Smokey Mountain Campout

We should make a sign that says "Quality not quantity" or "Size doesn't matter" for campsites like this. Actually, our campsite neighbors were very nice, they visited and allowed us to borrow an easy up to put over a tent of ours. This was a great trip; children discovering the joys of camping, nature, the milky Way, rest. It provided all of us a little balm from the sadness of loosing Nanny.

Sublime Trip

Cucumber Falls in Ohiopyle State Park, PA



Robin and Reid atop Kentuck Knob.


Robin fixing dinner. Yum!


A night shot of Reid talking to Robin inside the 'drop.

My wife Robin, son Reid, and I went to see Frank Lloyd Wright's famous home design called Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pa. It was a sublime trip. Fallingwater was as good as a cathedral for creating a sense of awe. Wright's respect for the natural setting and his masterfully creative design made every moment awesome. We also visited another Wright designed home, Kentuck Knob- a smaller but equally classy home atop a mountain, as well as enjoying the natural beauty of Ohiopyle State Park. The roads in the area were so lightly travelled it seemed like a time warp for me- back to my childhood days in North Carolina. I commented that everyone had moved to NC! (Today, I saw a van in Greensboro with a Steelers sticker and a row of children stickers in the window- so I was right@!)

The teardrop was a joy to use. Robin and I stayed inside and Reid slept outside with the raccoons. We used the oven for the first time and stayed up late to watch DVDs. All we lacked was WIFI......what a wilderness. Reid commented that it seemed wrong to be so comfortable- poor kid, he grew up backpacking with me.

We are adding more foam to make the bed a little softer and picking up a few kitchen items and it is off again ASAP!


Robin showing off the new curtains inside the 'drop.



We were there for real. It's not a fake background.

Celebrating 82 Years

Frank and his daughter Anna visited Nanny for her birthday recently and the beautiful spring day seemed like a perfect time to set up the teardrop and show it to Nanny and neighbors. My favorite picture in this batch is of Anna listening and smiling at her grandmother-such moments are more important than things. We hope this camper will give us all time to slow down and enjoy the company of family and friends.

First "Overseas" Voyage

Communing with unique (but land locked) architecture


Frank finished the teardrop kitchen just last week and I picked it up and headed for the Outer Banks. After too many days working on the family beach house, I headed for Ocracoke for an overnight trip. I headed out late and caught the ferry after dark. Just after taking this photo I stopped for gas and had my first experience with people taking pictures of the teardrop. I could not get out of the gas station for people running up taking shots. ( Now I know what Britney Spears feels like. HA!) This would happen again in Ocracoke. I made myself comfortable on the ferry ride, reading the NY Times and experiencing the rocking of the ferry from inside the teardrop. I thought "so this is what it would feel like if it were a sail boat."



I rolled into Teeter's Campground late Friday night and paid the already partying owner for a spot. He was nice enough to give a discount for my "thimble" camper ( his term) After sleeping high and dry through a big 3AM thunder storm, I fixed the first meal on the stove; coffee and oatmeal. I met several nice folks, including John,a steel worker from Baltimore. John summed up his reason for traveling; "You only live once....What's important is getting out and meeting people like this....... when you're gone even your immediate family will forget the details of your life." Good food for thought.



After doing some art business on the island, I pulled over by the Ocracoke docks to look at a map and was surrounded by tourists taking pictures. After giving several ten cent tours, and giving my NY Times newspapers to a news starved couple from Brooklyn, I made it onto the Swans Quarter Ferry. What is missing from the picture on the ferry are the half dozen people I talked to, some at great length.

I have decided I need to make a postcard of the drop to give away, with Frank's picture, a short history on teardrops, links to buying one and a link to this blog. I also need a little booklet on my art because once I tell folks that I am an artist it takes awhile to explain the kind of art I make. A picture book of my art would help.

I really deeply appreciate the experiences I am having with this camper. It's uniqueness and beauty really brings joy to people. I think that it is also a "new" concept for affordable travel for people living under the cloud of the recession.





Backing out from the Ocracoke Docks and heading for Swans Quarter,NC.

Here is the teardrop just yards from the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. This is the first time the tear drop was taken on trip- kind of a shake down - to see how it did. I was worried about the hitch and things like swaying on the road, and whether my transmission would blow up. Thankfully by this point the 'drop had proven itself travel worthy and I had begun to relax. I was headed for a weekend workshop at the John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.