Thursday, June 12, 2008

To Helen in a Hand Basket...

All right, maybe not a hand basket. But with 5 people, car seats, and gear for a week's vacation it sort of felt like it at times. Not to disrespect the Civic.

I love our 2000 Civic. It reminds me of the early years. Knowing we'd never buy a brand new car again, we splurged after graduating and getting our first "real" jobs. We went all over California and across the country in this baby...Camping, weekend trips, visits to friends'. So fun!

I think she is beautiful.

I had a depressing aha moment on the trip. Like the bleach blond, chain-smoking, leather-skinned 39 year-old who still wears skimpy bikinis suddenly realizing she's past her prime, I realized the Civ is also past her prime. She's got 165,000 miles! She doesn't purr like a kitten anymore. (The air-conditioner, in particular, has been screeching more like a cat in heat lately.) And she could use automotive microderm abrasion. So sad.

Anyway, the ride to Helen went as well as could be expected. We did rearrange car seats part way through so the boys wouldn't be able to "bother" each other. The result: they continued to "bother" each other, but Ryan (seated between them) caught some of the fallout.

We visited Zoo Atlanta on the way. We had a blast! And the result? Heavenly...See picture left.

So after a week of fun with Grandma and Grandpa we were dreading the drive home. Neither boy slept the entire trip. And they were wonderful! They read books, sang songs, and just played quietly. Felt a little Twilight Zone-ish. But we weren't complaining.
We rewarded them with a pit stop in Tifton, Georgia where they each got 1/3 of a Wendy's frosty. Yes, I'm cheap. :)

3 comments:

nanamoo said...

Grandmas and Grandpas work little miracles on kids so that their parents will bring them back again and again!

Judy Ryan said...

Clever title. Dad said on the way up, "Boy, that car has sure served them well." Sounded a lot like a eulogy.

Melody said...

I just loved my Civic! It was my first new car. Chris got it for me about 6 months after we married and we drove that thing like crazy! We just grew out of it...sounds like you know what I mean.