Station Wagon Living, Volume 2

This book was a thrift store score from last spring and I think, quite possibly, my new all-time favorite find, and at only 75 cents.  There's something so very right and wrong all at the same time about this book.  It makes me deliriously happy on the one hand and on the other, it's appalling.  So many people don't live or camp in such splendor every single day of their lives. 

Since the boys were born, we've become car campers, bringing practically one of everything in the house along with us.  Well, not a circus-style changing tent, but almost.  We don't bring craft kits, like the ones above, but goodness knows, I'd like to.  I usually do pack along some paper and markers or watercolors, maybe a flower press, and knitting, of course.   Someday, I know I'll be packing along the makings for lanyard zipper pulls and sand candles, just like summer camp.

Just 4 observations/thoughts:

1.  Since when are spinning milk cartons "the universal symbol of camping"?  I'm thinking this tradition needs to be reinstated.

2. Does anybody call S'mores "Princess Pats"?  If not, this might be another candidate for reinstatement.

3.  No one would ever use this phrase in the same way as above today:  "Explosion in our campgrounds"

4.  Our family pictures from when we were little don't look all that different from the ones above, only a good bit more rustic and with cloth diapers strung from tree to tree.  There always was a Norwegian and an American flag hanging off the front of the blue canvas tent's awning.  That tent was the very first thing that my parents ever bought on credit because they couldn't wait another summer to go camping.)  My childhood camping memories are sweet, sweet, sweet!

5.  I can't tell you how badly I'd like to make a bunting for stringing from tree to tree when we're camping.  Shouldn't every campsite look like a carnival?  I'm going to have to try making some of those milk carton spinners, too, only out of Silk soy milk cartons. 

Oops.  That's 5.

6.  I wish there was room to share more of this book here.  I found a copy online of the predecessor to this book, the first volume of Ford Treasury of Station Wagon Living, and couldn't help but order it.  It just arrived the other day.  I'll scans some of it soon.

7. Here is the other thing I picked up at the thrift store that same day.  I didn't even notice the coiincidence until a friend pointed it out when I was in line to pay for it.  $1.50, total, well spent.  (I rarely indulge the boys their requests at the thrift store since most of the toys are so junky, but this one I couldn't resist.)

We're off car-camping for the weekend in the next valley over between us and Glacier Nat'l Park...not in such style, though.  We'll be in a minivan.

Happy weekend and happy trails!

Comments

[tracy]

oh this book looks fantastic! happy trails!

[Beth S.]

Oh, Lord, that's hysterical! The clothes! I particularly like the completely impractical yellow dress, and the father in his jacket and meerschaum pipe--clearly these people took 'camping' to a whole new level.

The milk cartons remind me of the "Chinese lanterns" we made with construction paper. One yellow or orange sheet rolled in a tube, for the inside "light", and one contrasting color with vertical slashes in it for the outer "globe". I'm sure you know what I mean, being so crafty.

And I never heard of a Princess Pat. But a s'more by any other name would taste as sweet, I guess.

[cheryl]

I am swooning over this book! How cool! Not that anyone actually lived like that...I love your ideas, especially for the spinning soy milk cartons (make mine Very Vanilla!)

I have great camping memories, too, even though they are almost exclusively of trout and Kokanee fishing at the same lake every year in Central Oregon!

We did have some cool acoutrements, though, a folding ping pong table and lots of card and dice games. And a big orange cotton life vest for me at all times because I liked to get too close to the water campside!

[hillary]

gah! these are amazing! can't wait to see more photos. the kids sleeping in those rickety contraptions on top of the cars! those were the days ;)

[Sockbug]

Wow! What a great find! I am jealous!

[Krista]

I love this book so much and if I could, I'd teleport my family back to this exact era... why did they ever change the station wagon? It's the ideal mobile! Great find, can't wait to see more!

[Krista M]

That is my kind of camping! All the comforts of home! One of the things I love about my SUV is that we can just collapse the back seat and have a full size bed. I'll have to find a copy of that to share with Steve. He would totally be up for it!

[Kimberly]

Have fun!!

[Charity]

Station Wagon Living?! That's hilarious :0)

Have fun on your own car-camping adventure. We're still trying to find a way to squeeze one more trip in before it gets cold at night.

[Azziria]

The last campsite we were at, our next door neighbours were from the Isle of Man and had Manx flag bunting strung all around their camping area... it looked great.

[Azziria]

The last campsite we were at, our next door neighbours were from the Isle of Man and had Manx flag bunting strung all around their camping area... it looked great.

[jessie]

Thank you for this. Too fun!

[stephanie]

that book is so flippin' awesome. can you show more?

we're just home from another car camping trip, and my husband and i have decided that we just need to give in to the car camping "splendor" (we're former backpackers). putting on my list: bunting and spinning milk cartons.

[knitteriam]

That book is wonderful! Although it was in a Coachman pull behind the car camper, some of my favorite times were spent in campgrounds. I LOVE Silk too!

[Claire]

I love it! What great pictures, and thanks for sharing them. I really like your blog - you have such great pictures, I'll definitely be back!

[lena]

that book looks SO good... i just ordered it on amazon! not as fun as finding it in a thrift store... but i had to have it!

[di]

what wonderful finds! I love the book - thanks for sharing so many pics :)

[Ben]

I have a copy of this book as well although the binding hasn't held up on it. Also got it from a thrift store. It seems like it's 75% advertising for products of the day but still it has some interesting stuff in it, even if you can't buy any of the products much anymore.

[Leilani]

My family (back several generations) has always called them Princess Pats and older family members claim that everyone else did too until they became popular with Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and that is when the name was changed.
I get made fun of everytime I call them Princess Pats but when someone tries to tell me they are called Smores I act as if I have no idea what they are talking about:) I happened upon your website trying to find information on what they were ORIGINALLY called... as in what came first...smores or princess pats:)