The Camper

When we moved from Texas, instead of renting a moving van, Mom and Dad bought a 1 ton truck with a flat bed on the back. After teaching for the summer Dad drove the camper to Wilmington. I was able to fly for the first time to Southern California and drive up to Sebastopol with him. I was able to do this because I missed going to girl scout camp that summer because of the move. We had the camper for a few years.

Later Mom and Dad had the flat bed removed and had a custom camper built in Los Angeles. They planned all the features of the camper including the sleeping space for 10 which included 2 dinettes that slept 2 people each, a drop down bed above one of the dinettes and then the overhead sleeping for 4. In desperate times an 11th person could sleep on the front seat. The camper had a chemical toilet with a shower, refrigerator, stove and a sink. We went all over in the camper and had our share of break downs and fires. On one of the first trips with the camper while driving to LA we had a flat tire. The tread separated from the tire and knocked the exhaust pipe into the side and caused a fire. We had to stop on the side of the freeway and the fire department was called. Dad was not with us because we were meeting him after his 2 week stint at camp Pendleton. After it was all fixed if I remember correctly we camped at the beach in San Clemente. Richard Nixon was President then and you could see his estate up on the bluff from the campground.

Later the family decided they liked to bike and bike racks were added to the camper. It was very embarrassing to drive around in a camper with 9 bikes on it. 2 in front, 3 in back and 4 on top. Marilynne was young enough to ride in a pack on Dad's back.