The End of the Mini Van

Driving the van in Niagara Falls, CA.

It was a day like any other.  Daughter has been the primary driver of the van for a while now.  We figured that the oldest car should be the one that is going back and forth to the Community College and now the 4 year college.  She walks a few dogs during the week.  All of her clients are located within a couple of miles of the house.

I was at work when I started getting text messages from her.

"The van seems to be handling weird.  It's like the power steering is gone."

"Walking Ben now, I'm going to try to drive the car home."

"Is the van supposed to be smoking?"

In good weather and bad....

Of course, I was not in the same room as my cell phone when these messages started coming in.  I walked back to my desk to find the above string of text messages followed by:

"Lots of blue smoke coming from van.  There was a large thump."

"I pulled over into the field.  Walking rest of the way home."

"I went over to the car with Dad after he got home.  It won't start again."

So, after I got home, I heard the rest of the story.

Our van dropped it's transmission on the way home.  After 150,000 miles, we decided that the van has lived a wonderful life.  We are not going to try to fix it.  A new to us car is in the works.  For now, we've got the van sitting in our driveway, waiting while we decide what we're going to do with it.

Loaded up to move oldest kid to Pennsylvania.

Overall, it's been an amazing car.  It's taken us to Canada and back.  To Niagara Falls.  Out to Minnesota.  To the Black Hills of South Dakota.  To Indiana.  On multiple field trips with the Girl Scouts, and on several very memorable trips with the Robotics Team.  I've had a good chunk of the kids from the high school in my car over the years.  One memorable incident involved one of daughter's friends swooning when she realized that she was sitting in the same seat that "Boy Gorgeous" sat in a couple of days before.

We've moved three kids in and out of college... and the oldest into his house at Grad. School.  I wish we could have made it a few more months.  We have another big move coming up next month.  I really would have liked to have the van to haul stuff. 

Oh, the memories we've made with that car!

Getting the Cars Ready for Winter

The days are getting shorter and colder.  Parts of the United States saw snow over the weekend.  That was our reminder that we needed to get our cars ready for the winter.

We always get the oil in our cars changed every 3,000 miles.  It's how our Civic has lasted 14 years and well over 200,000 miles.  We had the oil changed in both cars just last week.

This is what we do to get our cars ready for the winter:

1) Make sure the windshield washer fluid is topped off.  We buy an extra gallon and keep it in the garage so we can add more on warmer days through the winter.

2) Replace the windshield wipers.

3) Check to make certain the jumper cables are accessible.

4) Add the collapsible snow shovel.  I tend to take this out of the trunk in the spring, because it gets in my way.  Husband leaves it in year round.

5) Change the batteries in the flashlight.

6) Add a bag of kitty gravel.  (Non-clumping).  We use this for traction in case if we get stuck in the snow.  It's happened more than once before, and that bag of litter has made a big difference in getting out.  I've seen other people use carpet remnants or gravel.  We use kitty litter.  I'm not certain, but I like to think it's easier on the environment.

7) Find wherever the ice scrapers have migrated to and move them into the pockets on the driver's side door.  Oh yeah, and clear out all of the affiliated junk in that pocket.

8) Clean out all of the loose stuff in the car, and vacuum it.  (Just because)

9) Check the tire pressure.

10) Check to make sure all of the bulbs are working - headlights, tail lights, and turn signals.  Replace as needed.  Really don't want a ticket for something we could have easily fixed for less than $5.

11) Add a blanket, and a seasonal change of clothes to the trunk.  I actually keep a suitcase in the trunk of the car year round, in case if something happens and I have to stay overnight somewhere unexpectedly.  For winter, this change includes underwear, socks, shoes, a long sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt.  (Remember, I used to teach.  You never knew what was going to happen in the course of a day, so having a change of clothing with you was always a good idea just in case.)  BTW, I also carry a large plastic bag to put a dirty change of clothing in.

12) Check the food and water supplies.  I have a big plastic box in the trunk that holds water bottles and snacks.  I can't tell you how many times I've hit up those supplies over the years.  Hungry kids, hungry me, running late, whatever the reason, I've always got fairly healthy snacks that won't melt in the trunk of my car.  If I do get stranded on a road in a snowstorm, or I am running late and starved, knowing I've got something to nosh on until I can get home and get real food is a nice feeling.

Have you gotten your car ready for winter?

When the Brakes Fail

I wish this was just an imaginative title for a post.  The brakes on our car failed last week while my husband was driving our daughter home from camp in the city.

He went to take an off ramp from the Beltway, and the brakes were not working as he entered the deceleration ramp and went into the curve.

Fortunately, this was not the tight, inside edge of a clover leaf ramp.  this was a long, curvy, but mostly straight ramp with grass on the left side, and woods on the right.  The ramp is an uphill ramp, with a stop light at the top of the ramp.

My husband mentioned that he noticed the brakes were having problems before he entered the exit ramp, and his foot had been off of the gas pedal and on (and on and on) the brake pedal for quite some time before he hit the C/D ramp, and he had his emergency flashers on.  His car had slowed to 40 mph, and was continuing to slow, but not fast enough to stop at the light.  He lowered the car down to 3rd gear, and then to 2nd, hoping the weight of the engine would slow the car down more.

As they entered onto the exit ramp itself, he pulled on the emergency brake, and lowered the gear down to 1st as they went up the hill. 

Miracle of miracles, the car slowed as it went farther up the hill, and he was able to pull safely into the grass on the left side of the ramp.  The car stopped about 10 feet into the grass.

I got a rather shaky call from my daughter, explaining what had happened.

My husband just shrugged it all off and said "It really wasn't that big of a deal."

We towed the car to a garage.  They showed us the remains of the brakes. 

Today, I am thankful.  Very thankful.  Very, very thankful, that this story had a happy ending.

Travel safely!