Anyone that grew up near dirt roads has a little rally driver in them. Or in my case, it was snowy roads.
Every time it snowed, the drive to school was that much more fun. The funny part about it was that my first car, a ’83 Volvo 240 Turbo stationwagon, only had one wheel drive. I’m not kidding–only the left, rear wheel had power go to it. I’m not sure it this was some type of cruel Swedish joke or if it had something to do with being rear ended at 40 mph. 1WD “allowed” it to spin really well to the right, but not to the left! This car also had no windshield defroster, so I had to drive with my windows down…in Montana…in the winter. This actually didn’t bother me, since you were fine as long as you bundled up before you left and you ALWAYS bundle up when the high is 0. This attitude changed one night when a snowplow passed me… After I spit out a couple ice chunks, I discovered about a foot of snow on my lap. But, I didn’t stop! I drove that snowbank all the way home.
Anyway, I found myself down in Hood River for the Oregon Trail Rally last weekend. And while I have slide my car though a turns out on a few Montana farm roads, these guys do it at 60 mph with a 500 cliff on one slide and a really hard tree on the other.
I finally “finished” moving out to Seattle. It was quite a process. The 11 hour drive combined with the need to arrive before 4 pm forced me to leave way too early in the morning. My early start caused me to only get 3 hours of sleep the night before, but hey, this is what Starbucks is made for. After a long drive without much drama (save for the McDonald’s worker who literally followed me out the door and puked in front of me after handing me my Breakfast–I threw it out; my digust far outpaced my desire for the ever delicious Egg McMuffin), I arrived in Seattle
I got moved in and my set up is fantastic. I couldn’t ask for more… Well maybe cheaper rent, but I am living in the middle of downtown. IPlus, in this new era of ridiculously expensive gas, I might actually save money by not having to drive anywhere.
Over the course of two days, I pretty much furnished my life at Ikea. The furniture is great, but the drive to Renton is not. Although I’m not exactly known for having superior navigation skills while driving (ahem Jamie), the number of times I have gotten lost driving in Seattle is outlandish. It took me like 20 minutes to find an on-ramp to I-5 south. Sometimes I think I’ll be really slick and try to find my way on surface streets between neighborhoods. This usually results in my driving around the intervening area for about a half an hour before throwing in the towel and finding my way to I-5.
Then there is the traffic. Having to wait at a light for more than a cycle in Bozeman, MT is a rare occurrence, here its rare if you don’t come to a stop on the freeway–at least the views are nice. But, seriously I think I want to get rid of my car. Between paying for insurance as a 23 year-old male, gas prices, and $150 a month parking, it is seriously expensive for me to drive anywhere. I’d ditch it in a second if it weren’t for the fact that a car is slightly necessary to get to the mountains to ski and climb. We’ll just have to see…
