Nissan Quest to the Rescue Again

Because you never know when you're going to accidentally pass one of the biggest consignment sales in the Hudson Valley - the Be Green sale in the rec center in Fishkill.

Lugged home:
- entertainment bouncy center for baby Cole
- CVS meds for Ruby for asthma in the biggest CVS bag I've ever left the pharmacy with
- Sweaters for dry cleaning
- 12 pack of paper towels to clean dog's unfortunate smelly accident in Ruby's room.

Why I Love My Nissan Quest's Tailgate

So many reasons why I love my Nissan Quest. I'll start with this one area: the tailgate. This picture sums up the flexibility I have with this minivan, and why boxiness is good. The picture isn't sexy, but sums up a typical day on our road trip to visit family. I can haul around our big jogging stroller (the Baby Trend is my favorite), with plenty of extra diapers, a baby-baby toy stroller, an umbrella stroller (the Lamaze is my favorite) , and a computer bag stored underneath the jogger. Meanwhile, I can comfortably change my baby in the space on the left, and hang his clean but summer-pool dampened onsie to dry on a little hook on the back of the seat. I can then sit in that same spot, on top of the lovely storage, and read a shapes book to my baby while my toddler sleeps on her car seat in the next row.

Gypsie Summer Road Trip in Our Nissan Quest

Road trips were the other reason I wanted to get the Nissan Quest. With 2 car seats, my dog could no longer fit into our car with luggage, and we are a driving family. Airport news and delays? Eh, it's news we don't need to follow. But what we do follow are car commercials about roomy cars with storage! Or I do at least, one night while watching Up All Night. And that's when I saw a commercial for a Nissan Quest.

So what are you looking at here? You're looking at a family pit stop at Wendy's, where we are having a picnic in the back. Yeah, that's right. Two big luggages, a set of gulf clubs in a big bag, 2.5 suits for David to possibly wear to a wedding, a beach bag, a bouncy seat, a diaper bag, 2 rolls of diapers, a Lamaze umbrella stroller, a pink baby stroller that is Ruby's size, and...a small bag of my French press coffee situation.

How is it, you ask, that we are eating in the car in total comfort, and little Baby Cole is getting changed (see that white blob?). Underneath the baby blob is a storage well, and it's my favorite part of the Quest. Cole is laying on the trap door of the well. Right next to him a small black strap that if you lift up, many of our smaller items will be revealed, like the two strollers, diaper packs, beach bag, and the bouncy seat. The third row of seats are down, so the back of the car is like a flat bed. And because the storage well has the flat cover, we can use it like a changing table or picnic spot!

The other minivans, like the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna do have storage in the back, but neither have this nifty, flat cover, and neither have as perfect of a well. I'll do another post on it to show you, but it's smooth in there so that you can pack objects into it easily.

Hurrah!

ps: If you're in Beacon, Wappingers Falls, Poughkeepsie or anywhere in the Hudson Valley, and you want a Nissan Quest or any car, go to Poughkeepsie Nissan on Rt 9, ask for Nick, and tell him Katie from A Little Beacon Blog sent ya. I'll get a little referral to spend back on Main Street (or on my car payment, lol)!

Trash Picking on a Jog - Nissan Quest to the Rescue

Two things I love: trash picking in Beacon, and my mom mobile, the Nissan Quest.

I was out on a jog, just me and my baby son, who was just dozing into sleep in his infant car seat on my Baby Trend jogging stroller. Taking my usual route, noticing the new flower bed in someone's front yard, I saw it: a standing mirror on a swivel. It was black with cute little knobs for the mirror to turn. If I painted it white, it could go in my daughter's future redesigned room.

I hesitated, as I was fresh on a jog and free time like this is precious. But I also know creative folk in Beacon, and the popularity of yard sales and trash picks. The mirror wouldn't last long. I've hauled things home before - with baby strapped to me and I was pushing the stroller with my older daughter in it. The comment I got that time from a man letting me cross Main Street was: "Try multitasking sometime!"

Oops, got to go...I' e stopped jogging in order to walk and blog, and my son is waking up. Ta ta for now! Look for Part 2