At least that’s what the Indigo Girls said in one of their songs. But then again, they were talking about real action where you really do something, not just plop down some money and sign some papers. Well, anyhow, we did make a real decision finally, and I really hope (and think!) that the best part is yet to come. The part about making the decision sure was a lot of work, and wasn’t much fun.

While looking for a conversion van, we stumbled onto an oddball: A Ford E150/Econoline Club Wagon. It is a full-sized van, and this particular model had an aftermarket awning like a small RV, mini-blinds and screens on most of its windows, and was two-tone red and white and looked pretty cool. (well in a funky sort of way….) It was very old (1989), but very low mileage (50k). The A/C even worked, front AND back. The best part was that the third row of seating was a bench seat which folded down in three parts, and was long enough to sleep on. We thought this vehicle was wonderful! Then we took it for a test drive. The cruise control broke while Meps was testing it on the road. Then she drove it in a tight circle, and the steering or front suspension jerked and jumped. She was scared, and this vehicle was written off. Then we talked to the guy who ran the used car lot, and found him to be at least as bad as the worst sleazy car salesman stereotype. We pointed out that the inside rear-view mirror wasn’t there, and he told us how dangerous it was to use those instead of the outside mirrors on a big van. In fact, anything we mentioned that was a problem, he explained why it was wonderful and implied that we were ignorant or stupid.

We spent another few days looking at conversion vans, and then realized: Aha! The Club Wagon was the vehicle for us. We can just drive off in it, rather than have to spend a week removing and replacing expensive upholstery in a conversion van. Which would probably reduce its resale value as well. This is perfect. Oops. There aren’t any more of them within 100 miles of us, and are only two or three possibilities worth driving 200 miles to see. So we spent a day driving across the state, and found a good old one (overpriced) and a newer worse one (bad feeling brake pedal, poor shifting…) which was more expensive, but would have been well-priced had it been in good shape. And kept on looking. And re-considered conversion vans. And figured that we were just being stupid and couldn’t make up our minds.

Then another week went by with thinking, fretting, phone calls, negotiations, and internet searches, and looking at one more interesting semi-destroyed vehicle. This one was our second “Half-Back” which is a conversion van with front bucket seats, a back bench seat that folds down to a bed which isn’t comfortable my six-foot frame. But behind that is a opening plexiglass window like a truck cap has, and a big unfinished area in the back for cargo. This seemed like a really interesting idea for a vehicle. Too bad both of them we looked at had problems like a shot suspension, worn out seats, brakes that pulsed when you used them, and a check engine light that was on.

Friday was another long day, but we came home with a new (to us!) 1990 Van. The process of having it checked by a mechanic went flawlessly…except that on the way, the gas pedal fell to the floor, and wouldn’t stop revving as high as it would go. The poor woman who I was about to buy it from was really shaken up, but she did stop the van and turn it off. Eventually her husband returned, and all four of us were standing around trying to figure out what was happening, and wondering if anybody was really going to buy or sell a van today. But it turned out that the air filter housing had pivoted out of position and then caught the throttle lever on the engine and held it nearly to the floor. Once the filter was back in position, the throttle was back where it belonged, the van was back to its usual behavior, and then it made it all the way to the mechanic who said “You’ve got a good truck,” and advised some minor stuff like front-end alignment, tire balancing, and new transmission seals and fluid, before we drove it across the country or towed something really big. So we went to the DMV, gave them money, signed stuff, called our respective insurance agents, and then it was done.

We had lunch, then prepared for the three hour drive back to Vero Beach. I was in the same Toyota Camry that had been “Buddy Boating” with us back when we were on Cayenne, following Meps in the new van. Everything was fine until we stopped at a traffic light on the outskirts of Vero Beach. Since the van is quite tall, I didn’t realize that the light had turned green a while ago, and since I had the stereo on and windows closed I couldn’t hear the starter turning to no effect. But eventually I noticed that she had put the hazard lights on and realized that something was wrong, and went see what was going on. She had run one tank dry, and the engine wouldn’t start on the other tank. We spent a couple minutes looking through the manual and trying to find the “emergency fuel shutoff valve reset button,” and tried a few more times, but then it started up again. We decided to just drive the rest of the way home and hope for the best. We got safely home, and all is well now….or at least I think so. Prussia was giving the van the strangest looks through the window!