forget-me-not friday

7.12.2013


It's been a while since I posted anything for Forget-Me-Not Friday, and in the spirit of summer and road-tripping and camping, I thought I'd share this photo.  I'm guessing this is around 1970.  We traveled all over the United States in this, our beloved, so beloved, Chevy Chinook camper.  

So many memories:  How Dad would light the pilot light under the fridge and how it smelled.  The sound of the drape hooks on the back windows sliding around as we turned corners.  The smell of the vinyl seats.  The gold starburst flecks in the cream-colored fold-down table, and all the games played around that table.  How Dad would get up at the crack of dawn and start driving, drive for a few hours, then stop so we could make and have breakfast on the side of the road.  The canvas and metal pipe "bunk beds".  The sound of the water pumping when you turned on the faucet of the tiny kitchen sink.  The red, white, and blue quilt that was always a fixture on Mom and Dad's bed above the cab.  The sound the black metal step just outside the door made when stepped on.  How my sister and I would duck down and put on stuffed animal or doll shows (we had the Sunshine Family, not Barbie) on the windowsill of the back window for cars behind us.  Meeting family all across the States I'd never met or only met once or twice.  All the different driveways, campgrounds, State Parks, and historical and beautiful places were were able to see and stay in and explore throughout the US.  The togetherness and spirit of adventure. 

And now, how much I wish I could find this camper, buy it back, and go on trips in it with my husband and Thor.  Next best thing, though, is that we are soon to buy my dad's old work van and convert it into a little camper.  Road-tripping memories to follow...

Happy Friday.  Have a great weekend.  Make some memories!
by mlekoshi