Happy campers

A shiny camper trailer gleam that caught the eye of Brian and Melissa Sobey earlier this summer has led this Alexandra couple on an Airstream adventure that is likely to last a lifetime.

After buying their first Airstream trailer in May and attending a few Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI) rallies, the Sobeys have slipped into the general membership groove with ease and enthusiasm. They can already list a litany of likeables about this time-honoured travel trailer and are admittedly hooked.

You get alumin-titis, I think thats what they call it? Once you get one, theres nothing else (that will compare), laughed Melissa, who was in the middle of a sea of silver at last weeks WBCCI Region 1 Rally of Airstream trailers.

The rally was held at Bayside RV Campground in Oyster Bed Bridge, which is owned by Michael Creighton and Leonard Gibbins, who just happen to be Airstreamers themselves.

We actually ended up treating this rally like a wedding, planning everything a year in advance to make sure everything all came together, Creighton said of the rally, which attracted more than 100 WBCCI members from Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the New England states.

One definite Airstream keener was Joan Drake, who is president of the WBCCI Canadian Atlantic Unit 122.

This Mahone Bay, N.S., woman can enthusiastically recite a steady stream of Airstream information, starting with its company founder Wally Byam in the early 1930s and his innovative signature silver travel trailer on through to the creation of the WBCCI and the benefits of being a member this exclusively Airstream club.

Her own Airstream adventure began 25 years ago when she and her family were camping in a tent trailer in the Washington area. When they returned from a days outing, they discovered they were in a sea of Airstreams that had flowed in while they were gone.

The (caravans) wagon master came over, put out his hand and said, Why dont you come over to our happy hour and share some of our experiences? And then after, some of them invited us in to look at their trailers. That really impressed us. We really enjoyed the welcoming of those people.

When her husband, Stan, retired in 1998, they bought a new Airstream model and eventually signed up with the WBCCI. They recently upgraded to a 2007 Classic that has a more suitable layout for them and their travel-loving canine companion.

Their trailer was one of 103 Airstreams at the P.E.I. rally, ranging from shiny vintage 1960s models to a few hot off the production line.

Airstream people are very passionate about their airstreams, Drake said with a smile.

And if you look around in the park there are so many models and so many (eras), but theyre all Airstreams. And no one can tell them apart except for Airstreamers, as to their age or anything like that.

There are some people in here who are so knowledgeable about Airstreams. . . . especially with vintage people, they know, Oh that was such and such a year, and that one has this layout or that.

WBCCI is the largest RV club in the world with 14,000 members. Numbers in the Atlantic Canadian Unit 122 are up from 20 last year to 26. Of course, one new membership just went to the Sobey family, which also includes Martina, 15, and Martin, 11.

Brian and Melissa spotted their 31-foot 1978 International Sovereign parked by a barn in rural P.E.I. earlier this year. It had been lovingly cared for by a late relative of the owner but wasnt being used. It wasnt for sale at first, but they eventually came to an agreement and the Airstream was on the road again.

Weve had a lot of different trailers but we will never have any other kind than an Airstream again, said Brian, who was bowled over by the excellent condition of the 30-year-old trailer.

Theyre a bit of an icon. Theyre listed as one of the 99 things that America makes best. And they are, when you get into them and study them and read about them (you realize that).

The Sobeys vividly remember their first overnighter in their new-to-them Airstream.

We couldnt wait to sleep in it, Brian says.

We slept the first two nights in the driveway. We were like two children, laughed Melissa.

They attended their first rally in June and followed it up with the large-scale regional event in Oyster Bed Bridge last week.

Im so glad we joined (WBCCI). Its great to have the Airstream, but the club is really (fantastic). Airstreaming is a way of life.



At a glance

Fast facts

The Airstream company was founded by Wally Byam, who began building Masonite trailers in his backyard in Los Angeles during the late 1920s.

In 1936, Byam introduced the Airstream Clipper. Its design cut down on wind resistance and thus improved gas mileage. It was the first of the now familiar sausage-shaped, silver aluminum Airstream trailer.

Airstreamers are a group of RVers who share a community spirit because of their mutual love of the trailers.

In the early 1950s, Byam began leading groups of owners on travels to many portions of the world.

The Wally Byam Caravan Club was formed during the 1955 rally in Kentville, N.S. Later, the word International was added to the club name, resulting in the acronym WBCCI and more commonly known as the Wally Club.

Club members join together for one large international rally each summer, and hundreds of smaller local rallies are held coast-to-coast by units (chapters).

(Source: www.wikipedia.org)

Celebrity owners of Airstreams include: Pamela Sue Anderson, Sandra Bullock, Tim Burton, Colin Farrell, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington.