So, just to remind you – here’s a photo of my “old” van, a 2000 Honda Odyssey (which is now functionally repaired and dependably serving its new, growing family):
And here’s a picture of my “new” 2003 Honda Odyssey:
After the accident, I actually said that because I hate change so much, I felt like going out and buying a 2000 Honda Odyssey because I knew where all the buttons were. In reality, I’ve been praying for God to “give me the desire of my heart” when it came to finding a replacement vehicle.
Turns out, the desire of my heart is familiarity. And NO car payment.
It’s a 2003 Honda Odyssey. Red. The funny thing about that is that my 2000 Odyssey was originally white. After Hurricane Charley, it had to be COMPLETELY repainted and I changed the color to red because “If I have to drive a minivan, it should be red.” The “new” van has had one previous owner and they just so happen to live in my same little city. I bought it from a wholesale dealer in a neighboring city (it was on Craigslist). I paid my mechanic a $70 fee to give it a thorough inspection and the first thing on his list was “replace windshield wiper blades.” It’s in great shape. It’s even had the timing chain done already. It even had velcro in the EXACT place I needed it for my expressway pass.
There are few differences, however. First – the inside is CLEAN. Nothing crusty on any surface. It has 15,000 LESS miles on it than the 2000. The turn signal lights are yellow instead of red. There’s an after market tow package. It doesn’t have a 6 CD changer (but I didn’t use it anymore anyway, I used my mp3 player). There’s an ichthus (Christian fish) decal on the back door. Oh, and this one has leather seats. And seat warmers. Which is so very important here in Florida where the heat index was 106 on Friday. In October. If those things are broken, I may never know it.
It also doesn’t need to be unlocked three times before the tailgate will open (FirstHusband just resigned himself to using the key). The knob stays on the air conditioning control. The right passenger door opens without holding the lock back. The radio volume can be controlled on the radio AND the steering wheel instead of just the steering wheel. I can roll the driver’s side window down if it is wet and be confident it will go back up without pulling it with both hands. hmmm. what else?
oh. It DOESN’T have a way to play my mp3 player. I used to have a cassette player and cassette adapter which plugged right in. I’ve used the FM adapters before, but they distort. I’ll just burn CDs for now, but my van is my rehearsal studio, so I’m researching a long term solution. I’ve heard about an aftermarket auxiliary port, so I’m checking that out.
But, as I drove away from the purchase and PinkGirl asked me to turn on the radio, I subconsciously turned it on, tuned it to the right station and pushed the sound to the back of the van. When I realized what I was doing, I started laughing.
Like I said. Familiarity.