Cars of beauty and art:
1954 Hudson Italiano
Now:
Both Sherry and I were raised to be frugal. I guess most kids whose parents came thru the Great Depression were. Our parents recycled before the government decided it was a good idea.
I was raised to vacation in a tent or a real cheap ‘tourist cabin’, long before the motel became a common name. Many times the kids would sleep on the ground and the parents in the car. Vacations were not ‘Theme Parks’ but state and national parks to see and enjoy nature. Mama would cook on a camp stove or open fire.
Sherry and I did the same with our kids. Mostly we had tents and I built a portable cabinet with folding legs for the camp stove. I built one pop up camper. Later in life we bought a couple ‘travel trailers’. Once we had a VW bus camper it was fun in Florida, BUT NOT MOUNTAINS, it would not climb mountains.
As Sherry approached retirement we began to think of motor homes. I had this great idea of renting one for a month and traveling to see if we would like it. WHOA!! When I checked the month’s rental I told Sherry, “I think we can buy a small c-class camper for a little more than that, and if we don’t like it we can sell it and get most of our money back.” She agreed.
This turned into a great adventure. We met some wonderful folk as we searched. Once I knocked on a door in South Carolina in answer to an advertisement and Foster Brooks came to the door. I just looked at him for a minute. Quickly he did an acting line…. There was a pause and he said, “I am not THE Foster Brooks, I am an official Foster Brooks impersonator. And contrary to what most people think Foster does not drink and neither do I.”
We did not buy the camper, but he took me back to his barn where he was restoring a ‘T’ Model Ford. At that time he was making the wooden spokes for the wheels. What a joy to talk to him.
We finally did decide on a small Ranger, a ‘C class’ camper. The ‘C’ means ‘cab over the driver’. That is where our bed was. Some of our best trips were in the little Ranger, we loved it.
After just a couple trips we knew we wanted to see more of the USA and take our own bed with us. AND Just maybe, just maybe live in one full time.
Nite Shipslog
+018.jpg)
+040aa_edited-1.jpg)
8 comments:
Thanks to Lisa for the term Wheel Estate, I have never heard it referred to as that. Life is good!
Isn't it interesting where life takes us? You thought it might be fun to travel for a month, and look at you and Sherry now! So many miles in your RV and so many adventures!
betty
Your campers are wonderful, a great way to decide if you really want to travel on the road. Clearly, the "Wheel Estate" is the winner since you two prefer it to blocks and mortar!
I love hearing about how you started out with your Wheel Estate. We started out with a pop camper that slept 8 but since the kids were small, we managed to fit all nine of us in. It was cozy, but when we went camping we never spent much time inside. There was too much fun to be had outside. From breakfast to an evening campfire, we were outside most of the time. I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but when DDH retired we had planed to sell our home and buy a motor home and live in it full time. He never got to retire though so sadly our dreams were nut fulfilled, so I might just be living a bit vicariously through your travels.
As kids of a large family, also with our folks living through the end of the Depression, we learned to save, repurpose everything and live frugally. It was a great lesson we taught our own kids through easy camping outside under the stars, then tenting, a pop-up to finally a C-class RV that made camping life so much more convenient. Now we ' visit ' the kids at their campsites whenever we can and then go home to sleep in our own bed either home or at the cabin. lol We saw a lot of country to treasure. Friends have taken to the road like you do but it somehow never worked out for us. Life has been a blast tho, in and out of our vacation days.
love n' hugs from our Real Estate to your Wheel Estate (love that term)
Talk about WheelEstate! These are some fun pics. Nick was just talking about his first campers he stayed in. They used to sleep in the back of a pick up truck with a board. Two sleep under the board and two slept on top. Then they had pop ups and once even had a chuck wagon before finally having a camper. My first camper was a 27ft Sportsman. Now we have a 34ft Puma with two bedrooms and a slide. We are thinking of down sizing to a smaller one without a slide. I on the other hand, still dream of a 12-14ft retro camper of my own.
Cool and 42 in Gtown
Lisa
OK, I shouldn't be surprised to learn you built a pop-up camper … but I was. Pleasantly so! Once upon a time I'd a yen for travelling with a pop-up, but it never came to fruition. 'Suppose this 'city girl' is too attached to her brick-and-mortar conveniences.
PS - I never knew the meaning behind a "c" class; thanks!
We did camping with our-now-grown kids and loved it. After they left, we bought a nicer tent. Had a fancy air mattress. All was going well until we went on the camp ground from which bad dreams arise.
Since then, we have used motels. Sad to have missed the RVs.
Post a Comment