Old-school campfire favorites Americans grew up eating are making a comeback

For Paul and Caroline Lacitinola, vintage camper trailers aren't just restored pieces of Americana — they're rolling memory machines.

The California couple, publishers of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine for the past 15 years, have spent two decades immersed in the vintage trailer community.

Their latest project, a cookbook filled with more than 120 family recipes, camper favorites and restaurant classics, celebrates the meals that have long brought people together around campsites across America.

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"We've talked about doing it forever because we're kind of foodies," Paul Lacitinola said. "A cookbook just seemed like the natural combination of our vintage trailers and cars and classic stuff along with our other hobby — eating."

But the Lacitinolas said the Vintage Camper Trailer Cookbook is about preserving something much bigger than recipes.

"I really feel like the trailers have so much relationship in them that it's all about the people, and camping has a lot of emotional connection," Caroline Lacitinola said.

"A lot of times it was something people were raised doing. And, so, they walk into these vintage trailers and they remember their childhood. They remember their parents. They have connection in those ways."

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She believes younger generations are embracing vintage camping for a different reason.

"I think the American dream has shifted a little bit from doing the 9-to-5 every single day to really experiencing life," she said.

The cookbook reflects that spirit by blending recipes contributed by family members, campers, the couple's children and favorites from Paul's former restaurants.

Some dishes carry especially strong childhood memories. Paul's favorite is what his family calls "Grandma Mandy" sandwiches — white bread stuffed with cheese and jelly before being toasted in a pie iron over the campfire.

"It sounds crazy," he admitted. "But believe me, they're delicious."

Caroline wasn't convinced at first.

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"When I married him, I thought, 'There's no way,'" she laughed. "But they are actually really, really tasty."

At the couple's vintage trailer rallies, however, one tradition stands above the rest.

"The thing that we're kind of famous for ... is our pancake breakfast," Paul said.

Whether it's classic pancakes or creative versions topped with peanut butter and bacon or tres leches sauce, the breakfast has become a community favorite.

For Caroline, that's exactly the point.

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"I think the essence of vintage camping is really community and connecting," she said. "Anything that you could do where you connect as a group is the essence of vintage camping to me. Because people are really the core of our hobby."

The couple encourages anyone curious about the lifestyle to visit one of their trailer rallies, tour the restored campers and experience the community firsthand.

"Go out and get one, even if it's a cheap one, if it'll work for you for a while," Paul said. "It doesn't have to be your forever trailer. But go out and get one and get involved in the community."