We got a new van!! On a rainy Mondy a week and a half ago, when the boys got home from school and we headed down to buy a new van. Well, new to us anyway. It's a 2003 Honda Odyssey. We got a great deal on it, and it's in great shape. The only drawback to getting it for so cheap, was that it already has 130,000 miles on it. But that's still better than the almost 200,000 that our Caravan had.
It is a little bittersweet though. We've had the old silver van since Brandon was 2. It took us to Anaheim and back twice, and taxied me and some friends to Reno. It has been driven through sketchy conditions on camping excurtions and many other countless adventures. That was the van that we brought both Logan and Sawyer home from the hospital in, and was the first car that Chris and I really bought together. Regardless of all of the memories, good and bad, that we've had with that old van, it was time to say goodbye. It's actually BEEN time to say goodbye for awhile now. I've been driving around with a messed up electrical system, no blinkers or brake lights, a leaky radiator, and a myriad of other problems for nearly two years. I'm honestly surprised it made it as far as it did. So even though it will always hold a special place in our hearts, we are not sorry to say "SO LONG!!" to the Silver Bullet.
I have affectionatly named our new van Goldie, due to the color of it. I've joked for awhile now that our next car was going to be gold/tan so that you wouldn't see the dirt all over it. We live down a gravel road and everybodys cars are completely covered in mud and dust, so washing them is completely pointless. It's funny that the van we happened to get really ended up being gold. I guess we'll soon see if my theory is correct.
The first morning after we got it, the boys asked if I could drive them to school. I was more than happy to oblige.
The interior is leather, which I never wanted, but it's really grown on me. I'm hoping that it will be easier to keep clean than the cloth was. The front seats are heated which I'm TOTALLY in love with.
I didn't realize home much roomier the inside would be either. I figured all vans were pretty much the same. Boy was I wrong. It has stow & go seats in the back, so the third row of seats fold into the floor. The cargo area in the back is sunk into the floor due to this feature. It's really nice because it has more of a "trunk" feel. My groceries sit nicely in there and don't roll all over the back of the van or come tumbling out when I open the back door.
The sliding doors open and close automatically with the push of a button or a little tug on the handle. It makes me feel so fancy! There is a bluetooth installed in the stereo so I don't have to do the whole "Hang on, there's a cop, I have to put the phone down" thing when I'm talking on the phone anymore! ;) There is a DVD player installed that comes down from the ceiling, but we still haven't figured out how to get it to work. The previous owner had some new stuff installed, and I think somewhere along the way some wiring got confused or something, because it won't turn on. Hopefully our technological genius, Daddy, will be able to figure it out soon.
I feel so much safer driving around now. It's been such a blessing to our family. We all love our new ride. We have wanted to take the boys to Yellowstone for a couple of years now, but due to the condition of the old van, there was no way it was going to happen. But now it's looking like we've got a plan to go next summer! I can't wait to see all of the new adventures Goldie will take us on.
2 comments:
That rocks Starr! I swear Honda must have given a survey to a ton of Moms when they designed that van. It's like the perfect Mom Mobile! I want one SO bad! Did you find it on Craigslist?
No. My aunt told me to go to Milam in Puyallup. They've bought a couple of vehicles from them and she said they were great. So I went to their website and it was on there. We went down that night, test drove it, and drove it home. I had been searching for days through a ton of ads and dealers, I make one call to my aunt, and in 5 minutes find exactly what I want. Isn't that always the way?
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