Cars

"Here in my car, I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors. It's the only way to live -- in cars."

First car in 1985: A 1976? Chrysler Cordoba that Robin and I supplied the money to have fixed up (body work, painting, brakes). We used it to get back and forth to college in FL from VT for 2 years. It didn't like to start and would stall until it warmed up. It had cruise control and power windows/seats, and the gas gauge didn't work. Sold it for $500 in 1987.

Second car in 1987: A used 1984? Dodge Charger 2.2 bought from a dealer in VT. It looked a lot nicer than the Chrysler but always had carburetor problems which no mechanic seemed to be able to fix. Rachelle wanted it and took over the payments for me after I got married.

Third and fourth cars: When I got married in 1998, Tammy had a manual 1984? Pontiac T-1000 hatchback with no air conditioning (nice in Pensacola, FL). We never had any problems with this car that I can recall. We kept her car until we needed a bigger car because Elizabeth was born in 1993. We sold it to my parents for $600. Our first car purchase together in 1988 was a manual 1989 black (also nice in Pensacola, FL but at least it had air conditioning)Nissan Sentra. It too never had any real problems other than an air conditioning line that would become blocked and leak water onto the passenger side floor. Kept that car until 2000 and sold it for 500 dollars.

Fifth car in 1993: A used 1986 Jeep Wagoneer Limited. Paid cash for it, and it ran great until around the 90,000 mile mark. Started having to put money into it. Final straw was after just having put an alternator in it, it broke down on the way to my grandfather's funeral. Traded it in in 1998.

Sixth car: A new maroon 1998 Dodge Caravan. Yep, finally bit the bullet and became a mini-van guy. This was the main family vehicle. Only problem seemed to be having to fix the air conditioner an inordinate amount of times and a serpentine belt that had a habit of coming off. We just traded this one in 2009.

Seventh car in 2001: Replaced the Sentra with a used tan 1998 Toyota Corolla VE. I put many miles on this car traveling 90 miles to work everyday. Traded it in in 2005 when the O-rings seemed to be going.

Eighth car in 2005: Purchased a new Mazda 3s because of its mpg rating. Gas was becoming expensive and needed to keep the costs down of traveling 90 miles daily to work. Plus -- Zoom, Zoom. Still have this car.

Ninth car in 2007: Purchased a new Hyundai Santa Fe. Jaclyn was a licensed driver, so we needed another car. She got the Dodge Caravan -- every teen's dream, and Tammy the Santa Fe. Still own this car.

Tenth car in 2009: Purchased a new Hyundai Sonata Limited. Knowing the Caravan was on borrowed time, we traded it in during the Cash for Clunker's deal. (This meant Jaclyn didn't have to drive the Caravan anymore. She gets to drive the Mazda when home from college.)

So there you have it. Now "Get your motor running. Head out on the highway. Looking for adventure in whatever comes 'y'our way."

A Picture is Worth What

Lizzy returned from her school trip to France about two weeks ago. I would be posting pictures of her trip, but she only took five total pictures -- all on the first day -- and only of her hotel room and her next door roommates hanging out their window. Needless to say, I am not posting those. (If one is disappointed by the lack of pictures, then please feel free to google the Eiffel Tower and other famous tourist spots in and around Paris and photoshop her into them. And be sure to send us a copy so we can enjoy them.)

I am posting several pictures, though, of her induction ceremony into the National Honor Society which took place on Thursday, February 4th, 2010.