Our new van is here!  I cannot explain how much this will change our lives (once we recover from the wallet shock).  I have a feeling I am going to wonder how we ever managed without it.  The van arrived on Friday and we took if for a family spin on Saturday morning.  It's a Dodge Grand Caravan with a side entry manual ramp.  We wanted a manual ramp (rather than an electric ramp and a kneeling van) because that is one less thing to break.  Considering the place we bought the van is 3 hours away, this was a good move.  Although I would have preferred a Honda or Toyota, Dodge is the only car make that has the side entry manual ramp.  We could have gotten a Toyota with a rear entry manual ramp, but we didn't like the configuration of seats with that conversion.  Oh, well. 

Here's what it looks like when you open the door:

Then you just pull down the ramp.

There are two rows where you can anchor her chair with the tie-downs.  There is also a seat belt connector.  You'll notice that the floor of the van is lowered (look at the base of the other slider door).  I want to figure out a better solution for protecting the floor of the van from dirty/slushy/ snowy wheelchair wheels.  It's currently a carpet with the pre-conversion floor mats.  I also have a seat cover on order for the back seat.  The color of the seats is just too light for Hurricane Seamus and Hairball Josie.  For now, a beach towel is doing the trick. 

Look out, world!  Here we come!