The Rhoback Summer Tour

A Reflection

We have over two months of the Rhoback Summer Tour under our belts and by all accounts, it has been a great adventure and a wild success.  All and all, the Rhoadie (a.k.a. our CLC teardrop camper, a.k.a. our mobile pop-up, a.k.a. Bunker’s and my bed) has clocked in at over 5,000 miles.

We started our tour heading south from our home base, Charlottesville, VA.  We visited Charlotte, Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston.  Besides the few days of rain, we slung shirts and met some really amazing people.  Our friends at M. Dumas & Sons on King St. in Charleston made us feel right at home.  Bunker, our Rhodesian Ridgeback, especially reaped the benefits of our partnership, as he was soaking up their air conditioning the entire day. Thanks for putting him up, guys!

Our next couple stops were north of C’Ville.  We stopped in Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and finally made it to Boston’s elusive Newbury Street, where we partnered with the Lily Pulitzer Signature store, In The Pink.  Little did we know, we’d meet one of our soon-to-be brand ambassadors in Princeton, NJ, we'd witness two of our best friends get engaged in NYC (Congrats Holly and Brendan!), and we’d have the first of many run-ins with the law – apparently cops aren’t too keen on #slingingshirts without a permit because its technically #soliciting.  Lesson learned.  Officers, we are very sorry for the trouble and appreciate just the warning.

The third leg of the tour brought us to D.C., Fairfax, VA, and the ‘burbs of NYC.  In Armonk, NY, we partnered with our friends at Hickory & Tweed (our buddy, Mac, designs their private label and it is AWESOME, go check them out especially if you’re hitting the slopes this winter!).  We also set up shop on Main Street in Ridgefield, where our cofounder, Matt, grew up (and was a legend/golf prodigy).  It wasn’t surprising that we had one of our best days ever!

But what’s all this without the main attraction, the teardrop, the RHOADIE?? This handsome, wooden MASTERPIECE needed to be shown off – so we stopped in Mystic, CT at the WoodenBoat Show to do just that.  Needless to say, the Rhoadie was a hit and everyone wanted to build their very own @CLCBoats Teardrop by the end of the weekend.  Mission accomplished.  Much more on the Rhoadie and our partnership with CLC later for all the hardworking woodworkers out there.  From Mystic, we headed to The Cape. Once again, the lovely ladies at In The Pink hosted us and we had everyone and their moms saying “crave activity” by the end of the day.

Nantucket brought its own slew of fun.  We finessed the Rhoadie across the Nantucket Sound on the barge to be greeted by the WILDEST Fourth of July celebration I’ve ever witnessed.  Did you know that on the Fourth of July on ACK, kids just run around Main Street pelting each other with water balloons?  It’s AMAZING. Our founders ended up being targets in one of the largest kid-run heists I’ve ever seen.  Amongst the drama of the water fight, we ran into our friend, Matt, from Tucker Blair, who was enjoying the festivities as well.

Day three on ACK was straight up out of our dreams.  @ACKSharks, did you read my diary? Because I’ve been dying to go on a Shark Catch and Release charter since I was old enough to see Jaws.  HUGE THANKS to Elliot for such an unbelievable day – we tagged a six foot shark AND we even got to name it! That’s right, we’ve got a new brand ambassador, he lives in the Atlantic and his name is Rhoback.  In all seriousness, it is incredible what Elliot does every day to help learn more about and preserve these beautiful animals – thank you for sharing this experience with us!

We got back to The Cape just in time to squeeze in another day of selling prior to the BEAUTIFUL nuptials of our good friends at the Chatham Bars Inn.  Again, In The Pink – you guys are killing it! Thank you for having us at your store in Chatham, we’d be honored to come back!

We ended our two month run in D.C. and Virginia, where it all started.  Our friends at Union Market in D.C. put us up for an entire weekend in mid-July.  It was a tad steamy, but we had a blast and got to enjoy THE BEST poke bowl to boot (three days in a row).  If you haven’t been to Union Market, get over there!  The food selection is next level.

Mosaic District was our last stop.  This was the stop where we met, not one but FIVE other Rhodesian Ridgebacks.  There was a legitimate Ridgeback soirée at our pop-up shop – all thanks to Debbie the boisterous, local Ridgeback breeder who literally called everyone she knew to come to our pop-up.  Debbie – you are incredible and we are looking forward to many more Ridgeback conventions to come. All and all, our last weekend on the road was unbelievable – we truly ended with a bang (or a woof, if I may).

