My '94 Ford Conversion Van

In 1995 I was driving a 1991 Plymouth Voyager. Barry was always making fun of me, saying it wasn't a real van (and a Mopar to boot) so in order to maintain harmony in the home, I had to buy a real van. We looked high and low for a van that had all the toys up front and stripped in the back, in the right color, but was unsuccessful. We had pretty much given up, when one day, while driving by a dealership in Charlton, MA, there was a new '94 blue Ford Mark III high-top conversion van crying "Buy me, buy me!". So when I called the dealership the next day, the salesman told me it cost the same as the van we wanted to buy, but this one was completely finished. (No-I really knew that if I did buy the stripped one it would probably never get finished.)

I was soon the proud owner of a brand-new Ford van that had everything, including mahogany wood interior, color TV, seating for seven, etc. One month after, with 800 miles on the van, we headed for the '95 Van Nationals in Chillocothe, Ohio. After driving for 13 hours straight, we arrived at 6 a.m. and spent the next week truckin and partying. While we were there, I had "Magic Bus" painted on the back after the infamous Who song. (We won't talk about how the keys got locked in on the last night.)

This van is our traveling van. I have since gotten a vanity plate reading "VANNIN" just to let everybody know it's not a retired couple driving. We have been to Florida twice, (last year with our other Chair City club members, Kelley & Randy), and also to the '97 Van Nationals in La Plata, Maryland. It's like having a rolling living room, complete with beer coolers and Johnie (our portajohn and Kelley & my best friend). How good can it get??

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