The Beginning — A Fairy Tale.
Once upon a time, there was a princess named Sarah. She had a great job that she was supposed to love, but hated; was in a relationship that was supposed to be “the one”, but most definitely was not; and made everyone believe she was living the dream, but really she was absolutely miserable. She thought she would just have to keep pretending to be happy and maybe it would ultimately come true.
“You’ve accomplished so much in your career”, “you guys are perfect for each other” (barf), “you’ve got it all — the job, the house, the man, the dogs, the opportunities”.
That was all true. But she was empty inside. Relentless depression, bad habits, and unhealthy coping mechanisms took over and Princess Sarah had a one-way ticket to destructionville. Yikes!
Like any good fairy tale, Princess Sarah’s story has to have a happy ending, right?! Yes!
Fast forward a couple super terrible years (you aren’t missing anything, I promise)…
Sarah had resigned from her toxic job, her unfulfilling and disingenuous relationship was over, she’d addressed her mental health (thank you psychiatry and medication), she’s replaced most of her self-sabotaging behaviors with healthy ones (ice cream = happiness is a non-negotiable), and life was pretty awesome.
That’s when the hard work and big dreams really began. Princess Sarah had a new career that she actually DID love, she was hiking mountains and finding geocaches near and far (and some poison oak too), her creativity finally had time to shine, she was finding herself again. And she was happy — for the first time in what seemed like decades.
Nervous that this newfound happiness was all a ruse, Princess Sarah was nervous to lean in to how dramatically her life had changed. She kept waiting for the fairy godmother to appear and bibbidi-bobbidi-boo it away, for the clock to strike midnight and she’d be whisked back to her real life, or the genie would turn into a snake/dragon-thing and light everything on fire. But since she wasn’t in a Disney movie, none of that happened. In fact, things just kept getting better. Unlike some Disney movies, her good fortune didn’t just happen through happenstance — she had to put in the work. The more effort and energy she put in, the more doors and opportunities that unlocked.
Where am I going with all of this, you ask? Insert — her quest to own a little travel trailer.
Even in her darkest days, Princess Sarah dreamed of traveling from one National Park to another with her dogs, her hiking boots (let’s be real, her Birkenstocks), and the ability to go from one grand adventure to the next. She always believed that it would be just that — a dream, another Disneyana fantasy, an unrealistic and unreachable goal.
But the harder she worked and the more she believed in herself, the more of a reality her travel trailer dream became. She started researching teardrop trailers (too small), restored Airstreams (too expensive), new lightweight options (boring), the possibility of a massive DIY project (the possibility of a massive failure too), and finally restored vintage Alohas, Aristocrats, and Shastas (PERFECT). These tiny vintage gems had everything she wanted and needed — a solid roof and locking door, no water or sewage to deal with, and a ton of character and charm. Like any good researcher, she took to the interwebs. She joined Facebook groups, followed vintage trailer Insta folks, googled the heck out of any vintage trailer keywords she could think of, read blogs, super creepered in forums, and gathered as much information as she could. She also believed. She knew that when the time was right, the perfect trailer would appear.
First she talked to a couple in Eugene who were selling their 1965 Aloha. It had a toilet and a few more repairs than she wanted. Then she talked to a very kind man in Denver who wasn’t able to use his old Aristocrat anymore. It too had a toilet and another local Colorado couple purchased it as a TBI-recovery celebration. She looked on every Craigslist page from Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and even Nevada (for no good reason, she doesn’t like Nevada). She didn’t find anything exciting other than scams there. Still believing that the perfect one would somehow come her way, Princess Sarah continued with work, life, adventure, fun, and family.
Then. She. Appeared.
A very nice lady in Montana said that she was getting ready to sell her 1962 Aloha because she and her husband were retiring and moving out of state. It was completely restored, though the original character remained. And there was no toilet!! (Princess Sarah just couldn’t stand the thought of her throne being a hand-me-down. Yuck!) Could this be the one? Is it too good to be true? It’s in Montana, she lived in Alaska, and was currently working in San Francisco — the logistics would be a nightmare. BUT, she set up a FaceTime call with the lovely woman for the following day.
Princess Sarah knew it was the one when the very kind woman told her that “she had to have a good feeling” about whomever she was selling her baby too.
“I’ll only sell her to someone that I know will take care of her and love her just as much as I have. They have to be the perfect fit. I’ll just know when it’s the right person.”
After a lovely virtual tour and a great first impression, Princess Sarah knew it was meant to be. She thought about it overnight, then called the very nice lady the next day to say yes. Logistics would be a major hurdle, but that was a task for another day.
“Oh good! I knew it would be you. It’s a match made in heaven,” she said.
Princess Sarah knew that actually it was a match made from hard work, perseverance, faith, a little bit of luck, resilience, determination, and a bunch of other applicable adjectives. It wasn’t #manifested or dropped from the sky. She worked for it. She earned it. And she’s proud of herself.
