[A/S] Frank Joins WBCCI 22 years early!

["Terry Tyler" <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Welcome aboard Frank,

When I read your posting, it occurred to me that you might be interested in some purely biased
personal perspectives (five of them) from someone who used to be your age. <grin> As a WBCCI member
who was a Vintage Airstream owner before there was a Vintage Airstream Club, the changes I've seen
are already making the Airstream lifestyle better than ever. 

1 - Many members joined WBCCI during a 10-20 year period in the 1960s and 1970s while they were in
their 30s and 40s. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, several things occurred. One was an increase in RV
manufacturers. This provided more choices for perspective buyers. The option of buying a cheaper
trailer syphoned off many perspective owners who might otherwise have bought an Airstream. This
contributed to fewer new members joining WBCCI. There were other reasons, too.

During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the majority of enthusiastic members continued renewing their
membership in WBCCI, while at the same time, overall total membership started declining, i.e.
members moved to new homes in other parts of the continent and became settlers again, members became
semi-permanent residents of the Airstream-only parks they helped build, members sold their small
Airstreams and bought the larger 5th wheels, and there were the usual assortment of naturally
occurring factors that diminish any core group of members (age & health). By no means are these the
only factors, but they are the ones I noticed most often among our friends. 

Within the last ten years, I've seen a resurgence of interest in owning an Airstream. As might be
expected, this increased interest is shared by people of all ages and backgrounds. Nowhere else is
this more evident than in the Vintage Airstream Club. It's as common for new owners of old
Airstreams to bring their toddlers and pre-teens to Airstream events as it is for retirees to bring
their newly restored Airstreams and sometimes, grandchildren to these events. A few years ago, we
caravaned with a couple and their three young boys. They traveled with seasoned Airstreamers (us). 

The expanded age range of Vintage Airstream owners has been increasingly evident ever since VAC was
formed in the 1990s. During February 2001 at the Hobo Rally in Blythe, California, we saw 27 family
names signed in on the bulletin board for the Vintage Airstream Club. Many were parked along Vintage
row and I noticed they were a younger group than the owners of non-Vintage Airstreams. Frank, I
think your age puts you into an ever growing younger group of Vintage Airstream owners. It feels as
though there is a wider range of ages, interests and backgrounds. That feels good to me.  

2 - My observation is many of these new owners are jumping right in and helping to promote and carry
out activities within VAC and WBCCI. The neat thing is their involvement meets their needs as well
as those of the entire group. It's an exciting time and opportunities are everywhere. The fact  of
this email VAC egroup with its 500+ members is an overwhelming asset to the support network within
WBCCI. Suddenly, the big picture with all its details is available to anyone and each of us can
participate in whatever way fits our lifestyle. The mere availability of members offering mentoring
ideas to other members is a difference of profound proportions from just 20 years ago when there was
no one on my local bulletin board computer group who knew anything about travel trailers. 

Throughout all of the WBCCIs history, the members have been (and still are) an assortment of
cultural and political persuasions (and other characteristics) which means it takes effort to
develop a unified group that can work on common goals. Some people made (and still make) the effort
while others didn't (and still don't). Frank, that choice is going to be yours. 

3 - Now that you are officially a new WBCCI member, another option is yours. Background: Because
Sandie and I enjoy rubbing shoulders with Airstreamers whose interests are wide, varied and novel,
we joined several WBCCI Units as Associate members just to receive their newsletter. 

a - One Unit is home based in Guadalajara and has activities in Mexico. Whenever we go to Mexico, we
schedule and coordinate our travels with activities being sponsored by that Unit. We know most of
the regular members and like to keep up with what they are doing. The $10 we pay to be Associate
members is paltry compared to the benefits and camaraderie we experience.

b - One Unit is primarily made up of owners with Vintage Airstreams whose home address can be from
ANY STATE in the Union. They have Vintage Airstreams and want to know when and where rallies are
scheduled around the continent. If a rally is occurring in a part of the country we're exploring, we
want to know about it so we can attend that rally. We want to meet and participate in activities
with other owners of Vintage Airstreams. Again, camaraderie draws us in.

c - One Unit emphasizes boondocking rallies. This is one of our favorite styles of camping. What
better way to enjoy it than sharing rally time with other boondockers. We pencil their rallies into
our monthly Day Runner (2 year calendar) as soon as their scheduled is published.

By being an Associate member, the Unit newsletter tells us what's going on and when. This makes it
easy for us to schedule ourselves into activities of greatest interest whenever we have an open week
or an open weekend or as we did in late February 2001 - an open three week window for joining a
caravan sponsored by Region Leaders, followed by a Region Rally where one of the top maintenance
dealerships in the country offered their services. Going into these events without knowing anyone
ahead of time is part of the excitement and adventure. We thoroughly enjoy the low key, laid back
camaraderie we find throughout the country.  

4 - Another option is "Rally Hopping" into rallies that occur outside our local area. All it takes
is a phone call or email or note to the Rally Leader saying that we would like to attend their rally
and asking if we can pay for everything upon arrival. The differences among units is mind boggling.
Sometimes, there are undeniable enticements for becoming an Associate member, but always, there are
pleasant and rewarding experiences, plus gaining new knowledge is non stop. 

5 - You wrote: "In these parts I have never seen another Airstream in a camp ground." After your
numbers arrive, you may want to go down to the local copy shop and look over the sample books of
business cards. It's not uncommon for Airstreamers to selectively swap them with other Airstreamers
they meet along the way. 

As my grandmother used to say, "Make new friends, keep the old, one is silver, the other is gold."
Over the years, we've acquired a handful of Airstream families whom we correspond with monthly and
travel with often. Then, there are surprises such as when we make new friends at a rally and they
invite us to stay overnight at their property the next time we are traveling through their town.
They give us their business card to be sure we have accurate information when we call them.    

Frank, these five general ideas may be useful while you are jumping into the pool. By joining WBCCI,
you "did good." Now, it's up to you. It can be an exciting adventure as well as an exquisite
lifestyle. And, like everywhere else in the world, give the "prickly pears" a wide berth and avoid
those who live in "grump city". <g>

Terry
mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net