10-4 big buddy...

Driving home this morning after dropping K off at school, it slowly dawned on me that immediately ahead of me was another van, another Dodge Caravan as a matter of fact. Two in a row. Ahead of that one was another van, but I couldn't see around the Caravan ahead of me to get a good look. Another Dodge? Seemed unlikely. But my inability to see it reminded me of one reason I dislike minivans: they're soooo bloody hard to see around/beyond/past.

Of course, now I'm driving one of them. So the person behind me is having the same issue. I'm one of the enemy!!

In the mirror I notice yet another van, and on its snout an insignia I've become familiar with: a ram's head with curving horns. It's another freakin' Dodge! Another Dodge van!!

Thing is, it looks bigger than mine. (It's bigger than mine? Do I care? Why do I care? Is that good or is it bad? Why do I care?!?) I don't think it's a Caravan, but I can't be sure. I haven't honed my Caravan IDing skills yet.

So, 4 vans in a row, with at least 3 of them Dodges. What are the odds? Well, pretty good, apparently.

Here's what I've begun noticing -- there are LOT of minivans out there. And a TON of them seem to be Dodge Caravans (or Plymouth Voyagers -- same diff). Weird. So that's another thing I don't like about a van. It's one more indication that I'm not nearly as unique or independent-thinking as I'd like to think I am. We're part of the herd, cows chewing our carpooling cud, as it were.

Though to be honest, our other car hasn't ever exactly set us apart. It's a Subaru Outback, and around here (the Pacific Northwest), all you need to do to see other Outbacks is look out the window. There are times when we park at PCC and 5 of the other 10 cars are various Outbacks.

Ok, so we're not unique nor free-thinking. Crap. Cross that off the feel-good-about-myself list....

I drive toward home with L in the back seat, mulling all this over, when I realize that the van ahead of me is a Caravan Sport. They have Sport models? Wait! No one told me that! Is ours a Sport? I know ours is the Grand Caravan (so it's bigger, so that's a plus?!?). I'm guessing it's not a Sport. I look the van over. It says Sport right there on its wide hindquarters, so it must be one, but here's the thing -- I don't see much else about it that screams out "sporty!" Or even whispers it. So what, exactly, does a Sport get you in the van world? It's a mystery to me, and I've decided not to Google it to find out more. I already know more about vans than I ever imagined I would. I drive on home feeling a little better because we weren't taken in by the Sport label. Imagine thinking that really got you something that wasn't just another wide-ass minivan!

By the way, we don't have a Sport. I know because I peeked at our own van's butt when I got us home. It's Grand, all the way, baby!

(Did I mention we've bought my sister's van? Like she expected us to ever give it back!?!).