I have already shared with you my disease of "extremecamperenvy-itis". It is a fairly common disease, I think, that those of us with it don't always admit to...the stigma and all... Well I have had it on and off for about seven years now and have managed to keep it under control until now. Why now, you might ask? Well, about a year ago, I was walking with a friend who was stating matter-of-factly that she had about five good years left with her son until he grew up, went off to university and possibly out of her home for good (although nowadays don't they all come running back to the comforts of home?) Anyway, the enormity of her statement hit me like a brick. My oldest is only a year behind her oldest, and I too have a very short window of time left with him in the true parenting sense of the word.
I have thought of this innocent comment quite a lot since my friend first mentioned it. We have never been travellers (unless you count visits to their grandparents and P.E.I. - all of which are in the Maritimes). We either had a little one that we didn't want to take very far, or our budget didn't allow for such luxuries. People always say, "You can't afford not to...", but, thank you very much, we were not prepared to "charge" a trip away, so we never travelled. After 911, we also became a bit reluctant to fly. I know we're not supposed to think like that, but the world is not as safe-feeling to us anymore, so it's always in the backs of our minds.
This leads us back to campers. To me a camper is basically an investment. An investment in our family life, and you can always sell it at the end of the day (unlike a trip). It is a more realistic option to us at this stage of the game. We have enjoyed the few times we have been camping, and like my dear sister-in-law Denise says, camping enables you to visit a lot of places you couldn't afford to go otherwise. So, off we went to the camper display set up in the parking lot of our local Walmart. I had driven by the display many times, and I warned Paul not to take me there if he wasn't serious about buying one, so I knew it was a possibility when he suggested going to see them. Well... we came, we saw, and we picked one out. Too easy!
So why did I toss and turn all night after we had the salesperson put our name on one? Neither of us are good at making big purchases. We fret about them. We simply don't make that many, but when we do, we are very impulsive. We don't hem and haw once we're at the looking stage. We have bought vehicles right off the lot within an hour, and we were the same with this rather major purchase. We looked at all the layouts, tried them out for size, and basically committed then and there. We are probably a salespersons dream client. But they don't know that we have already done our discussing and worrying before we even arrive...
This leads us back to campers. To me a camper is basically an investment. An investment in our family life, and you can always sell it at the end of the day (unlike a trip). It is a more realistic option to us at this stage of the game. We have enjoyed the few times we have been camping, and like my dear sister-in-law Denise says, camping enables you to visit a lot of places you couldn't afford to go otherwise. So, off we went to the camper display set up in the parking lot of our local Walmart. I had driven by the display many times, and I warned Paul not to take me there if he wasn't serious about buying one, so I knew it was a possibility when he suggested going to see them. Well... we came, we saw, and we picked one out. Too easy!
So why did I toss and turn all night after we had the salesperson put our name on one? Neither of us are good at making big purchases. We fret about them. We simply don't make that many, but when we do, we are very impulsive. We don't hem and haw once we're at the looking stage. We have bought vehicles right off the lot within an hour, and we were the same with this rather major purchase. We looked at all the layouts, tried them out for size, and basically committed then and there. We are probably a salespersons dream client. But they don't know that we have already done our discussing and worrying before we even arrive...
Long story short: we are now the proud owners of a 2007 Flagstaff 206ST. We take ownership on Tuesday and will plan our first trip in it very soon. After all, our kids aren't getting any younger...and there is no time like the present to enjoy our beautiful Maritime provinces. Our first trip will be to the Valley, then off to Ben Eoin (in Cape Breton), then Marco Polo Land in P.E.I. with family, then to Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick. Whew!! I can hardly wait!! And if you think I will be redecorating it any time soon...well, I'm making no promises to the contrary!! I'll post some pictures as soon as it is ours!!The pics above are of beautiful vintage campers (mostly Airstreams) from Doug's Vintage Trailers. Have a look and drool!! Did you know you could make a camper look so cute?? That is one of the things that draws me to them ..they appeal to the little girl in me who wants to play house!! I can hardly wait!!!!!!
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