Au Revoir, Hot Spicy Chubby

A couple of days ago, Dave and I decided it was time to look for a new minivan.

"Okay," your probably thinking to yourself, "A New Minivan? Seriously? She wants me to read about her new minivan. No way man. Dude, I am not wasting my valuable internet surfing/facebook checking/tweeting time on this."

But wait! I come here not to praise my new minivan (which is sweet, yes) but to bury my old one.

The one, the only, Hot Spicy Chubby. Aka, the Gravitron. Aka, the most raddest minivan that ever there was.

She had but 4 cylinders. She had no power nothing. And yet, she was my first touring vehicle. Chris Miller and I drove her up and down the East Coast as far North as Rhode Island, and then to the West Coast as far North as San Francisco, playing gigs, listening to AM radio. We set up a bed in the back and would take turns driving the long hauls (36 hours was our longest!). Sleep for 6 hours drive for 6 hours.

I took her on tours with a full band...me and three other guys and all of our gear and luggage, driving to Norman, Oklahoma and Jackson, Mississippi and Lafayette, LA (Holla!). On the long drives home, the one where we left right after the gig and booked home 8, maybe 10 hours-- the gigs where I always drove because I was the band leader and I'm not a drinker and it was my car man -- on these drives, the guys would find places to sleep. The lucky one in the passenger seat, reclining as far as he could go without pissing off the guys in the back. The two in the back vying for what little space there was and sometimes even attempting to sleep on the floor in front of that little bench seat. And me, the only one awake, well I'd sip Red Bull and smoke cigarettes and listen to some British murder mystery on tape while I watched the fog settle on the lake under a full moon...I'd just drive and drive.

She was a good car. Simple and reliable. Stronger than you might think. And even after she became too old to take on trips, she was a great around town gig mobile.

Finally though, she just had too many miles on her, and we have a baby. It was time for an upgrade. But I will miss my little minivan. Luckily, we're giving her to my nephew. She'll still be in the family. I can visit her now and then. But still...

She was a good old wagon.