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This is not a tutorial on how to shop for an Airstream.  Or any RV, for that matter.  But how did we end up  with the Tiny Tiny Trailer?

Besides having wanted one for the last 50 years, which pretty much ruled out all other RVs, there were a couple of things we did.

First, we researched Airstreams on-line.  A lot.  We’ve spent hours and hours reading blogs and watching videos; so much so that when we did the walk-through on the Tiny Tiny Trailer I felt a sense of deja vu.  But these things were especially helpful:

Sean and Kristy from Long Long Honeymoon have an absolutely wonderful video channel for learning about RVs in general and Airstreams in particular.  We have watched dozens of their videos and have learned so much.

Steve and Tess from The More We Explore have a similar video channel, also with good advice.

Trail and Hitch blog about their adventures full-timing in a 30-foot Airstream.

Finally, I have to acknowledge Colonial Airstream in New Jersey and especially Patrick Botticelli who does some fabulous walk-throughs of the different Airstream models. They’re so good that I felt like been in the trailer and almost wanted to drive to New Jersey to  buy it from Patrick.

Almost.

But that’s not realistic, and for other reasons we wanted to buy locally; well, relatively locally. That means after all the YouTube videos and blogs, it was time to go down to Windish RV in Lakewood, Colorado, where we worked with Len Birnbaum to pick out the Tiny Tiny Trailer.  Len and the rest of the staff at Windish were great to work with.

Someday I’ll write up more details, but that’s an overview.

Well, we’re Airstreamers now.

Today we drove down to Windish RV in Denver to pick up the Tiny Tiny Trailer.  I’m not going to lie: the first time I saw it hooked up to our Xterra there was a little bit of, “what in the world have we done?”

Once we were on the road in Denver rush-how traffic, there was a lot more “what have we done?”

But after a few miles, the anxiety began to subside, and I began to feel more comfortable, both with driving it and with the fact that we now owned an Airstream.

But the problem with buying something like the Tiny Tiny Trailer is that it all seems so unreal.  Yeah, there’s this thing I can see in my rear view mirror, but is it really ours?

That’s was an easy problem to fix.  We pulled off I-25 at 120th Avenue and headed for our go-to place for dinner when we’re on our way out of Denver: the Olive Garden.  After sprawling across four parking spaces in the remote regions of the Target parking lot we walked across the lot to the OG and ordered take-out.

When it was ready, it was back out to the lot to break out the plastic forks and knives and have our first dinner in the Tiny Tiny Trailer.  Now it feels like it belongs to us!

There is so much more to do and to learn to really make the Tiny Tiny Trailer ours and to get to where we feel comfortable with it.  There’s bedding to try out, dishes and utensils to load, a thick binder of an owner’s manual to read and understand, but now the fun starts!

And at the end of April we hit the road for our first camping trip: all the way to Boyd Lake State Park.  This park is literally less than a 30 minute walk from our house, so if things go really sideways we can always walk home.  But it will make a good shakedown cruise, and if there is something we need that we left at home we can always buzz home and get it!

I’m feeling OK about this.

Every blog has to start somewhere and be about something.

This one starts here, is about the Tiny Tiny Trailer, a 16-foot Airstream Sport, and the adventures my wife and I have together with it. Or her. Or him. We’re not sure yet; we still have to pick a name.

In one sense this really is the start: after thinking about this for years, we drove down to Denver today to put a deposit on the Tiny Tiny Trailer. We don’t even have possession yet; we pick it (her? him?) up on March 8th after some dealer options are added and it’s detailed.

But in another sense this is something that started 50 years ago.

When I (John) was a kid my parents subscribed to National Geographic, Life,

Time, and other magazines. In one of them I distinctly remember reading an article about Airstreams, accompanied with pictures of hundred of Airstreams at a rally (something like the picture at right). I think that might be when my fascination (obsession?) with Airstreams started. Ever since then, I have wanted one.

Badly.

Really, really badly.

So, now we have one.

There are plenty of blogs and vlogs about RVs in general, and plenty about Airstreams in particular. We’re fans of several of them, actually. But what do I hope will set this one apart?

Well, many (most?) of the other blogs are about people who are full-timing in their Airstream. We’re not going to do that. We would have to be insane to do that in the Tiny Tiny Trailer. Or at least we’d be insane after doing that. No, we got the Tiny Tiny Trailer so we could camp: maybe three or four nights somewhere before we head home for a bigger bed and a real shower.  We’ll probably do a few longer trips, but full-timing? No.

Also, this is about the Tiny Tiny Trailer. A 16-foot Sport is a very small trailer. There is barely enough room for two people to stand upright on the floor. The bed is all of 48 inches wide. It has a wet bath. The fresh water tank only holds 23 gallons. The combination gray/black water tank only holds 21 gallons. It’s really small.

And while it definitely has the whole cuteness thing going for it, there will be some challenges.

But it has the things we were looking for: a trailer with a place to sleep, cook, eat, and relax that is not outside and not in a tent. And that 2:00am trip to the bathroom will no longer require shoes and a flashlight.

We’ve done our share of cooking in the rain. We taken down the tent in the rain. We’ve weather rainstorms and wind that threatened to blow the tent into Kansas. So now we’re trying something different. Something dryer and less windy.

So, stay tuned to see where the Tiny Tiny Trailer takes us; to see what adventures—and misadventures—we have; to see what we learn.

It should be fun!