The Roof Rack (Family Car #2)

In the summer of 1987 we bought our first minivan, a big purchase for our young family It was a new Plymouth Voyager. What is important about this is that it had an optional roof rack. That summer we headed east to NJ, Ocean Grove and NYC. Mom was a bit annoyed with me that we did not use the roof rack on this trip. In November we took a trip back east, with Grandma. The trip was for Thanksgiving at Uncle Peter's and Aunt Georgia's house in Stillwater, NJ. We had a lot of luggage. I argued it could all fit in the van. Mom said we bought this car with the roof rack and we would be a lot more comfortable if we stored some luggage up there. I did not have a container for the luggage, with proper fasteners to the roof rack. All I had were some Kmart bungee cords. Mom was insistent, so I put Mom's and my suitcases on top, secured with the Kmart bungee cords. Well we made it to Interstate 70 just east of Columbus when a suitcase blew off the roof and hit the highway behind us (no car was close by, whew!) It spun around and flipped over before coming to rest in the grass median. Mom and I had identical Samsonite suitcases,so we didn't know whose it was until Allison said it was Mom's. I asked her how she knew that. She said, "because it opened, and I can see her clothes." I pulled the car over to the shoulder of the highway and retrieved Mom's suitcase. (see below.)

I then loaded all the luggage inside the car. It was a very crowded and quiet ride for the next few hours! For our next few trips I borrowed Mr. England's car top carrier, which we could properly fasten to the roof rack. A few years later we bought our second minivan, a Dodge Caravan that also had an optional roof rack! We had many adventures in this car! Remember it breaking down on the way to Florida and Kristin's wedding? On the same trip back East as the roof rack incident, we went to NYC the day after Thanksgiving. I was trying to find a place to park when we got caught up in the anti-fur parade coming down 5th avenue. All of a sudden we were surrounded with people chanting "Don't buy fur!" Soon everyone in the car was chanting as well and the van was rocking! This was also the car Allison learned to drive on. The picture at the top is her on the first day of her license!