I can’t quite remember if my love for little old caravans started when I first read Georgina’s blog (one of the first blogs I ever started following) or if it happened when I bought this book.

 Initially I started to hunt for little old toy caravans and so far I have these three little treasures.

My family have become quite accustom to tours of back streets as we stalk caravans and peek over people’s fences.  A little weird I guess but no real harm has been done!

So, after Easter I took the plunge and put a classified in our local paper for a real life caravan of my own.  The main requirement was that it had to be small, old and fairly cheap.

In amongst a few calls a gentle, elderly lady named Pat contacted me.  Pat had an old caravan and so I finally met her and the little 1970’s era Millard caravan.  It was immediately obvious that Pat was an independent and proud woman who had been a widow for two years.  Pat was born and raised in Broken Hill, raised four children and was married to her late husband for sixty years.  They had lived in the same inviting yet modest house their entire married life.  We chatted about the caravan, life in general and I admired her home and the impressive fruit trees.

I loved the caravan immediately.  It looked small enough for me to manage, was neat and tidy and the louvre windows and burnt orange colour scheme sealed the deal.

When I left Pat’s house I felt quite emotional.  I had just met a special lady who could have easily been my grandmother and I was about to buy a piece of her and her husband’s history.  They had made plans to travel more in the caravan before her husband passed away.  It made me think about seizing every moment with my own family and the importance of taking time to chat and connect with people in the community.  The short conversations I had with Pat were warm and genuine, I had an instant friend.  These moments are sometimes forgotten in our busy lives.

A big thank you to my husband Terry for embracing my schemes, dealing with the old tyres and skillfully maneuvering the caravan out of town and home safely.

Long term we are considering converting the caravan into a mobile market stall for my little food business.  Or perhaps we might restore it for family tours and adventures…it would be cozy, but fun!