August 21 – 29, 2025
It’s been a while since we last posted and travelled any distance with the Airstream, but here we are happy to be on the road again.
Our trip started with joining the International Airstream Club last year. We read about their rallies and decided to sign up for the York, PA rally August 23 – 29. The rally gets around 1,000 Airstreams, several thousand attendees, and vendors who cater to all things Airstream related.
It was 415 miles from Lewis Center, Ohio to York, PA and we decided to take two nights to travel to the event. Our first night was spent at Pine Cove Beach Club and RV Park in Charleroi, PA which is conveniently located less than a quarter mile from the Interstate. The site was level and we set up quickly, then relaxed for the evening.
The next morning, we packed up and traveled to Thousand Trails Gettysburg Farm RV campground. It was only about 40 miles from York and the rally. The campground was fairly crowded, and sites close together, but it worked for an overnight stay. It was here we met another couple heading to the Rally who had an unconventional pet. Rick and Laurie Marr own a 40-year-old parrot. Rick had gotten the parrot when it was young, and they can live to be over 60 years old. Rick and Laurie were newlyweds and Polly viewed Laurie and ‘the other woman’.
In the morning, it was on to York, Pennsylvania fairgrounds. We arrived early but pulling in, we could see there were hundreds of Airstreams already there and set up. There was a line ahead of us, but we only waited 30 – 40 minutes, before a volunteer in a golf cart led us to our site location and then systematically got us and those ahead of us in line and parked. For water hookups, each camper had to bring 2 water hoses with a Y connector that daisy chained so many campers together to the water source. There were also electric boxes that were strung out to plug into for our electric. Our row of campers was assigned a day for black and gray tank pump outs.
The event proved to be worthwhile in gaining knowledge and meeting new people from all parts of the country. We became friends with Katherine and Brian from East Staunton, PA. They live close to the Appalachian Trail and after Katherine noticed Ron’s tattoo, they wanted to hear about his experiences. Brian has about 5 years before retiring and would love to hike it if they can work out the logistics. They invited us to their home and said we can plug in when we visit.
From the vendors we bought some spare parts, including a water pump which is highly recommended by long term RV travelers in case yours goes out in the middle of nowhere. We gained a lot of good information at the seminars and surprisingly at one of them, out of the 100+ in attendance, we won a door prize. It was a pole to mount a Starlink Mini – which we had bought before leaving but did not have a way to mount it, so it was a great prize to win! We also had a customized decal made from a vendor but more about that later.
At a campfire meet and greet, we met someone with the same year and model Airstream as we have. Mike and his wife, have crisscrossed the country 5 times, travelled to Nova Scotia and Alaska in their 1994 Airstream Excella. He shared information that our camper is unique in that it is 7’11” wide with a flat roof. Campers preceding ours are 7’5″ with domed shaped roofs and those built starting in 1995 on are 8’5″ and flat roofs. He also said this model was built like a tank and he knows other owners who have gone through 4 and 5 Airstreams to their one. Mike shared some other tips and great places to travel, and we came away feeling good about our camper!
It was a busy week and a unique camping experience, and although we both decided it was definitely worth the trip, we were ready to move onto DC for our next leg of the journey.
2025 Airstream Travels 