Still waiting...
So frustrating. The new order of silver trailer slippers was supposed to ship from the factory the end of November. Finally, around the middle of December, they finally shipped. However, it takes several weeks to get from the factory to here; if all goes smoothly. So, they are still not here. We're so sorry for the delay. A lot of people and businesses are anxiously awaiting their arrival. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.
Does anyone know of a factory in the USA that could make my slippers? I keep looking....
Atomic Twinkie
In September we purchased a 1965 Avion H-24 travel trailer. Our friends Kirk & Beth own a 1964 Avion H-24. While camping in August I said if I ever owned one I'd be tempted to give it a logo, replicating the nose art from World War II. So, this was in my mind after we purchased the Avion. (Read about that purchase here.)
Then, in November I joined Sisters on the Fly. One of the things they ask is if your trailer has a name. Hmmm, nope. I needed one. I kept thinking about it and finally landed on Atomic Twinkie. It combines our love for Mid Century Modern style and the trailer just kinda looks like a giant Twinkie. Now, with a name, I need a graphic.
So I started searching the internet for nifty pin-up art women I could integrate into a logo for the trailer. I came up with a bunch of different designs, getting input from my friends from the Loyal Order of the Glampers Facebook group. I kept playing with fonts, images, etc. but nothing seemed quite right.
Then I stumbled across Hilda, the work of artist Duane Bryers, and started to play with her image as well.
This lady hit the mark. Maybe a little too close to home, but I think I have the winner. She's wearing a pair of Vroomers sliver trailer slippers and enjoying a good laugh. So, if you see an Avion, look for the Atomic Twinkie. If you see her, stop by and say hello.
Vroomers brush with almost fame
This spring we sold one of each color of both of our car designs to a production company in California. They were going to use one of the designs in a Progressive commercial with Flo. HOW EXCITING! However, we had to keep it to ourselves. We can do that.
All this time we've been waiting for the commercial to air, so we could see what our Vroomers car slippers would have appeared in. Today my good friend Demaree contacted me saying she saw the commercial. Of course, when I got home I had to immediately look it up. The slippers are made to look like the Progressive product boxes they use in the various commercials. Not cars at all.
The company kept our slippers, so who knows, maybe one day, in a commercial or movie or something our cute little Vroomers will show up. But, in the meantime Flo, we still love you, but you'd sure look stylish in our Vroomers!
The Grandma Book
I'm taking a moment to plug a FastTrack classmate's wife's book - The Grandma Book. This is Deborah's first book, and she's working on others.
Jeff, my classmate, owns Reveal Publishing. He helps others publish their own book. Mom ... you need to talk to him!
Check out The Grandma Book. It'd make a great gift.
Junkin' Lasko toaster treasure
During a recent trip to the flea maket this funky toaster caught my eye. I'm not a big "appliance" kinda girl. My husband Mark is always bringing home vintage toasters and perculators. Me, not so much. But, this one was different. It was weird. It was a little scary. It belonged in a vintage travel trailer. We ended up bundling it with some other stuff; so in the end, it was free.
We brought the Lasko toaster/stove/warmer home and tried to find it on the internet. The only reference we can find is at the Cyber Toaster Museum (you really can find anything on the internet). It's called a Toastove. (how creative - LOL) Theirs doesn't have a model number. Ours does, and the patent number. Cool.
While investigating the Lasko I found that the "all-in-one" kitchen appliance is still going strong. I found the following gems:
This gem allows you to toast, fry an egg and make your coffee all at once.
Poach an egg and make your toast!
Or, microwave and toast all at once.
We'll probably end up selling the Lasco, or maybe keep it for our 1948 United since it's a 1940's Toastove. (funny word that) We'll see. In any case, we can toast our bread, warm a cup of coffee and cook eggs all at once.
Earl the Winnebago
Both of my grandfather's passed away when I was a little girl. One of my clearest memories of my Grandpa Barker is when he came to visit us in Columbus, Ohio. I remember waking up one morning and my parents telling my brother and I to open the door. There was a Winnebago motorhome in the driveway! They said we could go knock on the trailer door, so out we ran to see who was in the trailer. The door opened, and there was my Grandpa and Grandma. We thought their motorhome was just the coolest thing. Grandpa died not very long after that, and the Winnebago was sold. Now, all these years later whenever I see that distinctive W on a Winnebago I think of that morning. Unfortunately, as far as I know there are no pictures from that visit. It only lives in memory.
As you probably know, we're vintage trailer nuts. One day we were driving down a side street and sitting in a lot, looking sad and neglected was an adorable little Winnebago travel trailer. Ahhhh, there's that W that makes me grin and feel warm and fuzzy inside. We left a note with a neighbor to see if the Winnie was for sale, but didn't receive a call back.
Several months later Mark turned down that road again to see if the Winnie was still there. It was, sinking into the dirt, looking so sad. This time the owner was home, and we quickly came to an agreement on the price. 
So now the cute little Winnie is home. It's adorable, but needs a little work. We'll replace the flooring where it's bad, clean it up, and probably sell it in the spring. But, for now, while we own it, I've named it Earl, in honor of my Grandpa. A little part of me still feels like I'm 5 years old when I look out and see the Winnebago in the driveway. I just like that I get to touch base with my memories and then the trailer will go on to help another family make wonderful memories too. Now - I think I need to design some new slippers. I'm inspired!
