The Liberation of the Giant Purple People Eater!

Hey guys…loooong time since I blogged. Sooooo busy, soooo much going on. After that Northern Israel trip, I had a great 5 days in Manhattan, and then off to the Illinois to catch up w/family and start buying my new music equipment, etc. (oooo so fun – got some great surprises for you!) However, the van hunt was consuming most of my time…(in fact I never even finished uploading my CD – please feel free to harass me about that folks!)

I did some test driving to figure out what I wanted and it all became very clear.

It turned out that what I was looking for – A gently used, extended length, high top Ford cargo van – was sooooooooo rare…so I flew to test drive some! A couple days ago I was in Savage, MN (LOVE that name!), Pittsburgh (layover), and Norfolk, VA all on the same day.

I’d really planned to buy a white 1999 Van in MN – had a mechanic look it over and ran the carfax…got there on an hour of sleep – and was sooooo dissapointed. Inside was a mess – floor holes, AC didn’t work…the mechanic had focused on the bigger issues and overlooked the living stuff…

Instead of going back to IL, I made a decision to go directly to look at another van I’d been aware of for quite some time and had also had checked out. It was a 2006, w/ only 65k miles. And Purple. VERY purple…Did I mention it was PURPLE?!

I LOVED it. I Bought it. After seeing so many other tired used vans, I APPRECIATE its youth so much. $8,500 plus $370 for new tie rods, brakes and an alignment – And some serious traveling to get it. Its CLEAN, very well maintained, and drives and works like new. Would have been $36,000 new w/ the high top, so this a ‘matsiya’ – a find. I’ll take a few scratches and dings, thanks – This thing ROCKS! More pricey than the MN van but its perfect. This is my home AND car for a while so this is a big relief!!! Plus, call question my sanity (you should be doing this anyways by now), but I LOVE the color.

I started doing some basic things to make it liveable (temporary curtains, etc.) in the interim before we go to town fixing it up. Driving my Dad’s SUV in the Chicago suburbs I lost it in some some parking lots. I will never have that problem w/ this baby, lol!

After getting the alignment done, I looked into stereos that take ipods, hand free phones, and back up cameras – a lot of today – and finally went swimming in the Ocean and listened to a band out there…LOVED it. Took a shower in the van afterwards to get the ocean water off…sooo handy…

Man, did I mention I LOVE this van?!?!?!?!!? The cargo area (from behind the seats to the back) is just over 6′ high (for standing), 6′ wide and almost 12′ long. Plus there’s a ton of storage above the drivers/passenger area, and even room around those seats. I’ve seen smaller bedrooms. (Well, in Israel, lol.) Its just big enough to rehearse and travel/live in…It has a rounded shape inside which gives a great vibe. Pics soon…

Driving back towards IL today…can’t wait to start building the home in the van, get my equipment working smooth and developing the show…ooo…just got word that grandpa’s health isn’t as good as we thought, so gonna go camp out w/him for Moral support for a while…

Hey, I’d like to recommend Larry the mobile mechanic who inspected my vehicle before I showed up and then fixed it for me. Very helpful and honest guy. If you ever break down around Norfolk, VA…its a cool business plan – pull into a parking lot and start working… gotreauxlarry@yahoo.com. 757-650-9022. (Actually this dealer has one more purple people eater in case anyone is looking…)

Cya,

B