Getting There

Well, it is now March 6 and yesterday we finally made arrangements to pick up Zia(our new Airstream) on March 21, 2014. Colonial Airstream has been storing it on site since we made the purchase back on Jan 23. They had agreed to store it through March for us.

A lot has been going on believe it or not since we signed the papers and paid the money. Somehow, through Air Forums, I met Jay & Cathy Waltz from St Albans. They had also just purchased a new AirStream. They bought an Eddie Bower from Nomad Airstream in Plattsburg and when they saw that we had also just purchased, sent me an email and advised me of something I would never have picked up on- Sales Tax on Travel Trailers in Vermont is limited to $1850. Colonial Airstream had already collected over $3600 for this tax to pay the state of Vermont. When I sent them confirming documentation from the State of Vermont website, they sent me a refund check in the amount of $1847 plus one for the State of Vermont for $1850. As Cathy had said, the local DMV office people probably would not be aware of this and I would need to contact the Commissioners office and have them advise local office of this rule. She was right - they were not aware of it, but I did contact the Commissioners office and when I went back to register trailer, they were on board with the $1850 amount. I can't thank Jay & Cathy enough for bringing this relatively unknown rule to my attention. Saved us over $1800. And oh, BTW, if you see an airstream on the road with plates ANR206 - that's us.

 It has been a long winter and a long wait. We've managed to keep busy by buying things for the new trailer. Things like an outdoor grill, bed covers, binoculars(for birding), Walkie Talkies, Pots and Pans, plates. Can't forget the Invertor/Generator. Just purchased a Yamaha EF2000iS.

Mary has been extremely busy "creating" a really neat Airstream/Tow Vehicle quilt block. It looks just like our setup. She has been living on her iPad looking for things for the trailer. I have been following a number of travel Blogs- seeing how other people handle living on the road. I had all the tires on our 2011 Ford F150 XLT replaced with new Michelins. Also ordered new towing/mirror extensions for the truck. We've also been busy planning on how we are going to spend time in the new trailer, having made reservations at Acadia National Park for 4 days in late June, four days at Cayuga Lake State Park in the Finger Lakes Region of NY in August, and reservations at Butterfield Resort in Benson, AZ for the month of November, Cochise Terrace RV Resort for Dec - Jan and Desert Trails RV park outside of Tuscon for Feb - Mar. Looking at how we will spend the month of April and for right now are  leaning on a trip to South Rim of Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and Mesa Verde, ending up in Santa Fe area for a week or so, before heading home. Somehow trying to coordinate the weather. Last thing we want to do is come home in a snowstorm(s).

Back to getting the trailer. Now we just need the weather to cooperate - we don't need any more snowstorms and we especially don't need a bad mud season. If everything goes well we'll have it home and park it in the back yard until we can get a dozer up here to clear a pad in an area that I have chosen to store/park the unit. The trip down is about a 4 - 4 1/2 hour drive and we have scheduled delivery appointment for 9:00 AM so an early start is in the works. And a long day. Hopefully everything goes ok.