The Swagger Wagon

The day before leaving to go on a 4-day vacation to Minnesota, I made an off-hand comment about how much stuff we had to bring for Ryan and my parents graciously offered to let us use their old minivan. I debated for a day, but in the end, decided it might be a little less stressful trying to decide what to take/how to fit everything if we just went with the van.

Probably turned out to be a wise choice.

That was with the back seat out.

If you click the picture to enlarge, you can just about make out Ryan's face peeking between the seats. No, not that monkey, a little to your left.

I have no problem driving a minivan. I grew up going on vacation in a full-size van, first one named Blueford with sweet curtains and blue carpet to match. Then, one named Geraldine the Green Machine with a custom paint job: a holstein cow on the back so my dad and uncle could claim it as a farm vehicle, plus the words "Mega Dittos" painted on it so it was clear we were Rush fans, as if being a dairy farmer from Iowa taking a vacation to Silver Dollar City wasn't enough of a clue that we were red staters through and through.  Geraldine redeemed her 8 mpg by possessing an almost magical quality of expanding to fit the excess amount of stuff we'd bring home from vacation.  It once held my whole family of 5 plus my Grandma, our luggage and coolers for a week's vacation PLUS a china cabinet and rocking chair my mom and Grandma found antiquing. 

I have fond memories of setting off on our summer vacation, my dad in the driver's seat with his hat worn "farmer" high.

Kind of like this:

 

After we got a little older and acquired a little more "stuff" and/or friends to haul around, plus the fact that good ol' Geraldine stranded us at a gas station in Sloan (with the china cabinet and rocker), my parents gave up on the full-size van just for vacations and got a minivan for their main vehicle, the first of which was a white Grand Caravan that I actually drove for 3 years of college.  So, you kind of get over the "I'm too cool for a minivan" attitude when you drive it for the formative college years. At least I had a purple and gold vanity plate that read "UNIBUS" so people knew that I knew it wasn't cool. But it was free to me and as most of you know, that will win just about any argument over "coolness" with me.

Now that we have Ryan, I am looking forward to the day I can be a proud minivan owner again. It will be a little bit before we buy one (HOLD ON, Malibu, just a LITTLE LONGER!) but I'm loving the new Sienna commercials.  They do a lot to advance the cause of minivan owners (and wannabes everywhere). 

The minivan served us well after a few idiosyncrasies were explained by my dad: ignore the oil pressure gauge-the sensor is off; don't worry if it starts dinging at you when you stop at a red light; the back door might need a little extra jiggle to get it open; if the brakes feel like they are grinding, don't worry, they'll get better after they get warmed up, etc.  The only thing we got nervous about was our own fault. After noticing on I-90 that the gas gauge "Distance To Empty" was rapidly decreasing, we decided to pass up the Kum & Go by Adrian and go ahead to the Rushmore exit. Tip: there is nowhere to buy gas in Rushmore, MN on a Sunday.  I confess I started to panic a little when the "Distance To Empty" got down to ZERO and we were still at least 10 miles of farmland 'till home. Good news, you CAN go at least 10 miles on zero!

Thanks, mom & dad, for letting us use the van! It was a blessing and we're happy to be seen in a "swagger wagon" anytime!