Rising From The Ashes… Her Story Continues

My very first camper was a 1972 Argosy camper. She was yellow and we called her “The Twinkie.” I purchased her from my first cousin. She was stationary in a field being used as a storage unit when we bought her. She was a mess but I am not going to lie, I loved her. Her door was broken.  We had to bungee cord it shut. The heater was broken. The refrigerator was rusted. She had dings and bruises. She had orange shag carpet and the floor under the carpet was super soft in places.

She was my first camper and really opened the idea of RV camping to us. I introduced camping to two children in that camper. The Boy was in elementary school when I brought The Twinkie home the day before Easter in 2006. The Short Chic was in preschool when we sold her (was that in 2013?) I  loved the idea of a restoring a vintage Airstream to it’s glory.  The reality was, she needed a lot of work. Work that I could not provide. Neither could my husband. We lacked the skill. The know-how. The resources.   We did make several attempts at making her better but in the end, we recognized our short comings and made the decision to sell her.  We sold her to a coworker of mine whose husband had those skills. I was so hopeful for The Twinkie’s new life.

Then in May 2017, out of the blue, my former coworker sent me a text to say that they had sold The Twinkie and she was moving to the east coast. I found myself overcome with regret and maybe even some grief. Silly I know because my skill level had not changed. Logically I knew I would never be able to provide the care the camper needed. Emotionally, I just wanted to be near her.

As the months have past, selling her has often weighed heavy on my heart.  Then this past weekend, my former coworker sent me a recommendation to a facebook page called, Zola The Airstream Arogosy. I opened the page and my heart started doing cartwheels, Zola is The Twinkie!  Just like the mythological Phoenix, this camper is being given a new life and is rising from the ashes.

I read every post and looked at every photo. Twice. Three times. My heart was so happy to see that she was getting her rehab. And OMG, it is not a little cosmetic rehab; her new owner has taken her down to the beams and and rebuilt her! She was purchased by a member of Sisters On The Fly, a women’s outdoor adventure group. What irony!! I am fan of Janine Pettit’s podcast, Girl Camper, from which I learned about Sisters On The Fly. My entire retirement plan is wrapped around owning a girl camper and traveling with Sisters On The Fly.

Facebook stalking was not nearly enough for me. I felt compelled to reach out to Zola’s new owner and say hi. I sent a message Saturday morning and immediately heard back. We chatted back and forth me sharing my history with The Twinkie and her new owner sharing Zola’s rehab stories. Any and all regret I have had since I sold her or since I found out she was moving to Vermont faded away. Zola aka The Twinkie was being well cared for and not put back out to pasture.

Faith is a funny thing. You never know what will actually happen but in order for something to happen you have to make a step. Yes, I still wish I had the skill to do something great with the camper but I do not. Selling her gave that camper the best chance at a new life. I am so thankful to my former coworker and her husband for picking such a great new owner for my first camper love. And who knows what faith still has in store for us. Soon I will be retired and maybe, just maybe Zola and I will find ourselves on the same adventure together.  Weirder things have happened in life!

If you would like to follow Zola’s amazing transformation, you can. Just head over to Facebook and follow her page: Zola The Airstream Argosy Make sure you say hi from us!