CORRYTON, Tenn — A group of working moms in Corryton are connecting with people all over the world through vintage campers.
Kandas Tedesco found her 1977 Serro Scotty on a Craigslist ad and convinced her sister to get one too.
"We were actually sitting on my porch one night and she was like, 'Hey, do you think we could talk dad into buying these campers for us? They're in Alabama," Kourtney Cochran said.
"I think everyone thought we were crazy! I'm surprised they made it back," Tedesco laughed.
With a lot of hard work and a little TLC, her dad and husband helped her restore the vintage campers and bring their vision to life.
"This is Jane," Tedesco smiled. "This is my sister's camper Ellie Mae."
Tedesco and Cochran soon became known as the Glamper Sisters.
Glamping is basically glamorous camping. It's camping with all the cute luxuries that make things more fun," Tedesco laughed.
Her best friend, Jennifer Hampton, never liked camping the traditional way.
"I don't like to be outside. I don't like to be dirty. I don't like sleeping in a tent. I don't like not having air," she said.
Then she found Bonnie, a 1968 Phoenix camper, for $240 and drug her home from the Michigan woods.
"It was built on Miller Lites and my husband's construction knowledge," Hampton laughed.
She is now one happy glamper.
"Our son loves it. He's been camping since he was three weeks old," said Hampton. "I ask my husband all the time, can we just go sleep in Bonnie? Just in the driveway?"
When Debra Hurley helped her daughters restore Jane and Ellie Mae, she only camped in her Winnebago.
Then along came Dolly, a 1961 Shasta.
"I tried to keep it like the original with the checkered floors and the birch walls," Hurley said. The husbands do all the work, and we kind of take all the credit for it."
The working moms eventually took their campers on the road, always traveling in 'Pinterest-worthy' style.
The Glamper Sisters were growing, and people everywhere started taking notice.
"We got a lot of attention whether we wanted it or not," Hurley smiled.
"Every gas station stop you plan on about 20 minutes just socializing with people," Cochran said.
The four small campers now have big social media following with 'sisters' all over the country, and they go everywhere from the coast to the mountains.
"We've been to D.C., Maryland, Alabama, of course all the Smoky Mountains like North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee," Tedesco reminisced. "During quarantine we saw a huge spike in membership. I think a lot of people were at home and kind of dreaming of getting back out and doing things."
As campgrounds started booking up the Glamper Sisters decided to host a global campout in their driveways.
"We set up like you would on a real camping trip. We had real camp food, the whole nine yards. We had people from all over the world--Australia, Ireland. I mean, it was a big deal!" Tedesco said.
Her farm in Corryton is becoming the group's home away from home until the pandemic is over.
"We do so much as a group. We have just drawn closer," Hurley said.
The Glamper Sisters are already planning their next adventure, hoping to one day meet all of their members in-person and the women who share their passion for glamping.
"It's really awesome," Hampton said. "It's really amazing to see the sisterhood grow."