Old man syndrome

I've gone and turned into my parents in a single not so small decision to get a caravan.

Last year I went camping with my sister to Wales, we all had a great time but there was a fair amount of stuff that I didn't have or didn't got well. I don't own a very good coolbox and although the dodgy old one that I brought likely 20+ years ago worked to a point it wasn't great. Then the beds didn't work out - they were hard and don't fit the tent properly, the portable toilet broke and leaked (yuk!) and we practically lived off my sister and her many bits of kit.

So I had planned on getting things better for 2026's camping trip - I'd buy new beds, fridge, likely steal my sisters old trailer so that I could fit everything in without needing my dad to come along just as extra carrying capacity. Then I was still a little miffed that Amy still won't come along which just makes life a bit harder than it needs to be.

The more I think about it the more it seems daft but the alternative of a caravan didn't bode well when we went looking before. Amy said she'd go if we got one but the kids took over and demanded being in the caravan and that just meant that I was buying a huge caravan which is awkward since I don't really have space to store one. So I shelved the plans.

Then one soggy Saturday afternoon to get the kids out of the house I wandered along to the caravan place again to look at a new model design as it looked like something more useful than weird fixed double beds. Though at 22K that wasn't getting brought. The kids run around the place looking in every caravan and I plop myself down in a 2 berth Baileys Pegasus - the cheapest caravan they have. Eventually they find me and I propose that this van is what we should get. Lots of kid moaning ensues about there being no space for them and we head home.

Overnight I think it over some more and take my dad to see it, he puts the stamp of approval on it and after a good amount of thinking I stick the deposit on it.