The End of Mini Van Era

Yes, after six years with the red Chevy Venture mini van, and more than 160,000 miles, it's being put out to pasture. On Monday, it's being picked up to go into the car donation program for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I couldn't find a local charity that has a direct pick up or drop off program, but this middle man organization is fairly good; the JDRF receives 70% of the proceeds from the sale of the vehicles.

So many memories...Son #3 was merely a toddler when we bought the van, so the built in child seat with five point harness was a huge convenience. It was nice when the kids were younger to be able to separate them in the van (cuts down on kicking, slapping, poking, and most torture tactics). With seven seats, we could spread them out. Actually, we have to put the eighth seat back in before we give the van away...we removed it at the beginning and have never used it. It was convenient to have all those seats the few times a year we went on trips to NJ to visit my aunt and uncle, with Mom in tow...but only a few times a year.

A week and a half after picking up the new car (Honda CR-V) I notice a huge difference. The new vehicle drives like a car and not a school bus! I was never comfortable driving the van -- way too large for my liking in terms of maneuverability -- but of course I learned to do it. I love the power assist steering (as opposed to full power steering) and it's great to be able to zip in and out of parking spaces and driving lanes with comparative ease. I also have no love of the color red, so the royal blue CR-V is really thrilling me. I haven't liked the color of my car this much since I had the purple Grand Am all those years ago.

Without doing all that much besides working, I've already put 800 miles on the CR-V since a week ago Monday. Time flies when I'm having fun!