This awesome Lego RV from my friend Claire is the closest I’ve come to getting my vintage camper. It was so much fun to put together last night while watching sappy Christmas movies on LMN. It reminded me of being a kid and setting up all my Barbie toys on Christmas morning (of course I didn’t drink wine back then, so it was even more fun last night). Maybe Santa will bring me a larger model next year.
See you on the Holiday Road. Merry Christmas!
Camping in a Winter Wonderland. (photo by Tif Fussell)
I’m glad that people still create whimsical Christmas displays and decorations. This enchanted gnome forest looks like a swell Christmas campground for vintage Airstreams (and bunnies and other woodland creatures).
One of my oldest and dearest friends visited me this weekend and shared that she still trims her Christmas tree with ornaments I made for her 20+ years ago. And then I thought it was sad that I don’t take time to make handmade things anymore. So, I searched for inspiration and met Tif Fussel of Dottie Angel–she’s crafty. And she’s just my type. I can’t wait to make decorative jars like these.
A cheery cluster of painted jars and jugs. (photo by Tif Fussell)
My canned ham cutie (Hallmark, 2010)
I like to collect ornaments that reflect the things I love. On my Christmas tree you’ll find flamingos, tiki cocktails, an Elvis or two, a menagerie of critters big and small–and most recently–vintage campers. If you’re looking for mobile minis to deck your halls, here are a few inexpensive camper-themed ornaments for sale this year. Click on the photos for ordering information.
Kitties, rainbows, and a camper to boot. Woot!
$12 at Wrapsody
$9.95 for this Shasta-esque beauty
This felt VW bug is no longer available, but check out the other fun VW stuff on this Etsy site.
A pretty, glittery handmade airstream.
The 2007 Hallmark Keepsake. I've seen a few of these on ebay.
VW camper. From notfromhighstreet.com for 15 quid, UK.
This tree-sized RV is a mere $6!
Another Hallmark Keepsake ornament; this one from 1988.
Just slap a Darma Iniative sticker on the side and head into the wilderness. (Note: avoid The Others.)
It’s a beautiful Carolina fall morning, so I decided to take a drive to check out a VW bus that’s for sale. Let’s just say this tent, which retails for about $500, is probably the closest I’ll get to owning a vintage Volkswagen.
These photos (© Brookhaven Associates, Inc.) of forgotten campers and decaying campsite playgrounds are lovely–and sad–and haunting. And they remind me that October is the time I like to celebrate another love of mine: bluegrass, folk, and old time music–especially murder ballads and ghostly songs. I’m a very peace-loving person, but I’m also drawn to poetic storytelling of life’s tragedies, not to mention that high lonesome sound.
If you’re like me and you love a good Hallowe’en-inspired music set, check out the PineCone Bluegrass live streaming Halloween special on Sunday, October 30 (6:00-9:00 p.m. EST), for a night of spooky songs and murder ballads. Or, listen to Seattle’s KEXP live streaming on Monday, October 31, as they play Halloween-themed songs all day. Do you have a favorite Halloween-themed song? Post it in the comments section. I’d love to discover some new tunes for my Halloween playlist this week. I’ve included some of my favorites below.
A driver picks up a back seat specter in “Bringing Mary Home,” with beautiful harmonies sung by The Country Gentlemen
Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings avenge centuries of wronged women in”Caleb Meyer,” a tale of moonshine and murder. Gillian said she wrote this song because murder ballads always tell of men killin’ their women. But not this heroine. She fights back.
A chain gang wreaks violent revenge in “Blackjack County Chain,” by The Del McCoury Band. This song gives me chills every time I hear it. And though Del didn’t write it, I can’t imagine anyone else singing it (no disrespect to Waylon and Willie).
I’m not sure anyone tells the story of the grim grinning ghost of “Little Margaret” and her late-night visit to a former lover better than North Carolina folk artist, Sheila Kay Adams. But the Knitters and the Carolina Chocolate Drops also do great versions of this haunting English tune that dates back to the 17th Century.
Little Willie has evil plans for the “Pretty Polly,” by Dr. Ralph Stanley and Patty Loveless–two of the best voices I’ve ever heard. It’s a perfect dichotomy of dastardly lyrics and upbeat, toe-tapping, Appalachian music.
An unfaithful wife regrets the treachery that caused her lover to hang from the gallows in “Long Black Veil,” by Johnny Cash. There’s also an interesting duet version by Johnny and Joni Mitchell here, but it’s hard to be scared by Joni Mitchell.
A kind stranger opens his home to a ghostly drifter in “He Had a Long Chain On,” by Jimmie Driftwood. (I really love the Knitters’ version too.)
Some might think Jim McReynolds shows a devilish sense of humor in this video, but no one can deny the angelic harmonies that Jim and Jesse sing in this tragic tale of the “Knoxville Girl,” an Appalachian ballad derived from an old English folk song, “The Oxford Girl.”
And finally, a young bride’s wild and wanderin’ ways land her a half a mile out and a quarter across some wheat field rows–but no one knows who put her there but “The “Blackbirds and the Crows.” Written by Asheville, NC native Don Humphries–whom I met at Jack of the Wood one night when I was sitting with my pal Daphne and a bunch of strangers talking about cool bluegrass songs. I said I loved “Blackbirds and the Crows,” and a guy at the table said, “Well you’re sitting next to the guy who wrote it.” And sure enough, it was Don Humphries. The Nashville Bluegrass Band’s version knocks my socks off, and you can hear their rendition here. This video features Mr. Humphries, but you’ll want to start at the 57 second mark if you want to skip the band banter.
It was hard to stop here. I’m looking forward to hearing more on the PineCone Bluegrass show next Sunday. And any suggestions from the blogosphere, of course.
This is how Loretta Lynn rolls.
So it’s not a camper per se, but it IS Loretta Lynn’s tour bus on its way to the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.
Queen of the Road
Loretty is headlining a show with one of my favorite bands, NC’s own Southern Culture on the Skids. (I borrowed the bus photo from the SCOTS’ Facebook page; I hope they don’t mind.) This is a dream show for my BFF Daphne and me. Hopefully we can catch them in another city, on another day. (Add Dolly Parton to that lineup and we’d have a triumvirate of guitar pickin’, honky tonkin’, hee hawin’ good times.)
SCOTS (from their website)
I’ve posted this song before, but I never get tired of it. Hope you won’t either.
Alas, they were gone by lunchtime. Still, another fine example of how cool networking is. Thanks for keeping me in the know, Wenny! And y’all keep those camper sightings coming, pretty please.
If you read my bio, you might remember that a Scamp I saw last October inspired me to start this blog and begin looking into to the camper lifestyle. So I was excited to see the posting for both a Scamp and a Burro just down Highway 70 in La Grange–a haw, haw, haw, haw. Gratuitous ZZ Top reference aside, neither was quite as vintage as I would like, but both were excellent fixer-upper candidates. Plus, my Volvo could have towed either (they’d be great for tailgating), and after some gussyin’ up I could have sold her to some other camper revamper. So I’m definitely going to keep these mini fiberglass campers on my list. It might be a great starter project.
The search continues…
