"SiennaMan" (terracortina)
07/09/2020 at 21:18 • Filed to: goodbyes
4
13|
"SiennaMan" (terracortina)
07/09/2020 at 21:18 • Filed to: goodbyes | 4
| 13 |
Last weekend I went to my in-laws house in Huron for the last time, clearing out the last few things that I could/that people in my house wanted before the house gets listed.
It also marked the last road trip for me and my 2006 Toyota Sienna. After 6 years and roughly 95,000 miles it’s time to send it out to pasture.
Why? Well, the list of issues with it keeps getting longer, and increasingly it doesn’t make sense to fix things. The nail in the coffin was a slow exhaust leak in a flex pipe near the engine. I’ll drive with fairly broken down suspension, cheap tires, plugs that are 30,000 miles overdue to be changed and body roll that can only be described as “epic”. I’m not going to risk gassing myself, much less my kids.
So, one last road trip. This one was not tremendously epic, Wilmington to Huron to Dayton, 365 miles round trip. Since my in-laws bought it new in the summer of 2005, it has been involved in at least 6 moves (that I know of) across five states, carried my in-laws from Ohio to New Jersey and back and carried me from Ohio to Missouri and back. Currently sitting at just over 212,000 miles, it has never left me stranded. When there is just the right amount of snow/slush on the road, you can even get the tai
l
out.
With my mother-in-law gone and my father-in-law moved this was also something of a goodbye to Huron, a quaint town on Ohio’s north shore.
fetching supplies from the local Discount Drugmart
So, I procured the last few supplies that I’d forgotten, picked up dinner at one of the many local pizza places.
And squeezed in time for a last trip to the town’s lakefront park before a long evening of boxes and moving stuff.
Lake Erie, Huron, Ohio
Lake Erie at sunset [OR] Why the hell did you take a picture of a Nissan Rogue?
The beach, such as is it. What did you expect? This is Ohio on a inland sea, not Miami Beach.
more of Lake Erie at Huron
So, to my van, goodbye amigo, you’ve done good.
To Huron, hopefully I’ll see you again some day.
smobgirl
> SiennaMan
07/09/2020 at 22:25 |
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I just took mine to Lake Michigan!
(Kinja says no photo allowed)
Taylor Martin
> SiennaMan
07/09/2020 at 23:14 |
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That’s a fine way to send it off my friend, even if it wasn’t an elaborate cross country road trip. But if the Sienna is going than what should we call you? Just Man? NoLongerSiennaMan? Or is there a different car on the way ?
shop-teacher
> smobgirl
07/09/2020 at 23:28 |
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Where on Lake Michigan?
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shop-teacher
> SiennaMan
07/09/2020 at 23:29 |
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That's tough to say goodbye to a friend. What are you going to replace it with?
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smobgirl
> shop-teacher
07/09/2020 at 23:35 |
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Had work in some Chicago suburbs and Michigan City so I camped at Indiana Dunes and had a picnic at the lake. And then cried a little that Road America is closed to spectators this weekend
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shop-teacher
> smobgirl
07/10/2020 at 00:01 |
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No it isn’t. I’ll be there tomorrow. They’re letting fans in for the IndyCar race.
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smobgirl
> shop-teacher
07/10/2020 at 00:30 |
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Maybe I was trying to schedule too early. When I looked, Iowa was the first race that had approved ticket sales.
But... I might have work coming up in Des Moines so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
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shop-teacher
> smobgirl
07/10/2020 at 00:47 |
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If I wasn't going to Road America this weekend, I'd be going to Iowa next weekend.
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SiennaMan
> Taylor Martin
07/10/2020 at 07:31 |
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Well, my DD replacement is an older lightly used Civic so I was thinking of “SiennaMan, now feeling the vtec kick in” or possibly just “f at m iddle aged man” since it’d likely be technically accurate for at least the next 10 years..
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SiennaMan
> shop-teacher
07/10/2020 at 07:39 |
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For DD purposes, a lightly used older Civic. As a third car for the family fleet, my wife was thinking that we’d buy a new CRV for her next year leaving her 2010 Odyssey for truck type duties. Personally, being in my mid 40s, I was thinking a Honda Beat or a scooter would make a nice 3rd vehicle..
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shop-teacher
> SiennaMan
07/10/2020 at 08:17 |
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I highly recommend a scooter!
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SiennaMan
> shop-teacher
07/10/2020 at 08:52 |
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Yeah, when I was younger I wasn’t so convinced, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the folks on here who say “2 wheels=fun” are on to something and I think something like a scooter that can be just about simply enjoying the road at a modest price
(as opposed to trying to go really fast or what have you) is the way to go..
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shop-teacher
> SiennaMan
07/10/2020 at 17:27 |
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Absolutely. It's the whole slow car fast thing on two wheels. I can have a ball at 25-30mph in a neighborhood with some twisty streets.