This is my ode to the old blue van(it had no name, we werent the kind of people who name their cars or cats for that matter). I came across this while scanning slides and it brought back a flood of great memories. This thing was a junker and my Dad took it for payment for fixing someones car and restored it to its "current beauty" (current meaning '88). This thing took us places and man we rode in style and comfort. A few hitchhikers even got to experience it on our way out of town on family vacation (Dad is a sucker for people who need help unless they are a Dr. or a politician) Nellie always had this boom box that we rocked out to Erasure on and mom always brought tons of D batteries to refill it when it started playing our tapes slow and creepy. We rode/slept/jumped over/climbed on under and around those giant couch-like benches and this baby could legally tote 12 people (now that's impressive).
My mom used to haul all the youth for church activities around in this thing and then when that gig was up my dad took all the special mutual kids here and there in it, where they promptly destroyed it by eating and picking the seats (it was okay the van had a good long fulfilling life).
I dont want to get to long and wordy but our family car before this was a giant brown station wagon with the side-ways flip up seats in the back and the tailgate that went down......I hope i run onto some of those pictures soon.
This is my dad who kinda looks like a hitchhiker with that ridiculous mustache. Take notice of the plush fabric on his seat.
In case someone never got to ride in the van, this picture makes you feel like you are riding with us. If you look really hard you can see the guy behind you waving at you and then in the reflection on the window you can see a good old Holiday Oil refill mug.........we all got fat on those things and had to stop at rest stops a lot.
10 comments:
WOW! Awesome trip down memory lane. Even though they are not my memories, I feel like I could relate. Plus, the hair do's and clothes in the picture are worth a laugh.
So I don't remember being on that trip, but lo and behold I am the girl drinking the pop in the picture. I have never thought we looked the same, but who ever is drinking the pop looks like me when I was little. I could probably find a pic to match up with it!! (So maybe there is some truth to it??!!) Way fun keep the old pics coming.
I love classic cars!
My dad was one of those people that knew he could use your dad for some help. My dad was one of those people who would take a full hour to buy some milk at the Ream's only because he would have to sit and chit chat. It was always longer if he ran into your dad. They say us woman talk to much!
What are you working on with all of your scannings?
I think I just might be part poodle.
April, this is great! Don't you love just by seeing a pic you can have tons of memories. Love the sweet blue van. We had a green booger, an old old chevy green truck that man I have so dang memories in too. Loved this post.
I too, have some great memories in that van. One of them entailed a hitch hiker your dad picked up on the way to visit Nellie at Snow. Scared the crap out of me. I just told Neal that story the other day.
Too bad the seats got eaten. You're mom is the best. First of all, to take all the awesome pics, and second of all, to keep the D batteries stocked up. When our ghetto-blaster ran out of batteries, too bad.
I used 'you're' in the wrong context. Correction: your. Sorry.
One particular time I rode in that van I remember Adam rocking out with his walkman on our way to cemetaries on Memorial Day. Good times!!
What a great gift for your mom...and your family. I'd still have our photos in shoe boxes if you hadn't put them in photo albums for me one year. We had the white diaper van with a bench seat in the back that pulled down into a bed. It had a simpy AC that didn't blow beyond the front seats. We could pack half the school into that puppy--no seat belts of course--to get everyone to school. Before that it was a copper station wagon. Lots of memories!
We had a cream color van very similar to yours. Although we did not have air conditioning. That would have been sweet!
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