OUR LAST TAXI RIDE
Get ready for OUR LAST TAXI RIDE
How and why it happened.
Another prestory.
---We retired to Florida in June 1994, ages 55 and 53. Found paradise in less than two weeks. (A doublewide on five acres?) Closing wasn’t till Sept so that’s when we went back down from central Illinois to NW Florida. I was busy moving our junk till October. Dollie and five year old son Steven stayed in our new home since he was starting Kindergarten.(Adopted first grandson when 1 ½. Raised since few days old). I stayed there and at our place in central Illinois as I loaded our flatbed and made seven round trips driving my new used Chevy van,1000+ miles. Bought the used van only to move. 125,000 miles on it. Would that van last long enough to get moved? Never intended to keep it after that.
---The van made a perfect tow vehicle and place to sleep half way, saving a lot of money. Not even a high top or camper van. Just a regular half ton van with one middle seat removed near the side sliding door. The sofa bed in the rear was left down and when our son was with us he used a small air mattress and sleeping bag where the second middle seat was.
---Later I added an 18” plywood platform between the folded seat bed and rear doors. Added a queen airbed and home AC in one rear door window. Of course this only worked at a campground. With microwave, crock pot, electric skillet, and kitchen supplies under that extension, it became our small RV. Adding a 12V cooler, TV, and other things it proved more fun than any RV we ever owned. A portable tent type screen room became our kitchen/ living area. But most of those things came after we were moved.
---Seven years and another 125,000 miles I traded for a Dodge high topped van. We were liking those vans. Yep, 250,000 on that 87 Chevy van and the next guy drove it another 100,000+ miles. Don’t know where it ended up then.
---We were soon getting familiar with our new surroundings, riding around, meeting new friends, and visiting coworkers who now lived in central Florida. We always wanted to see Daytona Beach, Panama City Beach, Myrtle Beach and other east coast beaches. It was at least two years before we had time to go to Myrtle Beach. Probably around 1996 or 1997. This next story happens then.
|