Trailer Life

A Summer Wind...

After a few months in a mountainside cottage rental, I am glad to be back in the Airstream, volunteer hosting at a California state park. And thanks to a local friend, I’ve got a Suzuki GS550 to ride while I’m here. Thanks so much Bruce! My rig can't accommodate a motorcycle without some major changes (new tow vehicle or trailer), and I'm not yet ready to make that kind of change, so I'm feeling pretty lucky to have this bike available to me.

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The Open Road

One of my favorite books of all time is The Wind in the Willows. Written in 1908 by Kenneth Grahame, the edition I have is slip-cased and has gorgeous color illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk. I haven't read it in years but today I opened it up and came across this passage in the chapter called "The Open Road":

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Purple Socks, Magic Lanterns and Christmas with the Coppolas

The first time I was face-to-face with Francis Ford Coppola, I played it pretty cool.

My friends and I had scored free tickets to a silent auction and dinner in Napa Valley’s favorite upscale town of St. Helena, but it wasn’t a fancy event. People milled around in the airy barn-like hall sipping wine. I mostly sat with my friends at a table, getting up now and then to check on the auction items I had bid on. It never occurred to me that Mr. Coppola might be in our midst.

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