THE LITTLE MINI VAN THAT COULD - 200,000 MILES AND COUNTING

 

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert's bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

- Johnny Cash

 

Something very important happened the other day. A milestone. No, I didn't turn fifty, that's already passed. I still have more dark color hairs than gray, so I'm safe there. And I still know who the president is, so I've not lost it yet. And I am still above ground.

 

No, the milestone of which I speak is that of our little Chrysler Town & Country Mini Van. The little silver dung beetle of a car just passed 200,000 miles!

 

Now, I have owned a fair number of cars in my lifetime. And I have gotten more than 200,000 miles twice before out of an automobile. But I have to say, of all the cars I've owned, we put this little filly through its paces.

 

 

More than anything, she's always taken a full load. Boxes on boxes of wine. I reckon we can fit 30-40 cases of wine in the back cargo area and back seats when necessary, and we have....often!

 

So much so that it reminds me of the Johnny Cash song, I've Been Everywhere....

 

Rhinebeck, Millbrook, Coxsackie, Hyde Park,

Saratoga, Albany, Hudson and Athens too.

Austerlitz, Newburg, New Paltz, Poughkeepsie,

Marlboro, Warwick, Kingston, Cold Spring, too.

Clinton Corners, Saugerties, Woodstock, Red Hook,

Nyack, Sleepy Hollow, Pine Plains, Catskill, too.

I've been everywhere man!

 

 

Watkins Glen, Syracuse, Buffalo, Hammondsport

Geneva, Ithica, Waterloo, Elmira, too.

Niagara Falls, Cooperstown,. Sharon Springs,  

Queens, Manhattan, White Plains, Brooklyn, Corning. too.

Valley Stream, Manhassett, Riverhead, Mattituck,

Cutchogue, Southold, Greenport, Orient, too.

I've been everywhere man!

 

 

Boston, Worcester, Narragansett, Newport,

Mystic, Stamford, Hartford, Greenwich too!

Redding, Westport, Norwalk, Southport,

Litchfield Hills, Avon, Fairfield, Bridgeport too!

Manchester, Burlington, Middlebury, Stowe,

Grantham, Grafton, Lebanon, Hanover, too!

I've been everywhere man!

 

 

Newark, Red Bank, Atlantic Highlands, Freehold,

Princeton, Lawrenceville, Hightstown, Robbinsville, too.

Asbury Park, Point Pleasant, Manasquan, Avon,

Neptune, Ocean Grove, Bradley Beach, Spring Lake, too!

Cherry Hill, Cape May, Wildwood, Atlantic City,

Lambertville, Unionville, Frenchtown, Trenton, too!

I've been everywhere man!

 

 

Philadelphia, Brandywine, Phoenixville, and Chester Springs,

Harrisburg, Lancaster, Valley Forge, King of Prussia, too!

Baltimore, Fredericksburg, Westminster, Silver Springs,

Havre de Grace, Elkton, Washington, Annapolis, too!

Richmond, Leesville,  Alexandria, Charlottesville,

Roanoke, Lynchburg, Middleburgh, Barboursville, too!

I've been everywhere man!

 

 

Can't lie, it's died a few times. Once just before we went to the 2009 Finger Lakes Wine Festival. But after a quick charge (I had left the lights on after jamming the thing full of wine the night before), it started up and we were off.

 

 

I drove it into the ground, and was sometimes a passenger.

 

 

Always had plenty of company. Whether I was going to a wine festival or a farmer's market, delivering cases, whether we were carting around supplies, delivering a drum set, or touring the country to see family, friends, or sights, this little car has done right by us.

 

 

It's logged a lot of miles and a lot of wear, here seen in the congestion in the aftermath of a wine festival, and we pack up our last belongings, and hit the open road (it's there on the left).

 

 

In the end, this little van that could, even outlasted us. And it's still going!

Good thing too!