She beeps in reverse

My 16-year-old, who has this crazy obsession with large, old, impractical vehicles (A 1970-something Chevy Blazer, specifically.) was curious to drive the van too. She sat up in the driver's seat and squealed about how this would be like driving HER truck when she finally got it. HER truck might even be higher than this. (She also wants her impractical car to be raised, of course.) By the way, if you have one of those for sale, and it runs well, and you wanna sell it to me cheap, let's talk.

The van was parked under my plum tree in front of the house so I told her to back it up first so she didn't take out the branch or the oversized mirror on the van. I waited for her to do it. I waited for her to HEAR IT. And then OMG she about DIED. "We sound like a GARBAGE TRUCK!" It's so funny. We totally sound like a garbage truck in reverse. "That is SO embarrassing!" I really don't think it's that embarrassing. I think it's hilarious. At least I did think it was only funny until I actually had to put her in reverse in a parking lot with other people around. Then it was a little tiny bit embarrassing. And also a little tiny bit funny.

So she pulled the van out and drove it around the big block like I did earlier that morning. A little girl on a bicycle almost crashed into a stop sign pole staring at us. She looked terrified. We drove by her one more time as we finished the loop and she still looked very afraid. (Maybe this will get us a word on NextDoor?)

I think my big kid kind of liked driving it. I hope she liked it enough to be a third road trip driver. I have a feeling this thing will take longer to travel in and be a little more exhausting to drive. Especially compared to the sweet rides we have that were made in this century ... Heck, this decade ... Heck, these last 3 years ...

I drove her too

Until yesterday I hadn't actually driven her. I got to follow home from the "dealership" in the actual new truck (for the FIRST TIME!) while my SBF drove his new-to-him new van home.

But, there she was, sitting in front of my house, and I was really curious about what it would be like to drive such a beast. I tried the key in the door to unlock her and it was tricky and I thought DANG! I can't even get IN and was about to give up when finally the lock gave a little. Um, this seems like something for the list. Item: Make the door so that we can GET IN THE VAN.

Luckily I remembered that the door key is not the same as the ignition key (even tho they look exactly the same) and was able to get the van started relatively easy. Relative to unlocking the car door, that is.

So finally I drove her slowly through the neighborhood, passing small children riding bikes and throwing footballs and stopping to stare ... I was that lady driving the friendly white van. (I smiled and waved at all of them.) So far no posts on NextDoor about the white van creeping up and down our streets. My neighbors are seriously slacking.

It all started with a craigslist ad ...

I wish I could say something like, "It all started with a craigslist ad...", but I kind of think it started way before that. But for the purpose of this very first post, It all started with a craigslist ad. A craigslist ad and a 1998 Ford E350 15-passenger van with 46,000 actual miles on it. This thing must've done a lot of siting because I have probably walked more than 46,000 miles since 1998. Well, close to that.

Also, I wish I could say she was in pristine condition and stored in a garage all her 21 years, but then she would have been out of budget. (Wait, was there even a budget for a spur of the moment creepy white van purchase?) Instead she has a rusty bumper, a rusty roof, and her insides are not quite perfect, but actually, not too bad either. I kind of really, REALLY like sitting inside her. She's super cool and spacious and has a lot of potential.

The tricky part, I think, is where to start. It could be really easy to just start DOING and CHANGING random things on her, but I THINK I've convinced my SBF to make a list. We need to prioritize. The good/bad is he actually knows how to turn the potential things into real things (He's crafty and clever and can fix helicopters and bicycles and probably ANYTHING.) so it's gonna be hard to HOLD. HIM. BACK.

We're starting with a tune-up. You know, to make sure she can actually get us places without breaking down. Because that seems the most grown up, (most boring) most important thing to do.

In MY head, the second most important thing would be to make sure we have 2 more seats with headrests, because you know, whiplash. Why are all those seats so low? Didn't people get whiplash in the 1990s?