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Just come back from a family holiday on the Isle of Wight and it looks like I am going to have to part with my beloved Avondale! The kids (now 14 & 16) made it quite clear that caravanning wasn't for them any more. If you've got teenagers you know how hard they can make life (lol) when they aren't enjoying themselves! The weather didn't help but that doesn't bother me, other half just hated every minute.....so three of them all sulking and me trying to jolly things along....I need another holiday!

The upshot is that the caravan has to go.  So, with a heavy heart, I will put her for sale on the advert section on this site this weekend.

Looking on the bright side they said I can keep the tents and they (not other half, and not together!)  will come camping with me.... as long as the sun shines. I can live in hope eh?

The end of an era. Sigh!

Karen

It is sad and im not looking forward to mine getting older.

You didnt go to the IOW around 19th-27th did you as we had an awful week of rain

Thats a shame, Although no amount of stroppy teenagers would make us part with our van, I'd pack them off to the mother in laws they'll be itching to get away with us  in the van after spending a week with her! lol

I sympathise.  Wouldn't be so bad if you OH enjoyed it. 

You could give the boys the option of coming with you or staying home with a relative.  My Mum 'teenager-sits' if our 14yr old doesn't want to come on weekends.  He doesn't get any choice if it's a longer holiday altho he does usually bring his mate.  Without wishing their childhood away, we're quite looking forward to the time when it'll be just the 2 of us doing what we want.  Quite a wait yet tho - youngest is only 6 (nearly).

But if OH hates it too you still wouldn't have much fun.  Good luck with selling it.

Thanks guys for the words of support!

Yes Miffy, that is when we were on the IOW! Weather was awful.

We've done the bringing of mates thing over the years, but that didn't seem to change the way the kids feel. Youngest son is disabled so leaving him with relatives etc is not an option. OH clearly hates the van now, so selling seems the only option.

Will spend this weekend making the van spick and span for it's new owners, whenever they come along! It's a great van for a younger family with the fixed bunks, but my two have just outgrown caravanning!

I think when it is just the two of us we will buy another van.......roll on the next few years until that time.

Karen

Hi Miffy,

No problem will do, It would be great to see the van go to a good home!

The bunks are much larger than in most vans. They span the whole width of the van. OH is 6' 1" and before he developed 'van phobia' he slept very comfortably in the bottom bunk, as have I, but obviously not at the same time! Especially not with kids around ! Lol!

Will probably put the ad on the site Sunday, after removing my belongings, sob

Karen

We have just had 6 days away on our own - leaving a 17 and 15 year old at home together for the first time! It was absolute bliss not to have arguments and stropping teenagers, we did enjoy ourselves - being able to do the things we love to do (and they hate!) They got on fine at home (surpisingly) and were much happier than if they'd come with us! So all in all, everyone was happy!

Getting nearer to the time to change our van to a fixed bed fmodel or us instead of the fixed bunks for them!

Sorry to hear OH isn't happy either or you could be very soon enjoying the 'van together!

we went through this .

my oh doesnt like bad weather either and says we might as well be home.

the boys well i would tell them, i give them my whole year of what they want and they can give me just 2 or 3 weeks a year for my holiday. they did still come untill they were 18 and 19 also they were old enough to leave and trust on there own. plus look after my cat.

i picked sites that had things for them ie;- newqay in cornwall for surfing or boarding. etc.

if my oh still wouldnt come i would ask him to take me and leave me on my own for a week. this i wouldnt mind as long as it is a nice safe quiet kind of site. you both might regret it if you do give it up unless you do have other holidays  to  replace caravanning.

good luck.

It was during the University years that our eldest two decided not to come with us.  Even then our eldest daughter flew down to Provence to have a fortnight with us in the caravan.  Our son now says he would not caravan, but I think this may be due to his aweful experience living in a crowded caravan while working on summer vacation jobs at the UK pop/rock festivals laying on internet/phone access for the acts - conditions poor, hard work (if you believe that!) but good money.  We then had a gap in our family.  My wife wore a badge on her 40th birthday - 'Life begins at 40'....... and it did!!  Our youngest daughter is now 13 and generally seems happy in the caravan.... apart from when I moan at her for leaving stuff about.  We've still got the lure of taking her to France (hopefully next year - we haven't been able to afford it since she was 6/7 - when the other two were at Uni. and drained the resources!!) and we've still got the lure of 'taking a friend' and giving her the choice at where to go, so I'm hoping that if we eek these things out and introduce no more than one 'carrot' each year, we will get away with it.  Fingers crossed - that's the strategy anyway.

Weather has been mixed this year but we are all in 'good caravan spirits' and are saving the pennies for a biggy next year in France.

Really sorry to hear that you are considering giving up Karen. 

Karen instead of getting rid of the van put the little darlings in a pup tent when you go away that way they have some independants.

This is what we did with our eldest and it was bliss at night and he enjoyed it more shame about the wii remote going missing though hehehehehe