About us, our travels, the Airestream, and our dogs

Colin

Colin is pretty good at computers, statistics, bike riding, programming, cooking, and SQL. Colin enjoys many things mechanical, technical, and analytical. Colin’s area of expertise has been large scale systems for content delivery specializing in performance and scale ability, he holds patents 1,2,3 that provide large scale automation for internet systems. Colin started using and scaling Linux based systems in the late 90s and has been working with technology ever since. Colin’s first career was in the kitchen, he worked for 3 predominate AZ chefs before realizing that technology was his next calling. Colin’s favorite place he worked was Tarbell’s where he was a sous-chef for 1.5 years (3 years tenure). Colin first fell in love with cooking when he was a ward of the state at Helaman House (Prehab of Arizona) Colin was a ward of the State of Arizona from the time he was 12 - 16. Colin met Donna while working in restaurants in Arizona. Donna and Colin got married in April of 2006, Prior to marriage Donna and Colin dated for ~10 years.

Donna

Colin and I met while working at a restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ. Colin was the sous chef and I was a waitress working on my tennis game. In the years that have passed Colin’s culinary journey had him leading kitchens at several James Beard award winning restaurants before he moved to his 2nd career in technology. Colin now enjoys cooking at home, which is a treat for me, our family, and friends. Colin is continually stimulated through daily discoveries in technology, machinery, and fluid dynamics (he loves dams!!). I got a tennis scholarship, part of a lifelong turbulent love affair with tennis. My professional life is dedicated to market research, and I am fortunate enough to be able to work while on the road. Our permanent home is in Santa Monica where we enjoy incredible bike rides, amazing food, and a consistent 65 degrees. Our greatest loves are our Airedales.

Our travel history

We bought the Airstream in February of 2022 from Airstream of Los Angeles, they delivered the unit to Quartzsite, AZ. I did not think to take pictures of the delivery. I was much more interested in getting on the road and landing in Phoenix to complete the transaction by paying tax, title, and license. Our first planned trip was to a HipCamp in Ballard, Ca in April

As of September 2024 we have traveled +30K miles. Our initial plan was to use the Airstream to turn normal weekends into 4-5 day trips. A requirement to have Olive stored at home was established, allowing us to plan a trip and leave within a day. We have tested the quick turn-around a few times. I believe that our Patagonia trip with the Arizona Airstream club was our fastest turn-around. Keeping Olive stocked and ready to go usually means that a provisioning trip (groceries/dry goods) is all that’s needed to get on the road.

We now consistently take longer trips ranging from one to multiple months. Our travels have taken us up and down the west coast a few times.

Travel Updates

When we travel, I typically publish an article related to our adventures. I try to cover the places we go, what we liked, information about the campground, and if the are dog friendly. The publish frequency is weekly (sometimes more).

When we are not traveling I will publish articles about the technical things I am working on. Technical items will be maintenance for the Airstream, modifications, or virtual work like items related to this blog/site. Basically, if I feel like sharing something, it will be posted here.

Keeping the site on topic is hard, so items related to my professional life will not be published here. The intention will be to keep the focus on traveling, RV maintenance/learnings, and the technical aspects of running/creating the blog.

Our travel needs

1. We only travel with the whole family
2. Time away from our dogs is less enjoyable for them and us
3. We wanted a hassle free/fast way to get away and enjoy our available downtime

Why AireStream

Donna and I have been adopting a specific breed of terrier (Airedale) since before we were married. As a general rule we adopt older dogs. Often older dogs are overlooked due to health concerns and available years. We take pride in the ability to give overlooked dogs homes.
My favorite adage about dogs: “Dogs are not required to be on this rock as long as humans, for they already know how to love”. Our time with older dogs is often limited, only a few years (at best). Making the most of the time we have together is important to us, hence, our travel needs

In honor of our favorite dog breed, we choose to rebrand Airstream as Airestream. All of our choices in life revolve around our dogs, it’s fitting that their traveling den be named in the breed’s honor. Apologies to the corporate brand, mother ship, and other lifestyle brands.

Our Airstream’s name is Olive, 65483 is the numeric keypad representation of letters Olive. Hence the name 65483.rasor.org. I then decided to establish airestreaming.com as it’s easier to remember and remains on brand with Olive being the Airedales rolling crate.

All of our past Airedales are showcased in their own section

Olive specifications

International 25FBT with Hatch
How the above code decodes:
25 Feet in Length, Front Bed (Bed at Hitch), Twin (two beds in lieu of a queen). Hatch (The back opens up)!
International is the model specification (trim level):

International models have an automatic awning, hard surface counter tops, and an additional awning. Only a few model specs can be ordered with the Hatch. International being one of them, the others are the Flying Cloud and speciality units like: pottery barn, tommy bahama, stetson, etc..