It was love at first sight.
Interior with pink appliances and sinksI first spotted this sterling princess in Sebastian, Florida en route to my parent's house. I immediately asked my husband, Justin, to make a U-turn so we could go back and inspect. He was willing but wary.
The first thing that caught my eye was her obvious vintage heritage and relatively good condition. Inside, her pink appliances (minus the fridge) and sinks shouted retro chic. Her cabinetry and interior had been painted and a wall-shaker A/C unit (yikes!) was installed below the window next to a dinette/sleeper setup - the most striking modifications.
The serial number led us to believe that she is a 1960 26-foot Land Yacht Overlander, born in Santa Fe Springs, California.
As I had hoped, Mom fell in love too, and the darling seller, Delores, helped seal the deal. Justin and my father were shaking their heads at the acquisition, leery of the amount of work it would take to help this Land Yacht find her sea legs again. She had been parked for quite some time.
The next day, she was ours. Yes, we committed the cardinal sin... we bought the first Airstream we looked at. I can see you shaking your heads at me through cyber space.
After an emergency trip to Wal-Mart (aye yi yi!) for a smaller ball hitch, she was on the road. We drove her 15 miles south to my in-law's house in Vero Beach (without incident), the first leg of her journey with us.
After the rose-colored glasses came off, we began to realize that we had our work cut out for ourselves. But we're "Do-It-Yourselfers" with a few major projects under our belts (a 1974 home, 1972 and 1969 Boston Whaler, 1967 Chevelle Malibu).
We welcomed the challenge...