Our Story

Chapter 3: Pandemic Challenges

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I am sure you have heard this countless times over the past year: the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges on all fronts. Making plans and solving any problems encountered as part of this airstream rebuild was no exception. Add family life matters and “voila!”; Pete’s and Stefanie’s perseverance and determination were key to overcoming any issues that arose during this time.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” — Vince Lombardi Jr.

From a family standpoint, Pete’s dad passed away days before Christmas 2020. While he did not get COVID-19, like so many, many other families, my father-in-law was a victim of the pandemic. He went in for what was thought to be a routine procedure in early November (less than a week following his 86th birthday) and experienced one complication and continual health issues until his death. His Parkinson’s did not help as we had to remind him daily why he was at the hospital. When the hospital had to increase their COVID-19 restrictions again (meaning we could no longer visit him), he passed less than a week later. The “to-do” list of items related to Pete’s dad’s passing made time for the trailer that much more scarce. However, it was a time to reflect on the importance of family and friends and what was important in life.

Back to talking about the Airstream. While Pete and Stef had hoped to bring it home last September, there were a number of issues that cropped up:

  • Freak early autumn snowstorm delayed digging out the airstream
  • Power feed and wires were disconnected when the airstream was made a semi-permanent fixture on the property
  • Tires were rotted, and rims and axle needed replacement
  • After much online research, the width and heighth and other issues precluded use of a trailer.

Pete even did a little bit of impromptu handwritten analysis work too (shown below). Geeky?! Yes, but, as I always say, geeks are awesome! I have always loved sitting at the dining room table over food as the kids would discuss anything from math, science or otherwise. And, humor? We always had a lot of laughs. In any case, while the drawings may not be technically correct, you get the idea.

Pete’s impromptu option analysis work

Pete continued more research and managed to find an organization that could spec out a replacement axle. he bought an electric axle that was manufactured by Dexter axles. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 related manufacturing delays, the delivery time for the axle was several months with an ETC and delivery time of October/November. Pete arranged to have the axle delivered to a local Questa automotive repair shop (Northstar Tire & Auto in Questa, NM) with the intent that Pete and Stefanie would return to Questa before Thanksgiving to finally bring the trailer home. With the pandemic and travel restrictions imposed into and out of New Mexico, it would not be until Spring 2021 that our Globetrotter would come home.

Chapter 1. The Beginning

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Before we get into the details and day-to-day (or rather, after-hours, weekends, etc) of this grand adventure of Pete & Stef’s first Airstream rebuild, I wanted to share the back story of how this idea began. Besides, it is an opportunity for me (Janet, wife to Pete and mom to Stef) to contribute. Tim, our son, is a budding graphic artist and he has created our icon, “Shirley (re) Creations (a mini size and full size version). While Pete and Stefanie will likely be the ones doing the lion share of the work, Tim and I will contribute albeit more infrequently.

But back to what got this going. When Pete and I met in 1989, Pete’s mom was already living in northern New Mexico. For as long as I can remember, on her property sat an old Airstream which was being used as a pseudo-apartment. Who would have thought that it was essentially a “tiny home” before it was chic! In any case, over the years that trailer fast became a storage area and fell into disrepair. Still, Pete occasionally would talk about the possibility of refurbishing/renovating the trailer. As the kids grew older, and Pete and the kids went to New Mexico each summer to meet up with his side of the family, the subject kept coming up. Just as Stefanie prepared for graduation from Johns Hopkins, she too started expressing interest in the idea of rebuilding the Airstream. Part of the desire was a better and safer place to store their bikes to visit other trails across the nation; in fact, I have put a few photos of those New Mexico mountain biking excursions down below. One picture shows Pete helping Stefanie with a class she was taking as she was obtaining her degree from JHU. It was so fun to watch the two working together.

More recently, Pete shared with me his motivation for rebuilding the trailer and I was surprised to find that his motivation stems pretty far back: as far back as when he graduated from the University of Maryland and began his career as a nuclear-trained submarine officer (around 1985-1990). This career path was pretty intense; it entailed one year of school-based training followed by two years of technical qualifications overlapped by four years of hands-on operating experience onboard a nuclear-powered submarine. He learned about every “shipboard” system (e.g., micro-circuitry, low voltage controls, power distribution, hydraulic systems, rotating and fixed equipment and more!) during his time in the Navy.

While the idea of having a trailer to house his and Stefanie’s prized mountain bikes was one of three reasons to rebuild the trailer, he also wanted to expand on his past engineering experience while learning more about design. Additionally, he thought it would be cool to expose Stefanie to another, more hands-on aspect of engineering. Another bonus: getting friends and other family involved in what he viewed as a fun project (and yes, you may hear or see them on this blog on occasion!).

And so, after months (and really, years) of talking about it, our weekends and free time will be living it! We hope you enjoy our blog and this journey.

Stops along the trails of the Rio Grande Gorge and in Red River, NM. The middle picture is at the well-known Miss Shirley’s Cafe in Baltimore, MD which we always made a point to visit when we visited Stef during her college years.