Saying Goodbye To Our Vintage Trailer
This last weekend we sold our little vintage trailer we’ve had for 10 years that I wrote about here – the trailer that saw our family through many camping trips and vacations (like this and this).
I LOVED that little trailer – the sweet little shape, the wood interior, the compactness that still held everything we needed – and I loved owning it. It was easy to tow, easy to park, easy to pack.
But we haven’t used it at all in the past two years. Since living simply is not just a blog tagline to me but a way we really want to live, we started talking, honestly, about our need for it.
We came to the realization that without little kids anymore, Brian and I just aren’t going to camp on our own. I think we thought we might and we’d love to be known as campers – but we’re not. I don’t sleep well in the trailer anymore and we just find it kinda boring to camp just the two of us.
I’d much rather go somewhere and stay in a motel or just day trip somewhere. And that’s okay. It’s a new stage of life and it’s not bad, just different (this is what I tell myself…).
So we listed it on Craigslist and started getting calls within hours – the farthest from Bremerton, Washington.
Okay, clue: vintage trailers are hot.
But, oh how bittersweet this is! Look at that original wood screen door, one of my favorite things about it. The trailer wasn’t in mint condition and not everything was original, but all the cabinets where original and they’re what gave it so much character.
The walls, though redone, were still wood which just makes you feel cozy and content inside. Our family of four had no trouble hanging out in here to get away from rain or mosquitos – between the bench and the table there was plenty of room. It served us well.
So, yeah, I found myself crying as I cleaned out the trailer, packing up our special camping cups, finding the pad we used for games and the treasures the kids found in a drawer.
But as you probably guess, it’s not all about the trailer, but also the end of an era for our family where it was just the four of us taking school vacations and weekends to get away.
Again, not bad, just different. A new normal. But definitely something I have to get used to.
And so this? This helped ease the transition SO much. The sweet family who bought our trailer has been dreaming of a little vintage trailer for a of couple years. They loved it and thought it was perfect – dents, imperfections and all.
They drove 2 hours to come check it out and in the end they drove home with it. I hope they get as many years of enjoyment out of it as we did (and really hope they finally get rid of the red paint job that we never got to!).
As they drove away with it, my thought was, “man, that’s a cute trailer.”
Goodbye trailer…and goodbye season of life.
I am a 63 yr old gramma to 3 wonderful boys, 21, 18, and 8. Ihave a hard time adjusting, it happens in it own sweet time. Your kids grow up so fast… Life changes and we have no choice but to move on. I wouldn’t let my hubby get rid of my 40 yr old daughters car seat, crazy right, but I did it myself last week and then cried and now moving on again. Live is good and memories sweet.
Amen, Pat!
Jami, I feel your pain- it’s not really the trailer, it’s about the kids not really going with you anymore š OK, well, the trailer was cool, too!
We tent camped with our boys from the time the oldest was 6 weeks old up until the youngest went to college…and after he graduated from college, we bought our first trailer. It’s a ‘retro’ Aljo and we have found a renewed love for camping! It’s perfect for just the two of us on two or three day trips…we have found that we are taking it out twice a month from May-October.
Congrats that the trailer went to a nice family….but camping only with your spouse is actually quite a treat.
I absolutely agree that camping with “just” a spouse is quite a treat—-I’ve never thought of it once as boring—-but, we’re all different! My two oldest boys are grown and my youngest, 15, HATES tent camping. So, rather than give up what my husband and I love doing, our 15 year old stays with our middle son while we go and camp, explore, relax—just enjoy being outdoors on our own schedule. I would love to own a little trailer, but we simply cannot afford one at this time. So, we just pack up our tent and camping supplies and hit the road, usually within just an hour or so of home (we live in northern-most CA and there are campgrounds galore!). We just returned Sunday from a weekend camping trip where we had the incredible pleasure of seeing bears for the first time in all our years of camping—–absolutely NOT boring!
So glad you have fun camping, Patti! You’re right it shouldn’t be boring to us, which is why I wrote that I wished we were campers. I still love being outdoors and there are so many things to appreciate there. I wonder if it’s because I’ve camped my whole life and now I want to do other things? It also doesn’t help that I just don’t sleep well, so I come back really exhausted. š I’m sure we’ll still camp occasionally with family and we’ll do an air mattress in a tent like we used to – it’s just not enough to warrant keeping a trailer for, though.
I know, Michelle, you’re right – we have a lot of friends and neighbors who like to camp on their own, which is why I’d love if it was our thing, but we’ve tried and it’s just not us. Sure glad you enjoy it!!
Ohhhh, it’s so cute! I want one so bad. An Airstream is the big dream, but I love the little ones like yours, too. I would have been sad to see it go. š
Yeah, I always look longingly at the airstreams – they are too cool.