Inspiration - and Memories
Sometimes weird things just pop into my head. For some reason the Trixie Belden book series popped into my head today. I'm a bookworm. I love books. I have always loved books. For a couple of years when I was young we lived in a very small community named Marcellus. (Home of Cree Coach for you vintage travel trailer fans.) Being a small community, the library was also small. This meant there wasn't a vast selection of books for an avid reader. But, they had Trixie Belden. Below is a picture of the Marcellus library. When we lived there, the big section in the back wasn't there. The library was the smaller brick portion in the front.
We lived just a couple of blocks away from the library. So, walking back and forth to get a new book was an easy thing. Our house was an older home with floor registers that blew up. I would grab my books and a blanket and camp out over the register, tucking the blanket all around so it would puff up like a balloon when the heat would come on, wrapping me in all that wonderful warm air. Trixie was like a friend. I was mad about horses as a girl, so all of Trixie's adventures with horses were right up my alley. And, like any young girl, I would avidly read to see if something would happen between Trixie and the male counterparts in the series.
Today I learned a lot about my childhood heroine, and her series. The first Trixie Belden book was published in 1948. There were 39 Trixie novels in all. The creator of the series was Julie Campbell Tatham. She wrote the first 6 books, but then decided to stop. The rest of the books were written under the pseudonym Kathryn Kenny. There is speculation about who the other authors were; but probably no one will ever know for sure. There is a wonderful website, www.trixie-belden.com that outlines all kinds of information, breaks down the various books, the series, etc.
While reading about the series I grinned when I saw that book #2 was the Red Trailer Mystery. I thought, "I need to get this as a trailer decoration." But, since the series started in 1948, the same year as our United travel trailer, I think I need several of them. So, the hunt will begin. Yes, I know I can buy them on eBay, but I think I'm going to take the slow route, enjoying the thrill of the hunt, and discovery of each new one. I can't wait to read them again!
Glamping
I've never been a "girlie girl" kinda gal. No frills, no lace, no patterns. Must explain why I love Mid Century Modern furniture.
However, as I've gotten older, I've learned to embrace my femine side. I've grown to love the color pink (my mother bemoaned the fact that I wanted her to buy me a black dress when I was little).
Through some avenue or another I've discovered Glamping. There is a fabulous website and a great Facebook page for glampers. (Glamorous Camping).
These fabulous women (and men) share all kinds of great ideas for glamping, fixing up their trailers, etc. and the fun just never ends. Many of the glampers have their own etsy stores, many are members of 
and fully embrace life.
So grab a cup of cocoa, put on your Vroomers travel trailer slippers and check out Glamping. Warning, if you spend too much time with these fun people, you can't say you weren't warned.
From slipper to real trailer...
We designed the silver trailer slipper with a nod toward the silver beauties such as Airstream, Boles Aero and Avalair. However, our personal vintage trailers were all wood frame. Were.
This spring we spent time in our friends Kirk & Beth's '64 Avion H-24; and our friends George and JoEllyn's Avion (also an H-24 I think). We kept commenting on how nice and roomy they were inside, and how comfortable they were. However, we were happy with our 1948 United, even if it is a little small for us now. We also have that 1958 Holly sitting waiting for some love and attention.
While camping with Kirk & Beth (and another friend Tom who also has lovely silver trailers) my husband mentioned an ad he had seen for a 1965 Avion H-24 that was for sale. Bowing to peer pressure, we made the call. I have to confess, we had been talking about how more room would be nice, and more storage. They didn't need to do much arm twisting. <grin>
Mark had to head out of town, so Beth and my son Tyler went on a road trip with me to look at the Avion. I don't think the owner was too thriled with "two women" coming to look at his 20 years in the woods hunting cabin, but he was "surprised" by how thorough we were. Hmmm...
After much negotiation, and thinking the trailer was not going to be ours for a few weeks (the price went up instead of down during negotiations - huh?) we finally got the call, and the trailer was ours. We picked it up on September 11th. We were scheduled to camp at the Tin Can Tourists Fall Gathering on September 21st. Yikes! Kirk and Beth came over that night to admire our new baby, and brought us gifts of cleaning supplies. What good pals.
Mark did a hero's job of working his tail end off from dawn to dark every day; even washing the exterior in the rain (he said the rain helped loosen the 20 years of crud off the exterior). We cleaned out the 20 years of mouse poop and other nasties, we disinfected, and disinfected and then disinfected some more. I painted the bathroom, scrubbed the floor, bought mattresses for the beds and made valances. And, 10 days after we brought it home, we were camping in it.
I ran out of time to make the goucho cushions, but thankfully the cushions from the United fit, so while they didn't match, they gave us a place to sit.
It was so cute, my silver Vroomers sitting inside my silver Avion. (yes, I'm a dork) I guess my slippers were telling me something. I now have a silver trailer to go with my silver slippers. Yay!
Tin Can Tourists Annual Gathering
Saturday is the official Open House, which is open to the general public. Come on out, tour the lovely trailers and have a great time. We'll see you there!
Photo of our 1948 United Sports Tour last year after a rainstorm.
