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After a seemingly "forever" wait (on a new fridge) Elizabeth and I have taken owndership of Hull 64, a 2015 Legacy II perviously loved by the Kemp family in Florida. Much appreciation to the Kemps for accompanying us out to the beach campsite for our first "set up". I am not really mechanically inclined so he had to repeat a few things, but did it good naturedly. We spent an enjoyable evening, first at dinner, then at our campsite. The weather was fantastic! Next morning we took the puppies to the doggie beach and let them see the "big blue" for the first time. They are not water dogs, but enjoyed the sand and the view. We didn't swim...lots of jellyfish in the water. We rehitched the Ollie, using the provided Anderson WD hitch. It went fairly seamlessly, packed up, remembering the chocks and jacks. All went well, even on the tow home to North Mississippi (about 400 miles). The F150 with the Anderson hitch was effortless. We experienced no sway, no difficulties at all though passed (initially) by several big rigs, and (later) passing them. Wasn't till after dark that I noticed I had traveled the entire way with my port side lights on. We got a bit over 11 mgp while towing, I was impressed with the F150 and with the Ollie. Looking forward to getting to know some of the other owners around a firepit over time.

John - don't be too hard on the house. It didn't ask to be built. It's a work of art and can be appreciated on it's own. Though, personally, while I think the craftsmanship and detail are incredible, the house as a whole doesn't do much for me. It feels poorly proportioned and has an odd rhythm to it. I've always thought the first story was too short - it looks to me like the whole house sank about five feet. Story time - If you are into the social significance of buildings like this, there's a richer background than just rich people being rich. My great grandfather was an artist and interior designer back when these houses and many of the public buildings that these people funded were built. His parents were immigrants from Germany and he had studied classical architecture there, as did my grandfather after him. They both worked, in succession, as chief designer for a company called Hayden, out of Rochester, which was responsible for many of these homes. They designed and constructed all of the interiors - basically everything you see once you're in the front door, from the wood moulding to the floors to much of the furniture. I don't think that the Biltmore is on the list, but I believe that the Vanderbilt mansion in NYC is. He did the Library of Congress, the NY Public Library, Art Institute of Chicago, etc. in addition to all these houses for people with names like Dodge, Eastman, Rockefeller, Scripps, Woolworth, etc. Lots of stuff. Anyway, my story is this - over time, the industrial revolution had quite a toll on old world crafts, as you can imagine. Faster, better, cheaper meant that the old craft traditions in Europe were all but dead by the turn of the century and many of the people in those trades, who had learned their craft from generation to generation, found themselves with little or no work. So they came to the US, and hundreds of them ended up at Hayden and hundreds more went to similar companies doing similar things throughout the US. Wood carvers, stone masons, metal smiths, furniture builders, etc. And they built all this stuff that was the product of American industrialism - the houses, libraries, museums, theaters, etc. All the landmarks of the classical era in US architecture were built by these immigrants in the same tradition as it had been done in Europe for centuries, with the next generation working alongside the current, learning as they went. Then the depression came and it all ended. The money dried up and tastes changed. Building these great monuments, both public and private, was no longer in vogue. Eventually even public appreciation for architecture in general waned. The would-be next generation of craftsmen went on to other professions - my grandfather went to work as a salesman. So I've always found it ironic, a bit poetic, that these people's final work, and the ultimate expression of their centuries old craft, was building houses and public structures that were funded by the men who had put them out of work. That's something, isn't it? Anyway, that's the context in which I wish people would see these homes - not just awe or indignance, but but a bittersweet appreciation for what the world both lost and gained in their construction. This is sounding more like an essay than a forum post, so I'll stop here. If you guys can go to the Expo, then please do, with or without a visit to the mansion. I went to last year's expo out west and it's really worth the trip. In fact, if you really want to get the most out of one of these expos, sign up for one of next year's and do the full package with all of the classes. You'll be amazed at what there is to learn from people who have spent their lives travelling.