Adam found Reo in Lansing, Michigan. Actually, my parents found her, and I mean literally found her. My stepfather was just kind of out driving around last summer (2007) and he saw it in someone's back yard, and since he knew Adam was looking for one he stopped and asked the owners if they would be interested in selling it. They said sure, so my stepfather called and told Adam about it. Now, we live kind of far away from Lansing so we didn't get to see it right away... In fact, it took so long for us to get down there that we pretty much forgot about it. Then, in January 2008 Adam and I ran into my parents in Lansing. It was totally by chance; we were actually on our way to Detroit for NAIAS and just happened to stop for a moment, and there they were! Anyway, we ended up having lunch with them, at which point my stepfather reminded Adam about the Avion that just happened to be up the street, so we went to check it out.
For Adam, it was love at first sight. I could almost see little hearts in his eyes and hear the romantic music swelling in the background. It was pretty awesome.
Adam knocked on the door and spoke to the woman who answered. Apparently the owner was currently in the hospital, but as far as she knew, the camper was not for sale. Adam was so disappointed.... But then, as we started to pull out of the driveway, the woman came back outside and waved us down. She told Adam that she spoke to the owners and it was indeed for sale. YES! A couple of weeks later, Reo had arrived at her new home at the bottom of our driveway.
Reo is a 28' 1974 Avion Le Grande. She is named after her previous owner, who used her as a smoking den. This is what she looked like when we brought her home:
There's a lot of work to do, clearly, but I think she will look good in the end. Restoration projects are where Adam really shines, and he's been talking owning a vintage camper for years. Hopefully as things get completed, we'll both remember to write about them!
Take care!
--Crystal
