As soon as we got Betty home, I began the work on her.  Within a couple of hours, I had torn out the carpet, removed the dated curtains and taken out all of the miscellaneous screwed on shelves, hooks, etc. that the previous owner had added over time.  The most damaging thing was a large square hole cut in the panel between the kitchen and one of the beds that a microwave had been installed in.  We barely use a microwave at home, and definitely didn’t want one in a vintage Airstream, so I was left with about a 24″ square hole to decide what to do with….more on that later.

The current carpet was a beige plush likely from the late 80’s or early 90’s, but inside some of the cabinets, I found part of the original blue shag carpet.  From photos I have seen, I know there were at least two color schemes in Betty’s era.  The overhead storage doors, countertops, upholstery and pinstriping on the bath cabinet doors would all be complementary shades of either blue (in our case) or yellow and likely other choices that I have not seen yet.  With the overall condition of her being fairly good and almost all original, our goal for Betty was somewhere between remodel and restoration.  We wanted to keep the overall layout and original parts intact, but update the finishes.

A folder of paperwork that came with Betty revealed some nice surprises – the complete original 1968 Airstream owner’s manual, the departure checklist from the original dealer, an old Wally Byam Caravan Club International membership roster as well as various campground info that gave some clues to where Betty had traveled – San Francisco and New Mexico as well as all over her original home state of Arkansas.