Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, Marine Biology and Biology teacher Kimya Mahzad has spent the last 10 years dreaming of owning a custom made camper. After waiting for the right time financially with a few accommodations made to create room for this new addition, Mahzad’s dream became a reality. Mahzad began the process in the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year by researching where to purchase the vehicle. She came in contact with a small business that undergoes @benjoesvintage_trailer on Instagram to begin the eight week project that would be ready by the first week of summer.
Q: To what extent were you able to have creative input in the design?
A: The overall style that I was looking for was a more vintage look than a modern look. Last year, I asked my marine biology class what they thought of the colors. I think I was gonna go with orange at first but the class was all leaning towards blue. I had an actual paint sample at home which was the color that I ended up choosing, it was called the ocean abyss.
Q: Are there any design aspects you decided to personalize?
A: A friend of mine from college passed away in the last year and we were very close. We were the same age when she passed, which kind of meant a lot since she knew the camper was something that I really wanted to do. We all name our cars and I knew this camper would end up with a name. I wanted to relate something back to her because she was a very spirited person. She was very inspired by Frida Kahlo and there was a sweet story that happened with her and Frida when she was towards the end of her life. I decided to name my camper, Frida, to have that spirit kind of with her and her name.
Q: How did you design the camper to remember her by?
A: My friend’s name was Sarah, but she always introduced herself as Sarah with a silent p and then we would pronounce it PSarah. I’m still going to customize it with the old school scamp logo and put a P in front of it. I told another mutual friend of ours about it and she goes, “Oh my god, I love it. You should put a unibrow on it.” So I cut and made a big old spinal sticker of a unibrow on the camper and I got some laughs. Maybe it’s just because the camper is cute looking or maybe it’s the unibrow, I’m not sure.
Q: Is there anything that you specifically asked to be included?
A:I wanted solar panels on it. I’ve learned that you can’t be as free spirited when it comes to camping, especially on the campgrounds. I’m learning the hard way and can’t just drive up and camp. So I currently have these solar panels and I just recently got a generator so that I can purposely go to camp and federal lands rather than a campsite. I have all the power and I can be pretty much off the grid for like a week at a time.
Q: When was your first trip with the camper and what did you do?
A: It was the week after school got out, I went to go pick it up and I had some trouble with my car. The car ended up in a shop for a week and I was living in the camper at a campsite that was too far away from where the car was getting fixed. It was at this vintage campground called Waypoint and had all these old school campers where people could book them like a hotel. The campsite was right by the beach, like the waterfront of Ventura. They had bikes that you could go over to the downtown area and go to thrift stores and I took my dogs there and we did a lot of walking. That was the first trip where there was nothing I could do because my car needed to be fixed. So I looked at it like, “Alright, adventure number one.” I went back home, did some avid training, and then I headed out to Lake Tahoe which was the next destination.
Q: What did you do in Lake Tahoe?
A: I met up with a friend who was doing a conference and stayed at a campground at the lake. I pretty much took back roads through Oregon and then drove up to Washington State and stayed in the key Peninsula for a couple of weeks. I used to live in Washington and had taught up there so I met up with some friends. All in all, I got back when there was only one week of summer break left. I was pretty much on the road for the entire summer, which I think that’s the plan from now on; to get out there and just enjoy the backroads.
Q: Who did you take with you on this first trip?
I took my dogs Hamilton and Archer. Archer had made the spot under the bed, his bed. We were around for the fireworks, so he just hung out under there the whole time. They camped well and no one ran away. In a way that first week where the car was broken down, we kind of figured everything out and then from there, it was easy.
Q: Have you been on any other trips since the summer?
A: I have not and I think that’s because I’m a little busy these days with work. I was planning on going out to the desert to check out the meteor shower and I had it all planned, but then I don’t know what happened, I didn’t go. I want my next planned trip to be during Thanksgiving week and go up north in the Santa Barbara area and to go camp by the beach.
Q: Are there any other specific places that you hope to one day travel with the camper?
A: I want to go to Big Sur, which I might do in January, if I can make a reservation. I really just want to explore California. I’ll go to other places too like I’ve never been, like Big Bear. I lived here for about ten years and I really haven’t explored too much of it. I talked with Auto tech teacher Jose Leyva about going down to Mexico because he knows some places. I’d be interested in camping in Baja, too. I just haven’t done that and it’s unfamiliar territory for me.
Q: What was your overall favorite memory or place you visited on the trip?
A: I really liked driving the 395 which is the Eastern highway, east of the Sierra Nevadas. I had never been on that drive and it was gorgeous.You’re on the other side of Yosemite with snow capped mountains, waterfalls and little river ways, it’s just pretty. Unlike the 5 highway where there’s a whole bunch of traffic, this for the most part is chill and you don’t have to worry about going 50 miles an hour because you’re pulling a trailer. I’ve always liked driving, road trips are my jam. I am that person that will go and stop at any silly roadside attraction. I honestly can’t remember what I went and checked out, sometimes it’s man made things and sometimes it’s a natural phenomenon. My favorite thing is seeing my friends that I haven’t seen in months or a year. When the dogs get to meet their dog buddies, they remember each other and start wagging, chasing each other around. Then of course, going somewhere where you can legally blast off big mortar fireworks, that’s always a bonus too.
Q:Is there anything else you would like to add or change about the camper?
A: I want to add another solar panel to it just so that there’s enough juice. I currently have it stored in my garage so I am learning about this, but I need a trickle charger to keep the battery actually charged. I haven’t made it completely how I want it inside yet and I haven’t fully decorated it, it’s more like having all the necessities for the camper. I might paint the inside or make fancier curtains and that kind of stuff over time. There’s these huge scamp communities nationwide where they all meet with their scampers. I even follow this one group, it’s like women who scamp. It’s just women doing this on their own, they’re all helping each other and they all share their scampers, some of them are just super elaborate. Some of them have a spaceship theme and then it’s all silver inside without the lights and it’s just crazy. I think at some point, I’ll get that crazy on it, but we’re not there yet.
Q: How did the camper live up to your expectations?
A: I’m super stoked about the camper. I remember the first night I had car problems and I was sleeping in there for the first time after getting it. I was like “what did I just sign up for?” Here’s the adventure, I can’t get mad, it is what it is as far as the car kind of getting busted. We’re having a good time. I am just happy that I have it since I’ve always wanted one for so long. Every time I go into the garage, it reminds me of “when are you planning your next adventure?”
