Our Camping History

    My husband and I got a Coleman Camp Stove & Lantern as a wedding gift back in 1973.  The stove & lantern went into storage right away while we were overseas, so we didn't get to use it the first couple years of our married life.  We lived in England due to my Hub's military career.  In July of 76, we traveled and tent camped all over Europe, touring 7 countries in 3 weeks.  Once we were back in the states, buying our first home, building our family with our first child we continued our camping adventures in a two man canvas tent.  After awhile we came up in the world and bought our first pickup & camper.... about 1978ish.  Our daughter was less than 2 yrs old and our son was a twinkle in his father's eye.... as they say.   My family did tent camping when I was a kid back in the late 50's & late 60's.  We roughed it by traveling up to the hills, pitching our Huge Tent and camping for a week at a time.  My father was very much into horses and we quite often took the horses with us.  We kids even traveled in the back of the truck with the horses & gear.   It was memory making times.
  So now that we had bought our first camp vehicle, we took the two kids on week long travel trips all over these Pacific Northwest mountains & valleys.  We were providing our kids with memories.   Through the years up until they were into their late teens, we took our yearly family week long camp out.  Naturally their interest in going with the "folks" faded and/or they got busy with their own adult lives that our camping trips slowly stopped.   We sold the camper & settled for staying in Motels & Hotels when ever we went on trips.
  A few years ago, my Hub & I bought a 19 ft Conversion Van Moter Home.  It was cute, funky and perfect for our twosome trips. The kids called it "the Beast".  We've used it quite often and I had looked forward to many adventures together in our old age.  Sadly.... very sadly... I lost my husband in Feb.  
   "The Beast" sat for the rest of the winter and the early spring.  I got out to start it in May a couple of times.  I drove it to the next town a couple of times just to keep the fluids going.   In July, (acctually June...as corrected by my daughter) my daughter & grandsons came over to go camping.  We were going to go up to Roslyn, Washington to the Vintage Trailer ralley.  The morning we planned to leave, I thought it would be a good idea to open up the hood and check the oil.  This is what we saw.

Bird Eggs & a HUGE nest on my engine battery.  Sadly.. they were cold and would not have had a chance to hatch as I had taken the MH to my bro-in-law to check out (which he didn't do... ) for a week.   We removed the nest carefully, cleaned up the engine and headed out an hour late, but on our way.  So begins my first "Solo" adventure with the beast.
:) Suzy