The purchase of the Landshark

In the summer of 2012, while visiting my mom in California for a summer holiday, we stumbled upon Sunset Magazine which was sitting upon her coffee table.  The sun was setting, a glass of wine was being poured, and we decided it was the perfect time to thumb through this tantalizing edition, which featured a vintage Scotty Camper.  The pictures and article told a story of a retired couple who invested in refurbishing and modernizing a vintage camper and then taking it to some of our most beloved scenic locations throughout North America.  Apparently this is a thing!!

There are people all over the country who have found a stylish and inexpensive way to see some of the coolest things on the planet.  Being seasoned travelers of the National Park system my husband and I were SOLD!  The hunt for our own vintage camper began.  My husband is notorious for being the most thorough and relentless online researcher.  I was confident that our dream of one day experiencing adventures together as a family would come true.

Oh, did I forget to mention that we also have three children under the age of 5?

It was in June of 2013 when the trailer that was meant to be ours became available on Craigstlist.  And when I say meant to be ours, I mean MEANT TO BE.  My husband had begun and ended his tireless search for the perfect camper about 50 times.  To be clear, the perfect camper to us was three things:  1.  Cheap (like under $2,000), 2.  No Water Damage, and 3.  Camp ready on the inside.  When looking for a camper that is over 30 years old, meeting those criteria can be difficult, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

It was on that fateful June day, while my husband was checking, once again, the daily posting on craigslist, that he found our little Landshark only 30 miles away for only $1,500.00.  We immediately called the owner and drove to see if the pictures were as good as they looked on the web.  AND DID THEY EVER!

The story behind our little Landshark, is that an elderly couple bought it as part of their retirement plan.  They had hoped to vacation in Wisconsin, but tragically his wife became ill and passed away.  He wanted his dream to live on with another family.  And that family was us.  The sweetest, kindest, and gentlest man helped us hitch her up and sent us home in our new little Landshark.

The adventures were about to begin.