Vintage Camper?!

There it is, waiting to be washed, fixed, and painted.

What have I done...again?!

This time I really might end up being sorry. Since July last year when we sold our reasonable, clean, perfectly functional popup camper, we've been looking for a vintage old "canned ham" camper to work on and camp in.

Have I lost my mind?

This isn't ours. It's a "Sisters on the Fly" camper.

Why would we do this (you might ask)?

Because life is an adventure.
Because we don't have enough money to buy a new camper.
Because vintage campers are cool and have character.
Because I think we can always sell it for more than the amount for which we bought it.
Because I'm a glutton for punishment.

Another "SOTF" camper.

This whole idea began a couple of years ago when we went on our annual summer camping trip. Dara and I went up a few days before everyone else—Drew was having to work at his college and had to come late, Duncan was on the way home from a mission trip, and Darla was getting Franca (our German exchange student) ready for her trip home.

This "Sisters" camper was stunning. The painter is talented!

Dara and I, never being able to fully scratch the outdoors itch, set up camp and hung out together. It was pretty awesome. What was crazy, however, was that there were dozens of women with a group called Sisters on the Fly. Most of them were breast cancer survivors, many of whom had taken up fly fishing (an activity that reportedly exercises muscles damaged by breast cancer and treatments). We had some wonderful conversations with some really great people.

Yet another "SOTF" example.

Something that was really cool about this group was their campers! Most of them had incredible vintage campers that had been completely restored or remodeled. Dara and I were awed by their campers! When Darla, Duncan, and Drew finally made it to the campground, most of the women had packed up and departed, only a few remaining.

I took many pictures. These are only a few.

There were several old Airstreams there. Always classic!

Now it's our turn. Oh boy.

Ours right after the purchase. Bringing "Daisy" home.

Darla and I have been looking, even stopping at people's homes to ask about campers that sat stranded in their yards (yes, I could tell you some stories).

This week we saw a 1969 Field & Stream camper on Craigslist. I went to check it out and liked it. It didn't leak, wasn't plagued with rust or rot, and the couple that had it had done some work on it but appreciated vintage originality and kept it pretty stock. After negotiating on price, I brought it home. That was Saturday. We cleaned and worked on it until we ran out of daylight. We got cranking after church and the picnic that followed, and again worked on it until dark. I'm not complaining! I like having something to work on! Darla's determined the name: Daisy. She's going to paint the faded gold stripe a gold-yellow. It's also a little bit of an inside joke. I call Darla "Daisy" when she complains about my driving. You know, like in the movie, "Driving Miss Daisy."

We're going to spend Memorial Day fixing, painting, and remodeling this old thing (and then we're going to eat BBQ Pork that's cooking right now).

Life is good.

Driving Miss Daisy home to meet the family.