Calypso

Jon Almada

When I was a child, I remember watching with awe as Jacques Cousteau and his sons traveled the world in their beloved research ship "Calypso".  I was entranced and wondered what it would be like to travel the world and experience the wonder of seeing exotic places and meeting interesting people.

The Good Ship Calypso

The other travel-related item that took up much of my time was space travel. Growing up in a house full of rocket scientists, from my father to all of his friends from work, left my young mind dazzled with the possibility of exploring the final frontier and Star Trek was an absolute staple to view in our house.

I remember the Voyager missions launching in 1977 as I graduated from high school and watched their progress over the years as humans explored the solar system and, only in the very recent past, did one of the Voyager craft escape the solar system and become a true interstellar voyager. My company was part of those missions and my entire life has been part of doing something with travel in one form or another.

After my flight in a primo CJ-6 fighter trainer

I ended up in an aerospace career with computers and working around some of the smartest people on the planet as a result of all of this. And, in my free time, I traveled all over the place, climbing icebergs in the Arctic ocean and trails in the Arizona desert amongst many other memorable adventures. I have dived with sharks, petted dolphins in the open water as they broke the surface of the water in front of our boat, run from a grizzly bear trying to kill me and even have traveled all over the western United States chasing paranormal phenomena. And in 2010, I realized a lifelong dream to sit at the controls of a fighter plane and to experience high-G maneuvers.

Me in the Arctic on an iceberg

I'm in my mid-50s and enjoying myself in life, but that old familiar travel wanderlust is still with me and I'm nowhere near done traveling.

I've traveled the U.S, from Alaska, Hawaii and much of the lower-48 and a few countries in the Caribbean, but I still have never experienced the USA from the road beyond a few road trips as a motorcycle chase-support vehicle.

A Benroy-class tear drop trailer

So... in 2007, shortly before my father had a devastating stroke, I saw my first teardrop trailer and was immediately entranced with it. I knew I had to make one and would spend the next seven years chasing the dream until, in early 2014, I began my construction project in earnest after one false start in 2008. I dedicated the project to my Dad, who was a rocket propulsion scientist through much of his life and remembered all of the road trips to the ocean we took as kids and parents. Water was always part of my early life and I know I'd combine the road with places with lots of water as I began this venture.

My tour of Elmemdorf AFB Red-Star Hall

As I've spent a lifetime in aerospace myself, I found it appropriate that the goddess "Calypso" was the daughter of the Titan "Atlas". Considering my years working on projects with those very same names, I found that the connection between the mythology and my own personal life was compelling enough to name my teardrop for the beautiful Calypso.

My teardrop will be a combination of a class called a "Benroy" and also  a class called the "Rimple". Couple that with a deep love of Star Trek and some custom paint and styling to match a class of Star Trek Shuttlecraft and you'll have an idea where I'm going with my custom take on my own teardrop class, the "Calypso".

Life is full of adventure, if you will simply get off your duff and go experience it. I've seen enough of the world to find that most folks are good, hard-working and decent types who make the world a better place by simply being in it.

I'll fill in the story with more photos of my version of Calypso as she takes shape!