Lilies in the Valley: Sprinting Through the East Coast

August 16, 2010

Sprinting Through the East Coast

So we took our Sprinter van on its first long distance road trip. Well, not really its first road trip, but its first road trip with us. We purchased it used one year ago and have “limped” through a few issues with it (those who have ever owned a Sprinter know what I mean). And when I say “we”, I really mean Tom. Tom is not one to toot his own horn so I’m happy to do it: he’s our mechanic. Sometimes it takes a lot of time (he has this pesky thing called a job that prevents him from spending a lot of time on this stuff) and resources to ferret out the problem / solution, but he’s taught himself how to do most maintenance and repairs on the cars.

Ok, so there was the one time he was working on the Sprinter’s fuel system for several weeks and the temperature dropped to ten degrees outside before he could finish and we had forgotten to winterize the diesel in the tank so the fuel froze and we had to have it towed to the dealer to finish the job and it had been sitting for so long that it was frozen to the ground which almost caused the tow truck to be pulled into a ditch trying to tow it out---and technically Tom repaired it---but other than that... he’s been able to take care of things. And as with most used cars, there have been quite a few things. The photos below were common scenes this past year so we were a little nervous heading out on the road.

You never know what crazy little surprises German engineering might have in store for you. (Having said all that, we LOVE this van!) Before leaving, Tom took off the snow tires and put on the radials (yes, we still had the snow tires on in July), flushed the transmission, checked all fluid levels, and brake pads, and gave it a wash and wax. When we left for the trip, the back of the van was loaded up with his tools and miscellaneous parts we might need in an emergency. But the Lord granted us traveling mercies and it was an uneventful trip (car wise).

The purpose of our trip was to visit with relatives we haven’t seen in a long time but we also managed to squeeze in another visit to the Creation Museum. If you haven’t been yet, you should go. Really. Gospel-centered, Biblical truth is so hard to find these days but you'll find lots of it there.

As for relatives, the children were delighted to see their great grandmothers and a load of aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides. In eight days we made stops in Kentucky, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. On the educational side, we visited Lynn Beach (Lynn, MA), Fort Sewall (Marblehead, MA), and the American side of the Niagara Falls. Tom also took us on a quick tour of his alma mater, Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. So tragic to see how far that University has fallen from the convictions and ideals upon which it was founded. Still fun to see where our daddy lived and learned before we knew him.

Things we learned on this trip:

1) NO ONE likes to drive behind a Sprinter (we kind of suspected this before but it was confirmed on this trip)

2) With four children, you can never bring enough paper towels

3) The Sprinter van was made for road trips. Twenty-five mpg, big, bus-like windows and a tall, roomy interior, make for a much more pleasant driving experience! And best of all-- we’ll never lose it in a parking lot!

We had a wonderful time with our families and hope to do this again (but not in eight days!) before another decade passes! And now for the pictures: