After two years and so, so many memories, we sold our 2002 VW Eurovan Weekender. While we’re looking forward to picking up the new rig that will mark the beginning of our van adventures 2.0 (stay tuned for more posts and info!), I’ll always miss the van. And so, at the expense of being overly sentimental, we offer this farewell/love letter/thank you card to our van…

And so, on a cold Saturday in January, we found ourselves at the Boston RV and Camping Expo—oohing and ahhing at vans and RVs of all shapes and sizes. Hell, some of the RVs cost nearly as much as our condo—and seem just as big!! I’ve never been in an RV, and while I prefer a future in a small-ish van, G waxes poetically about RVs. I can’t imagine ever driving one of those behemoths, but I try to humor him.

Last week, we celebrated our one-year vaniversary with our new-to-us 2002 VW Eurovan Weekender. This time last year, we took the plunge, swore to be with our van for better or worse, exchanged nervous glances, handed over a hefty $15K cashier’s check, and walked our way down the proverbial aisle—in our case, New Hampshire’s Route 16, as we drove our new love home from the White Mountains to the seacoast.

And so that’s how we found ourselves, on one cold and drizzly day in November, the proud owners of a 2002 silver VW Eurovan Weekender with about 186,000 miles.

Like a lot of people whose childhood included Scooby Doo and The Partridge Family (and the cool van and bus in each), I lusted over VW vans. I imagined I’d be like Kevin Costner’s character in Field of Dreams, driving a VW Type 2 and listening to “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers as I drove across the country.