The Life We're Making: Ode to the Eckhoff Van

19 weeks, 6 days

I'm feeling kind of nostalgic lately and boredom got the best of me the other night when I started going through old facebook photos. (Doesn't everyone do that when they're bored?)

So, I'll start from the beginning. The van came to be just as Allyson and I were getting our permits to start driving...I'm almost certain it was winter 2001, which would make me 15. My parents ordered it brand new to replace our huge green conversion van (that van deserves it's own post though). In the last 10 years, let's just say we've gotten our money's worth. This is the vehicle that survived three daughters with permits. It helped move myself as well as my sisters to college..and subsequently home each summer. It survived countless family vacations and many many trips to Marco Island. We drove it the day I found my wedding dress.

One of my favorite van stories has to be while taking it on one of the many trips to Deer Creek to see DMB. The actual year escapes me (they all run together anymore) but it was the trip of constant rain. This particular Deer Creek weekend, we were very unlucky to suffer through basically 3 days of rain. Everything was wet and, of course, we were camping so there was no getting around it. It was Saturday afternoon and like a gift from God, the sun came out. At some point, I was sent out to pick someone up. (Who that person was has since left my memory.) Our spot at camp was way in the back corner, near some shade and the showers. I got the van pulled out into the "makeshift" driving lane and headed towards the entrance. I drive towards the front and realize the the place where there was normally a exit lane is basically mud. Now, I could see lots of tire tracks in the mud so I forged ahead anyway. (For a split second, I thought that maybe I shouldn't be doing this. FORESHADOWING!) You guessed it, I got stuck. In the mud. Needless to say, I never made it to pick up the person I was supposed to pick up, but after much effort and countless people passing by staring at the idiots who got a van stuck in the mud, we were free! For the rest of the weekend, I got so much crap for that but luckily, nothing a little carwash couldn't fix.

I think it was the following year that the battery died on our last night at Deer Creek and we had to have it jumped before we could make the 3 hour ride home.

The van has had its fair share of road trips as well. We used it on the day of my bachelorette party. 7 of us crammed into it one summer to go to the drive-in movie at Gibson City. (If I remember correctly, this was Eric and Allyson's first real date and also the same night that I met my college roommates now husband. Friends, am I remembering correctly that we saw that awful War of the Worlds movie with Tom Cruise?)

Moving on....It also made the trip up to Chicago last September for Danni's bachelorette weekend. I'm pretty sure it made the voyage to St. Louis to see Lauren one summer. Just a few weeks ago, it took it's last official road trip up to Chicago again, but with Joe this time, to celebrate Miller's bachelor weekend. And this is just the times us friends have used it. I won't even start to the count the number of Cubs games my parents have driven it to. It's been loved.

My FB picture stalking didn't come up with nearly the number of pictures I thought it would but alas, I found some. (Obviously, the quality of these leaves a lot to be desired.)