Day : 7 Thursday 01-jul-1999
At WBCCI International
Wright Patterson Air Force Base
Dayton, Ohio
We woke up late. Isabella had slept really well in the tent. Here finger was ok, no big swelling,
This morning started with the official pumping of our black water tanks. We had been playing a gag with Rich Kushman regarding the time for the pumping, trying to lead him to believe that it was 2am in the morning instead of after 6am. He'd then been instructed to be present at the time of pumping, as this was these were new rules at this International. In the end, he convinced himself he did not have to be up. But it was ironically going to turn into a day of smells anyway. For us, the pumping was really needed, with all the stomach problems we had been through. We were basically full of sh*t. During the days leading up to the pumping we had been joking with Rich and Cathy Kushman about just dumping in front of their trailer (they are parked next to us) ... this joke accidentally became reality when the real pumping came around. When they got ready to pump, they pulled the valve and then snapped my gray water adapter, which they somehow did not remove before attaching their big hose. Several gallons of good stuff came out at full speed on the grass. The stench was terrible. You should have seen the look on Rich's face! The pump guys tried to clean up what they could, but we're hoping for some rain now. One of the volunteer kids asked the supervisor if he could change clothes, as he got dumped on. He said NO, not until we're done with all the trailers. We felt sorry for him. Gregg Cocco supposedly has a picture of the thing. I did not have the stomach to take one.
In then joined a group of people from the Charter Oak Connecticut unit for a trip out to the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, a small town some 50 miles from here. It was worth the trip! We spent a bit of time in their factory store, getting odd bits of equipment. We then took the 2 o'clock factory tour. It was definitely worth the trip up there. This may not be typical of how the trips are conducted, but we followed a leader from Airstream but sort of held our own pace in the factory. We got to talk to the workers in the factory, on our own, while they were assembling units. Many visitors had specific questions about how certain things worked in the units, and they got to speak with those who had really done the job of putting those parts together. I had a great time and I am very grateful to Airstream for having offered this and for allowing us the peace and quiet to do the round at our own pace instead of rushing us around in a group like a bunch of kids. It definitely felt like the factory floor took these visits seriously. The work they put into those units are genuine hand craft. Things are built from small parts, basically. I took a lot of pictures during the visit. Click here if you'd like to see them.
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| A 31ft Excella, just like ours. Feels really big before the guts are added! |
Luckily Lillemor missed the mess that the "honey-wagon" did around our trailer. The kids had there second day of T-shirt painting this morning. Lillemor stayed with them and helped Karl finish his shirt. After that she went to the Nutter Center and ordered embroidering of our Zip-Dee chairs. You can easily take off the material on the chairs. She washed the material yesterday. Cleans easily; appears to be some kind of acrylic material. We also picked out hats for the kids with there favorite design and name. We bought a big mat to put outside the trailer and silver necklaces for us all, with our favorite charm. Then it was time to head back to the trailer and have lunch. Lillemor was going to watch the neighbor's 2 boys, before it was time to go to the Air Force Museum. Another organized activity for the kids.
When she had dropped off the kids at the Museum, a big thunder storm started. High winds and heavy rain. She went outside to take down the flags and the awnings. Pam was also outside, nervous about the weather. She helped me to take up the awnings. It turned out we didn't do it right and the band that you pull it down with got inside and we could not get it down again. The only way to get the awning out again is by pulling the arms that holds the awnings (takes to big guys).
When Per returned, the rain was pouring down. He ran from Mike's truck over to our trailer and got wet. Lillemor sat inside, without the kids, watching the weather update on TV. They had issued a tornado warning for the county next to us, but there was little risk any tornados would be spawned where we were. The kids were over at the Air Force Museum, at a tour organized by WBCCI's youth group. Towards the end of the event Lillemor ran over from our trailer to the museum to get the kids. We could hear thunder and see lightning outside. On her way back from the museum Lillemor lost Isabella, who got scared by the lightning. As Lillemor set out to look for her in our Airstream "village", Per could hear someone calling our trailer over the CB radio. People in another Airstream had heard her cries and helped her. Luckily Per listened to the CB radio and coached Lillemor towards where Isabella was. She was only a few rows down from us.
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| This used to be a nice green field before the rain and the 4x4 trucks turned this into a river of mud. |
It was a rainy evening and we went to bed earlier, even watch TV in our bedroom.