My 1990 Coleman Sequoia is my favorite toy. I bought it second hand for a song, to avoid paying hotel and restaurant rates when I traveled with hubby and three kids, or went out of town for a pottery workshop or street fair. It’s like a portable treehouse, a secret clubhouse in a rolling box that tags along behind my van on adventures. It’s a tent that isn’t miserable in rain and mud, with big screened sides but a coffee pot and real mattress for my middle aged back after a day on my feet (and in my bodice) hawking my wares at renfaire.   It backs like a dream, into tent sites far fro the RVS with their AC units and satellite dishes — so  it still feels like camping. And as a mom and studio manager with a lot of people in my face from day to day, I don’t hate having it all to myself when those renfaire weekends roll around — especially with a cell phone at my side to keep me from worrying about what’s going on with my peeps.

This year, though, when I opened it up I discovered the mice had invaded my club house over the winter. They chewed two big holes in the canvas bed-ends. I guess I should be grateful… I had been pinning ideas to my “camper mod” pinterest board for a long time but never felt motivated to do much beyond changing the curtains. But now, it’s ON.