Dick Eastman's RV

Researching Aliens in Roswell

I have a "brickwall ancestor" who has frustrated me for years. I know a great deal about his adult life but have not been able to prove where Washington Harvey Eastman was born or the names of his parents. I have long joked that "he must have been deposited here by a Martian spaceship."

Today I found myself in Roswell, New Mexico, best known for what is now called the 1947 Roswell UFO Incident. An alien spacecraft reportedly was found near Roswell and its occupants were captured. Many people believe the military then engaged in a cover-up. The incident has turned into a widely known pop culture phenomenon, making the name Roswell synonymous with UFOs. One of the better-known local organizations that popularizes the spacecraft theory is the International UFO Museum & Research Center on Main Street in Roswell. What better place to look for documentation about an ancestor who was "deposited here by a Martian spaceship?"

Today, I visited the International UFO Museum & Research Center and consulted with the staff. No, that is not a picture of the staff above. Instead, that is a mock-up of what some artist believes happened in June or July 1947. Any resemblance to my relatives is purely coincidental.

Click on the images to see larger pictures.

Vintage Airstream Trailers Refurbished

I must admit that I love those old Airstream trailers. I even looked at several that were for sale when I was trying to decide what kind of RV to purchase. Unfortunately, the Airstreams in really good condition typically command a premium price and for good reasons. They are well built and, if properly cared for, can serve as full-time or part-time homes for many years. The only ones I ever found within my price range all were old and most had serious problems.

Architect Matthew Hofmann of Santa Barbara, California obviously has talents that I don't possess. He takes old Airstream trailers and refurbs them, often converting them into something more luxurious than what the factory engineers ever thought of. Click on the image above to see a larger picture.

Mother Nature Provides an Obstacle

I arrived at the RV resort in Sorrento, Florida today (near Sanford). This place is surrounded by 9,000 acres of conservation land and there is a lot of wildlife here including bears, alligators, and all sorts of birds. Before I could back into my camping spot, I had to chase three large birds away. I only got a picture of one of them:



These birds are about four feet tall!

You can click on the image above to see a much larger picture.

 

On the Road Again and Again

To my friends following my travels and to anyone else interested: I'll be leaving the Birmingham, Alabama, area tomorrow morning, heading to an RV resort near Sanford, Florida where I spent a month last year. I rather enjoyed the place and hope to stay there for several months this winter.

I do have a lot of other travels scheduled, however. Most of the time I will be delivering presentations at genealogy conferences and meetings around the country. I plan to frequently lock the motor home and jump in the Mini-Cooper. Sometimes I will drive to a (nearby) event and other times I will drive to the Orlando airport to jump on a plane. Florida will simply be my winter base of operations for the next few months.

The campground had rather good wi-fi access last year and I assume that will be the same this year. I should be able to remain online.

 

That "Funny Looking" Airplane

Several people asked about the picture of the "funny looking" airplane I used in the previous article. I saw this up close at the Oshkosh Airventure airshow. It is an airplane/motorcycle "hybrid."

Look closely at the tailwheel. Actually, it isn't a normal tailwheel at all. It is a motorcycle.

After landing at an airport, the pilot/driver folds the wings, fires up the motorcycle engine, and drives out onto the highway to the final destination. I saw it driving up and down the roads at the air show and it seemed to work well.

Here is another picture:

Oshkosh or Bust! I Made It

To anyone who cares and perhaps has been watching my travels: this morning I arrived at the big airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Details of that airshow may be found at http://www.airventure.org/ and at http://www.airventure.org/live/.

This is believed to be the world's largest airshow. For one week every year, the small airport in rural Wisconsin has the world's busiest control tower. I brought an aircraft walkie-talkie and have been listening to the tower frequencies. They are busier than New York City's airports.

This place is a zoo! Tens of thousands of motor homes, camping trailers, tents and pup tents, are stretched out as far as the eye can see, along with hundreds of airplanes of all sort: antiques, military, homebuilt, ultralights, trikes, powered parachutes, helicopters, and more. Almost anything that can get into the air is here. I'll post a few pictures later.

There's a Hole in the Roof

From the song We're Gonna Move, written by Vera Matson and Elvis Presley, as sung by Elvis Presley:

Well there's a hole in the roof where the rain pours in
A hole in the floor where it drops right out again
Well there's a leak in this old building
Well there's a leak in this old building
Well there's a leak in this old building
We're gonna move to a better home

I had a strange feeling this week that Elvis was right. It seems that my motor home has developed a hole in the roof.

After a six-week trip home, I retrieved the motor home Tuesday from a storage facility near Dayton, Ohio, and drove to Indianapolis. A heavy rain storm Tuesday evening produced an unexpected result: a steady drip-drip-drip of water from the air vent over the bed. Oh-oh!

On the Road Again

After a six-week stay at home, I am leaving in the morning. I am headed to genealogy conferences in Ohio and in Kentucky, to an airshow (the world's largest) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and then to Birmingham, Alabama to prepare for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' conference being held in a few weeks.

Hmmm... Alabama in August... this might be warm.

I'll be traveling in the motor home and towing a Mini-Cooper behind. I'll stay in various RV campgrounds along the way. I should be on the road for about two months although I will make a quick airline trip home for some family commitments for a few days in mid-August. (I'll leave the motor home in a storage facility in Alabama during that time.)

Shelter Company's "Traveling Resort"

Living in a motor home isn't exactly "roughing it." Neither is Shelter Company's new idea of a "traveling resort." The company's wilderness retreat aims to take all the hassle away so that camping can be what it's supposed to be: a relaxing retreat among friends and family.

The company calls itself a "pop up lodging service catering to groups looking for an outdoor experience." You pick out a location (or ask for their expert opinion on suitable spots), and Shelter Co. does the legwork, bringing tents, bathroom facilities and furniture. The company is based based in California but will travel anywhere, applying a travel fee calculated for the specific location.

Gators in the RV Resort

I had some fun today. I am in an RV resort in Sanford, about 25 miles northeast of Orlando, Florida. I have been here before but came back here to spend my last few weeks before heading north.

I went for a walk today. There is a small river and swimming hole running through the middle of the RV resort so I sometimes walk down one side, cross over a foot bridge, and then walk back up the other side. The river is about twenty feet across. It is perhaps a mile walk all the way around.

Today I got about 100 yards from my motor home when I saw this critter lying on the river bank. This picture is tiny so you can barely see him. If you double-click on the picture, you can view a much larger image.