It is a very busy time for the jPod Overland Trailer. The first travels have started for the educational film that I am making with the help of the Library of Congress, National RV Museum and many other wonderful people (read more about it here). Here is a quick schedule for this first bit of shooting:
- Visit & interviews at Ocean Shores, WA for the Teardrop Gathering
- Visit & Interview at Glacier National Park, MT
- Visit & Interview at Camp-Inn Teardrop Trailers in Necedah, WI
- Visit & Interview at National RV Museum in Elkhart, IN
- Visit & Interview Debra Kellerman in Hope, ID
- Get More Aerial Footage of the jPod in Walla Walla, WA
- Drive from the Pacific Ocean (at Ocean Shores, WA) to Elkhart, IN and back in 9 days.
Since the budget for this project is very tight, we’re going to have to kill ourselves with driving to make it possible. We’ve anticipated some pretty severe fatigue and numb bottoms. I hope that this project can happen within the constraints of schedules & budgets.
Now, on to part 1.
Senior Management and I have been planning to attend a Teardrop trailer gathering at some point. A gathering is when a bunch of teardrop enthusiasts camp together for a weekend. In our area of Washington, there are no gatherings to be found. The Ocean Tears event was this year at Ocean Shores, Washington. We signed up for this event & reserved a camp site. We love the ocean and have camped at the campground a couple of times.
Then the educational grant came through to make a film. So we enjoyed a great weekend getting to know other crazies like ourselves, eating together, and generally loving the torrents of rain. Plus, the tear droppers were willing to give interviews & tours of their rigs. It was a great weekend and definitely one that we will try to attend regularly.
Day 1
On the way to the Ocean Tears event, we stopped in Walla Walla, Wa to pick up Landon (the film student helping me with this project) and then drove through the Rainer National Forest. After a crash course in running a professional HD Camera gear, we were off & filming.
Along the way, we made several stops. One of them was at Miner’s in Yakama, WA. It is a burger joint that makes food in steroid-honey-I-shrunk-the-kids sized portions. Landon’s salad was as big as his head.
The total number of hours that I drove: 12 straight. I know this is just a taste of what is to come (in that my trip will take me to Elkhart, Indiana and back to Walla Walla, WA in 9 days) but it was still exhausting. When we arrived at Ocean Shores, it was raining like a bucket being poured out from the sky. We set up quickly in a gap in the rain and went to bed at about midnight.
Advantage of a teardrop: arrive & go to bed within 4 min. This is great when it is pouring.
