren in person. I’ve heard about storm warnings being sounded, but this alarm caught me off guard — so much so, I had to question what in fact the noise was. Tornadoes might be a standard in the Midwest, but in Teeswater (Ontario, Canada), it’s a rare occurrence indeed for a tornado to flash through, let alone have a distress signal vibrate. I don’t even think such an alarm exists in our community? Thank goodness for small mercies. At least we make up for the extreme weather with the abundance of snow and sucky driving conditions with our cold daunting winters .
What was supposed to be a fairly rain-free week has turned into freakish weather patterns across the Midwest. Whilst teaching our yoga class yesterday morning, the rain suddenly pounded down, drowning out slaDE~s booming voice (slaDE wasn’t interested in using a microphone). At times, he was a mime, demonstrating his poses. In fact, the deluge of water accompanied by the wind and lightening flashes enhanced our overall presentation as being flashy and adventuresome on top of being a healthy meditative practice towards healthy living. And then after the outpouring of noise and torrent, quiet reigned down on us all with glistening sticky sunlight heating up our very yoga core. And all was good in the world of sKY & slaDE~.
The afternoon skies opened up to azure blue skies painted with fluffy cotton balls and the humidity settled in like a sodden woollen blanket. I kept a vigilant eye on the sky for a green haze associated with strong thunderstorms (which sometimes produce a tornado).
In the evening, I managed to catch Eleanor at a moment of quiet, and convinced her to give yogaFLIGHT a try. Seduced by the benefits of yogaFLIGHT in relieving her migraine and therapeutically relaxing her body, Eleanor was excited to persuade the other Alumapalooza staff in giving our style of partner yoga a try. Everyone’s experience was quite noticeably different from each other. And with each flight, I am always delighted to see how a person can come alive with their inner playful child. Connecting and deepening one’s experience with communication, trust and the ability to let go is a gift of tremendous value.
For this reason, I am a huge proponent of yogaFLIGHT, yoga and inversions. Anybody else care to share their own experiences?
Day 1 of Alumapalooza:
 Today was the day! At 9am, with much anticipation (mixed with a healthy dose of nervousness), slaDE and I took front row and centre stage at the Alumapalooza main tent to offer some basic yoga stretches, along with ‘Healthy Living on the Road’ tips. I wasn’t certain as to what our turnout might be, so early on in the rally. The impending threat of rain was also a possible deterrent. Yet we had at least 20 participants on this damp wet early morning behind the Airstream Factory. I broke the ice by offering homemade mung bean sprouts (a bigger hit than donuts, go figure!). And with this amazing start, my heart soared. With ease and familiarity, I fell in to a relaxed state of cadence and ease as slaDE and I co-taught a morning yoga routine along with yoga stretches for tight enclosed seated spaces (i.e. heavy focus on stiff, potentially stressed, RV passengers and stationary drivers). Of course, what would any workshop be without our display of yogaFLIGHT!
 Why not dazzle the crowd before launching in to a discussion on healthy living on the road? Made perfect sense to uS! Shame I didn’t have any photos taken on our camera. Would have been a nice momento. Next time!
We followed with words of wisdom and experience for nutrition and healthy living on the road. slaDE and myself certainly try to walk the talk in our daily lives. Hopefully, our participants found the information useful.
Before we knew it, our hour was up. I was quite surprised to see the number of other people who had dropped by to listen to our interactive dynamically fun seminar. How fantastic is that?!
In celebration, I offer you my notes from Alumapalooza 2010, sKY & slaDE Workshop as a tool for your own steps to healthy living on the road. EnjoY!!!
Please share this download freely with your RV and road tripping friends. A healthy planet is an incredible goal. Baby steps ….
PS If anyone is interested in purchasing a Vita-Mix, the company offers free shipping on your order when you use our affiliate code. Click here for more info .
Namaste.
 Jackson Center Ohio. The home of iconic and revered pop-culture Airstream travel trailers and motor homes, since 1952. Today kicked off our second visit to this small village noted for simple and clean country living. And the population was about to grow by 300 people for the Alumapalooza rally and festival of Jackson Center Community days. Puffy white clouds greeted our arrival as we pulled up to the registration tent behind the Airstream factory. Having missed the morning deluge of mud-riddled parkings, we found ourselves a level ground to camp for the next 5 days. HOME!! Surrounded by shiny aluminum trailers of all size and age.
This is my happiness. 
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