The Rhoadie – The Teardrop Camper

The beautiful, handmade, mobile pop-up shop you see in all of our pictures, The Rhoadie, is simply a masterpiece.  So much so, that it deserves its own dedicated section in this blog (and even it’s own blog to come).  First off, THANK YOU to Chesapeake Light Craft (a) for having such an incredible and creative team (b) for designing the piece of art that is the teardrop camper and most importantly, (c) for providing the teardrop camper kit to Rhoback so we can experience building it ourselves and taking it on the road for the adventure of a lifetime.  Second, I’d personally like to thank my father-in-law, Mike Loftus, for putting 400+ hours of his time into building The Rhoadie.  And my dad, Peter, who was the sous chef to Mike, if you will, all along the way.  We literally couldn’t have done this without you. With that said, I did varnish a couple things but that’s neither here nor there.

If you’re interested in building your very own teardrop camper, check out www.clcboats.com/teardrop (the guys at CLC will make your woodworking dreams come true) and stay tuned for our upcoming blog entitled “The Rhoadie”. 

More ‘Thank Yous’ are in order…

There were A LOT of people who helped us out along the way and I wanted to take a minute to say thank you (in no particular order.)  EDENS Retail Shops – you made this tour possible, thank you for being so easy to work with and for such a successful two months! Kim and Zach thanks for letting us park the camper at your house in Charlotte – love the new digs and pup, Callie.  Meggie, for always welcoming me and Bunker! Mrs. Dunklin, your fish dinner was DIVINE in Atlanta.  Mom and Dad – thanks for hanging out with me and putting me up in Savannah (and for most of my life) and for all your support!  M. Dumas & Sons, thank you for hosting us in Charleston – what a day!  Uncle Bill and Aunt Fran, for letting Bunker run around your yard and tackle your son TIME AND TIME AGAIN. We owe you two a rug! Meg and Chris Hall, I want to be you – your home is so well-decorated, of course.  Mr. and Mrs. Genetti, you came through in the clutch, just like Steph – thank you!  In The Pink Stores, especially the Emilys and their awesome group of managers and staff – you are all amazing!  Barton – you’re the man for making that connection and being our go-to attractive friend.  CJ – you put us up and made us cookies, no words (I’m sorry if the cookies weren’t for us).  Ferncroft Country Club, especially Damon and Phil, thank you for welcoming us at the club! Ross and Brittany, for letting us stay with you and for letting Bunker consume all the gourmet dog food in your house.  Thanks Max and the Keel crew along with Kiel and Sarah for a fabulous summer kick-off party in Chatham.  Stew and Liz – thanks for letting Dunks crash in NYC and for your amazing hospitality.  Hickory and Tweed, we can’t wait to work with you guys again soon – I love my new hat! Maeve and Fred for putting us up in The Hamptons and for introducing me to the best lobster roll on the East End.  Aunt Kath, you’re a saint for hanging out with me for an ungodly amount of hours in Closter.  Kate, breakfast was wonderful! The Mancini’s, for a warm bed and your continuous support.  Mike and Melissa, we had such a blast with you – tell Angus we said hello.  Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Dave, thanks for hosting and showing us an unbelievable Cape sunset. Elliot, aka @ACKSharks, for an experience of a lifetime! Nantucket Surf Club, we can’t wait to continue our awesome partnership (thank you, Nick!).  Johnny Miles, you dog.  Thank you for convincing your parents to let our crew shack up at your beautiful Nantucket guest house.  Zack + crew for helping my husband achieve his dreams of being an Insta model for a weekend.  Uncle Tim and Aunt Julie, for being our go-to in D.C. and just being all around great people.  The Loehrs – for letting us set up shop on your meticulously manicured front lawn in Ridgefield.  The in-laws – Jos and Pops – you two are incredible.  Thank you for building our tiny house and for decorating it to the nines… and for everything else you do for us! Genevieve, I can’t believe you put up with us, but you do and I thank you for that.  My dog, Bunker – thanks for being our mascot and for enjoying being pet hundreds of times in one sitting – good boy! Lastly, we wanted to thank all of our friends and family for all the incredible support.  Everyone that visited The Rhoadie on tour, offered us a bed, bought gear, opened up doors for us – there are too many of you to name, but so much love to you and thank you so much!  There’s literally no better feeling than seeing our friends decked out in Rhoback gear, especially when it’s not just for brownie points.  We couldn’t do this without you guys!

What’s Next?

We’re going on tour!!! (Again.) But this time we’re taking recommendations.  But seriously, where should be go? We’re planning our August/September tour right now…  Do you know of an event where Rhoback would kill it?  A beach where we’d fit right in?  A large party in need of performance apparel?  Shoot us a text or message on Facebook, or comment below!

-Steens