31 Things | Transportation

I never wanted a minivan. Minivans are “soccer mom vans”. They’re just not cool.

I’ve always wanted a Jeep. When I was 20 years old I wanted a CJ7 Jeep so bad I was willing to learn to drive a stick shift. It’s harder than it looks, so, I settled for a Geo Tracker. It kind of looked like a Jeep. It was automatic, silver with manual hubs.

I loved my Tracker. It had a soft top, which got cut and broken into twice. I could just flip the front of the soft top back and have a convertible anytime. And, since it didn’t have air conditioning, I did that often. Glenn remembers not-so-fondly the time we drove from Missouri to Colorado in an ice storm.

I put 200,000 miles on it before I traded it in for a Dodge Intrepid. I ended up owning two different Intrepids, each different shades of gold.

Then the unthinkable happened…I bought a minivan.

I had two kids and the Intrepid, that served me so well, was no longer easy to get a baby seat in and out of the back seat.

It just made sense at the time. There is a ton more room for traveling and storing the abundant amount of crap you “need” when you have children.

This van has seen many road trips—to Texas twice (once the air conditioning when out); to Baton Rouge and throughout plantation country; to Missouri; to Wichita; to The Great Sand Dunes and all over Colorado.

It has served its purpose well.

But, now that the kids are older, I am dreaming of my first love again. A Jeep.

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