It's the end of the "Era of Bessie"... I was awake by 0600 and spent some time reading, journaling and organizing. Later, I went outside and recleaned the minivan. I tried to get Brenna up to help me jump start the car (0900) but she wanted to sleep longer. At around 0930, I was able to get the van started again and let it run for about half an hour. Last night, I'd reluctantly made the decision to try to sell our family's old Chrysler Town & Country EX to CarMax. I remember buying the van near Dobbins ARB (Atlanta, GA area) to replace a Plymouth Voyager during the summer of 2003 - it had less than 100 miles on it then. By the end, Bessie logged 270,274 miles for us. Every family member drove this minivan and we have many, many funny stories about our adventures in what, to me, was the fanciest car we ever owned. Bessie took us on many long trips: up and down the east coast, back and forth to Meridian (MS), across Texas multiple times, on several long college tours in the Midwest and South, Appalachian Trail hiking trips from Georgia to New Hampshire, for Thanksgiving events (in Minneapolis, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Savannah, Charleston, etc.), to South Dakota, the Grand Canyon and one huge cross-country jaunt to Yellowstone National Park (2017). She carried our belongings during over nearly 10 years worth of Navy moves and, all told, spent time in at least 42 states and parts of Canada. Bessie had "power everything" but the best feature was a DVD player (with headphones) that kept our kids entertained wherever we went (Mollie scarred her sisters for life by constantly requesting replays of "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron"). Erin skillfully helped me navigate with an atlas from the front seat a few times - very helpful in the days before Google Maps. For the last four years, the minivan was Brenna's college car and served as IVCF "small group" transportation in and around the Shenandoah Valley. My appointment at CarMax Harrisonburg was scheduled for 1100 but I (somehow, without the car having any problems) got there early. Even so, the representatives welcomed me inside, looked over my paperwork and appraised the car. Before I knew it (1130), they made and offer that I could not refuse and I had to call Brenna to come and get me. She didn't initially believe me but came over to join me for an almost tearful farewell of our old car. What a legend - we are all going to miss the "Queen of Minivans"! Since I didn't know when I'd next be in Harrionburg, I asked Brenna to drive me a short distance to the DMV and I was able to turn in the license plates for my car. With the big task of the day completed, I suggested that we get some lunch and we then checked for wait times at Cracker Barrel, IHOP and some other restaurants (45 minutes or more). I noticed the Applebee's on US-33 and Brenna agreed to try it. Luckily for us, they had just opened before we got there (1215) and there was no wait at all. We ended up having a delicious meal and spent a lot more time talking. Brenna had been planning to do some work but, I think, felt better relaxing and taking it easier after we were done eating (1315). While we were eating, I made plans with Erin to meet on the west side of the DC Metro area. Before that, though, Brenna and I went back to her place and I finished packing up my car. Since it had been such a nice (and unexpected) visit, I reluctantly said goodbye to Brenna (1325). I believe she was really glad to see me, ultimately, because we got so much done during the few days I was in town. She she promised to soon make plans to visit me in New Hampshire... From Harrisonburg, it took me about an hour and a half to get to my next destination. Along the way (I-81 and I-66 and some back roads), I listened to audiobooks. At 1550, Erin and I met at Leopold’s Preserve (near Thoroughfare, VA on the west side of Prince William County) and took a nice walk on the extensive trail system. There were plenty of pretty flowers and lots of birds. Before leaving the area, we tried to visit the ruins of Chapman’s Mill (located next to I-66) but it was already closed. Instead, we walked some more in the Bull Run Mountains Preserve. It was a beautiful day! We'd had a nice time walking and talking that Erin suggested that we drive over to Chick-fil-A (nearby, in Haymarket) for dinner. I agreed and we used VA-55 to reach US-15. When we got there, Erin treated me to my choice of food and we had a nice meal. There was also lots of talking and laughing about Bessie memories... Before we left the restaurant, Erin told me she wanted a photo of a cow she'd seen outside. After we looked at the selfie she'd taken, we noticed that one of my fellow Dads (eating inside with his own daughter) had decided to photobomb us! This caused lots more laughs. By 1800, I reluctantly told Erin I needed to get on the road again. We said goodbye and I continued north on US-15, which took me all the way to Maryland (Point of Rocks crossing). Got gas at Sheetz in Thurmont (1945) and then continued north to Harrisburg. Talked to Mollie on the way and listened to more audiobooks. Used PA-581, I-83 and I-81 to drive all the way to the NY-PA border. Stopped at a rest area (2300) to make a hotel reservation in Binghamton (Comfort Inn) but, when I got there, found that they didn't actually have any rooms. At first, I was quite upset because I was very tired. Fortunately, I was able to find another hotel (Quality Inn) nearby and used some points to get a free night. I also spent some time on the phone with Choice Hotels Customer Service, to get a refund on the first reservation (they helped me). After midnight, I finally checked into the "correct" hotel. They told me they'd had to clean up a room in anticipation of my unexpected visit... I was able to go to sleep by 0100. What a day - not only did I manage to sell our old car but I got to spend a lot of quality time with the Twins and drive all the way to New York!
