All the Gas You Can Drink

Well, it looks like it's the Family Motor Coach Association's annual convention at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Egad.

With $4.00 a gallon gas, climate change, and even a minute amount of carbon-footprint consciousness, how crazy an institution is that to hang onto? Don't go somewhere in your RV because you want to see a new place -- no, go somewhere just to get together with a bunch of other people who also have RVs.

Anyway.

I didn't know the convention was scheduled at the Fair this weekend. As I was driving past the Fair, I couldn't believe how many of those absolutely gigantic (I mean Greyhound bus-sized) RVs were parked everywhere in sight. The parking lots were curb-to-curb with them, and there wasn't a small RV in sight.

And I wondered out loud, "Maybe it's kind of like an Airstream convention."

My friend replied instantly, "More like an Ugly Stream convention."


The stainless steel, classic Airstream trailer vs. the all-too-common, swoosh-festooned modern RV.

What is the thinking behind those swooshes, anyway? Wouldn't these things look better without them -- maybe with just some big solid areas of color? What if people painted their houses with swooshes on them? "Gee, this is an awful big empty area on the side of the house, I'd better put a big swoosh on it to make it more interesting."

[Shutter.]