Wanderlust
Welcome to Expedition Inner Wisdom’s mobile headquarters – the Silver Bullet – as Airstreams are often called. A fellow named Wally Byam built one in his back yard and then another one, until, in 1932, he founded the Airstream Company. In the 1950’s he organized caravans, and in 1963-64, they did a world tour! The club (WBCCI) still exists today, and I’ve been on a couple of caravans through the northern states. It’s a fun way to be in community while travelling – yes, like gypsies to some degree!
What I like about the Airstream legacy has much to do with Wally’s spirit of adventure along with his compassion for people and the environment. He once said, “We feel that we have spread more honest-to-goodness, down-to-earth goodwill in the countries we’ve visited than all the striped-pants diplomats put together.” To go on a caravan, you must belong to the club, and to do that you have to take a pledge to leave the campsites better than you found them. I applaud this commitment to tread lightly upon the earth.
When both of my parents passed away, comfort came to me as I
recalled the happy memories of our family camping trips. We used a tent trailer that my dad built in our backyard. Our parents took us from the west coast to the east coast of Canada, and although I didn’t probably appreciate it so much back then when I was a child, I do cherish those moments in adulthood. So, when it came time for me to decide on what I should do with the inheritance money, I felt a warmth in my chest when I thought of buying a trailer that I could share with others in the hopes of bringing them joy.
And, the first person that I shared the Airstream with, on our silver bullet’s first trip, was my mom when we drove her ashes out to Saskatchewan for her to be buried beside my dad in the RCMP barracks in Regina. I laughed thinking about what she might have to say about that because my father was far fonder of camping than my mother ever was. I recall her stating again and again that she never wanted to take that trip out west again if she had to camp. Nonetheless, on that last trip out west in the Airstream trailer, I think she was looking down on me from heaven saying, “Well if I have to take one more trip out west in a camper, then at least you’re taking me in style!” I know she (and dad) would be proud of how I have used the Airstream to gather family and friends together and how I’m using it now for a business that encourages people to love themselves, others, and nature. Wally Byam, although I never knew him, would probably approve too.
“It’s better to wear out than to rust out.”
Wally Byam
Airstreams were designed to be so light that some sizes could be pulled by a bike!
This July and August 2016, Expedition Inner Wisdom Inc. is running yoga classes at the Woodland RV campground in St. Williams, Ontario – close to the Turkey Point and Long Point Provincial parks and the sandy shores of Lake Erie. So, if you’re headed out camping in that area, you might consider setting up camp here for a night or two and grabbing a rejuvenating yoga class to help re-connect you with your higher self and nature - often said to be one and the same! To view more empowerment and yoga expeditions running this summer, keep checking the “Upcoming Events” section of expeditioninnerwisdom.ca.
|| Click image for the interactive map of St Williams, Ontario ||
