Goodbye, Deep Purple

Last night, Dave and I let go of a family member - Deep Purple, our mostly dependable and very quirky van.

It's tough giving up a vehicle - after all, we Americans love our cars. I was always sad whenever my parents switched vehicles - especially the ol' black 'n' blue van, which took us on many fun family vacations.

We have many good memories with the purple van, as well. We bought it from Dave's grandparents when Dave crashed the Sebring, and it was the first (and only) car we've ever bought and paid for.

Because Dave's grandpa died just before our wedding a year and a half ago, the van has a special place in Dave's heart. The quirks that his grandpa told us about when we bought it are still active - the random windshield wiper swipes and other things. The van is also covered with liberal bumper stickers, as well as one sticker for Dave's grandparents' timeshare ownership, which his grandma has since sold. I guess the Shipyard windshield sticker was the last vestige of that family institution, as well.

The van also got us out of a few weather-related jams. On Thanksgiving in 2004, we were supposed to drive down to my parents' house, but there was a blizzard and the Honda didn't deal well with the Chicago snow. Sure enough, on Thanksgiving, Dave took the wheel of the van and it got us down to my parents safely and soundly. This happened again last December, when we needed a vehicle to get me to class, and him to work. The van busted out of the snowdrifts and got me to the train!

Then, there was moving into the condo, which was made much easier by the van's ability to haul large amounts of furniture and stuff in single trips. Luckily I think we've got all our IKEA shopping out of the way for a while, because I don't know how we'll haul all those IKEA furniture boxes without our van.

Last but not least, let's not forget that the van was our getaway vehicle after our wedding. People covered it with TP and the like, and Dave had to wash it off in my parents' driveway, in his tux. So it hosted our first drive together as a married couple, with my wedding dress stuffed inside and my feet aching from a long night.

Anyhoo, we've had the WRX for a while now, and we just can't pay insurance for three cars, nor does it make sense. So the van is going to a new home - and we actually got back more money than we paid for it! (Enough to pay for our new kitchen floors, actually!)

However, it was sad to drive away, leaving the van in my uncle's driveway, where it waited like some forlorn abandoned puppy or something. But it's got a few good years left in it, and someone will buy it and fix it up.

Maybe I'm just too sentimental - but we will miss our van.