On The Road Again

Last year, I bought a sad, depressed little camper. Hauled it with my Ford Explorer all the way from North Georgia. Seven-year-old Annabelle was with me, gasping every time we went swaying around a curve. She was certain we weren't going to make it home, admonishing me to call her Daddy to come get us. Somehow, we finally pulled into the parking lot, all by ourselves, in front of Los Cowboys, where we were meeting Papa for supper. He had no inkling that I would pull up with this appendage trailing behind me. He was shocked and grinning from ear to ear. This is the Holiday Inn dude that I married, so I was taking quite a risk in buying the thing. But I had a vision and Ken was in the story, whether he liked it or not.

My big idea was to take this frumpy, brown trailer and make it look like a 50s diner, all Barbie-ish and decked out in cream, turquoise and coral pink. I primed and painted the whole interior, from stem to stern. I bought black and white checked flooring, the kind you just peel and stick. Before I could put down the floor, we camped a few times. Ken jumped right into the project, fixing things and buying accessories to make it work better. He even bought a big TV for it, which I promptly broke with an errant elbow. Before I could blink, he'd bought another one. I thought, "We might just do this thing." I found baskets and cute little retro dishes to outfit it. Then winter and rusty joints took over. I couldn't muster up the strength or the will to put that pesky floor down.

Then came summer and a son that needed some work. I persuaded him to help me finish the thing. Daniel diligently fussed over the floor, then informed me it was just going to peel right back up if we used this kind of material. He ended up putting down that waterproof vinyl stuff that looks fantastic (it's even called luxury vinyl). Where was that back in the 80s when we were putting down tacky plastic flooring that made your house sound like a hundred Chihuahuas running around the kitchen? Then he fixed the steps, put down new shoe moulding, and painted the outside with gorgeous turquoise. I thought we were done, until he popped back over and pin-striped the outside with black paint.  I finally sewed curtains out of the fabric I've had for a year, put them up and made the bed. I've got my Barbie Dream Camper (the Retro Edition) and we're ready for the road. 

A great project for a dreary, worrisome year. I thought about selling it and making some money, but nah, I think we'll keep her. We all need a little sunshine now and then.