manhattan transfer

escape from the country

every so often i need to get away from day to day life and do something a little different. when i lived in the city i'd escape to the country and since i moved to the country i tend to like escaping to the city.
the plan was to hit a few watering holes in manhattan then hit the fresh snow dumps in breckenridge co. but at the last minute i cancelled the ski trip and instead opted to hang out a bit longer in the city. i had a few trailers on the move that week, two on the lower east coast that i co-ordinated the moves over the internet/phone but also had a 56 custom sitting up in new england ready to move plus i had the insides of a 1950's redbird subway carriage to pickup and ship.



all was set for an easy trip down to manhattan with the 56 custom ready to load up with my subway stuff and head to port. the custom is kinda like half caravanner / half flying clould, a very interesting yolk.






i got to visit andrea the owner of the famous airstream top dog bambi, at his home near middletown ct, he's been serving hotdogs from this 'vending' trailer for 25 years. i think he's started a craze for airstream vending in europe.




but things came to a very quick halt near westport ct, the state troopers pulled the trailer over because the plate that was out of date . i was told they should have impounded the trailer and tow car, but with the luck of the irish we got away with driving to the next gas station and got told to basically magic up a dealer/transfer plate . again with the luck of the irish the gas station owner gave me unlimited time for parking there , amazing. having worked in westport for a while i knew a little bit about the area and within 3 hours we had the trailer back on the road and heading towards SoHo in Manhattan via an overnight sleep in white plains.












as you can see she has a very nice body, but needs a good clean up.












quick holiday snap with friends on crosby st.















we drove by paul mccartneys daughters shop in the meat packing district










We gate crashed a photo shoot with an old new york city bus.







we got a good view of the empire state building.

















then on arrival at port we got greeted by pk ryan, he was 100% irish. twic approval was not an issue. that's his family crest tattooed on his right arm. great guy and look forward to seeing him again.













the drop went well and i had a good look around that the other bits in the yard.







i'm a big fan of fury dice but maybe not pink ones......
















the gwb was nice n empty on the way back into town.


















back in the hood i decided to head straight to sullivan st for a 60 mins back rub and then of to the bakery for a splice of potato pizza, i guess it's kinda like irish pizza.

then i got back to my city vacation and hit a few more watering holes.

speed blogging - for busy country folk like myself

what a really great weekend in my home county gloucestershire, thank you pete and tracey for all your planning and hard work. was great seeing 13 airstreams in a rally field in the uk.

flo, scarlett, hazel and me hanging out taking in what seemed like the first and last of summer '09

















(below) flo and scarlett trying out the local produce, down the road in wales -

(left) monnow bridge, being jumped on by flo, hazel and scarlett. sole remaining mediaeval fortified river bridge in britain where the gate tower stands actually on the bridge. it was built in the late 1200's

(right) and (below) the roundhouse/ aka kaymin, bit smaller than the folly we live in but much better views, and this one was visited by nelson.

only two bad bits were leaving and our vw getting hit from behind and having to cancel my visit to the vw festival on the sunday.



















(right) we also manged a quick curry at what was voted a top 100 uk restaurant and 3 best curry house in the uk -










to top the weekend off i headed to southampton on monday to pickup a very nice 59 caravanner which i'm very impressed with. it's got a great body and solid floor, just a bit like my boots after a weekend camping it needs a good polish. she sold within 5 days of arriving, one week in workshop and then a new life in the english countryside starts the week after. we do have some more for sale on http://www.vintageairstreams.co.uk .

X251 has moved locations safely

Well, safely-ish. I think there might have been a few rolls a duct tape used to keep her together for the journey......
Full credit should be given to Buckner Transport who just proved they have what it takes to handle any vintage trailer move, thank you Toni Buckner & Co.! Also proves that with careful vetting that uship is not that bad a place to do business.

http://www.bucknertransport.com/

Please, give a little back.......

http://www.rednoseday.com/

David Brown Cropmaster

I've been looking for a well priced Davey Brown Cropmaster for about a year and been to various auctions in England and Ireland. We need a good looking twin seat tractor to take me and my wife to the pub on when we are in Ireland. I came back nearly empty handed from the tractor auction at Malvern yesterday, I did manage to purchase five vintage tractor steering wheels to go into the girls play area.
I found out yesterday that the DB in Aston Martin comes from when Sir Davey Brown bought Aston Martin for 20.5k in 1947. So it's off to Cheffins auction in Bristol next weekend for a nose around.

Here's a a link to some video footage of a DB in action plus one on a the Ferguson tea 20 -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2m08k_Sntk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVnzjGqZLh8

Tracey & Pete Wiltshire UK meet 28th & 29th March

If any airstreamers in the UK fancy an early meet in 2009 then check out Tracey and Pete's blog -

http://ukairstreamers.blogspot.com/

Also become a member at this draft UK Airstream owners set up by bully boy Pete.

www.youforum.co.uk/ukairstreamers

Trailer #1 - Wally Byam Bubble X251 (aka Stella)

The Wally Byam Bubble is being transported to Franks Trailer Works near Baltimore -

http://www.blogger.com/followers.g?blogID=1265639594610082249

Frank will be giving her a full survey and providing me with a list prioritized works that will need to be completed before I can go camping in her.

Photos can also been seen on ( http://59tradewind.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html ) .Brad has been incredabubble with all his help on the Phoenix side.