I get the pleasure of blogging from the car garage this morning! Can't really complain... free coffee, free snack, & free WiFi. Between my phone and the Surface, I'm set with entertainment for the next hour or so. Seems like a perfect time to start writing some draft posts, always good to have something waiting on the back burner for the days I want to post content to my blog but just don't have the time to write!
Times have changed, and these days we no longer rent the Ford Mustang or cheap small compact. The past two trips to Florida we have rented a Dodge Caravan, and it was wonderful. I never thought I'd see the day I actually enjoyed a minivan but it was everything we needed. We could easily fit all of the luggage (including golf clubs) to & from the airport... it was wide & comfy... fit 6 adults and 1 child, no problem... it's a smooth & sturdy ride... and last but not least, it actually had a decent sound system. (As yes, when our daughter wasn't in the van we kicked up Wild 94.1 and jammed out to hip-hop, must have been pretty funny to see considering we're both in our early 30's!) Our daughter loved changing seats, there were 4 she could choose from. And everyone was fascinated with the way the middle seats folded up and moved aside in just seconds (wouldn't want to be standing in the way though)! I even didn't mind driving it when my husband was off elsewhere, it didn't feel much different than our SUV (except the rental didn't have a reversing camera, so I didn't take the risk of backing it into a parking spot - something I can do in my own city car without a camera). And unlike the old minivan my parents had in the 80's, everything is automatic, even the side doors open & close via remote and there are actually windows that go up & down in the sliding doors! (Back in the day our only option was to pop them slightly open with a latch.) I think this will be our usual rental when hitting up family in Florida, it's fun being able to travel around in one vehicle together, and the costs were not so bad either.
During the last season or so of X Factor or American Idol I kept hearing poor attempts at some song called Radioactive. After a while I grew curious and wondered what the actual song sounded like. After hearing Imagine Dragons original version I knew I wanted this on my car playlist! I went even further and gave the entire album (Night Visions) a chance. Not every song is for me, but I definitely have favorites to recommend besides Radioactive... Demons, I can play this over and over... On Top of the World, it's just fun. And even better, we get to see Imagine Dragons live this summer, because they're playing at a huge weekend long music festival and we have tickets!!!
And obviously I can't survive on one album alone when bopping back and forth, so I tossed in some John Mayer also. (Funnily enough my husband and I stumbled upon his music in the same weekend, while in different countries!) My husband basically likes one song, Speak For Me... I am yet to get this in my car but will probably get around to it this week. Me, I've been giving his Paradise Valley album a chance. There are a handful of songs I like... Dear Marie, Badge & Gun, Waitin' on the Day, & I Will Be Found... o.k., more than I realized! Needless to say, I'll be looking up more of his music. (And I don't care that my friends laughed and said they don't take him serious.)
Not so long ago, after fish tailing around a curve in my car, I decided maybe it wasn't bad to finally take the skid training course offered by my old driving school, Leeuw. The course was included in my package but at the time I didn't dare take the course, I didn't feel I had enough experience in a stick shift to willingly put myself in that situation. After getting my license I mostly drove my husbands automatic and still didn't feel ready. But now I've been in my own stick shift since the summer and like I said, I've had a couple scares and knew it was time to follow-up on the course. It was great! It was fun, it was informative, and I recommend skid / safety training to everyone! The class was a mixture of enthusiastic teenage boys and older adults out for a day of fun & learning (think I was the only in my 30's). I was shaking in the beginning, a combination of cold & nervousness/excitement but luckily that quickly went away! It started out pretty basic, braking at 30kph & 60kph to see the difference in just how far you slide before the car comes to a complete stop. When riding someones tail in traffic because you're late it's easy to forget just how long it actually takes a car to stop, it was a great reminder. (Another reason to take the course.) 
Then we moved on to braking on a wet road, you obviously slide even further, surprisingly farther. Each time the tasks grew more complicated. We worked together, 2-4 people in a car, I luckily had an 18yr old boy with me who listened well and was able to explain things to me just in case I didn't understand what they were asking of me in Dutch. I could have used my own car, but I didn't want to risk damaging it, plus it was only €15 to borrow one from the school. It took a while to get the feel of a different stick shift, but it eventually worked out. After soaking the track and letting us practice braking, we moved on to avoiding obstacles. There were two places the teacher could shoot up a wall of water and your job was to drive around the wall. It was a lot of fun, and for the most part everyone in the class did their best to avoid the wall, only on occasion did someone plow through the middle of it. It's amazing how much noise the ABS makes, not mention how bad the car shakes! And the last 45 minutes of the class was learning how to keep you car from spinning in a circle, when it skids out on a wet road. This was awesome, but only because it was on a safe track, not out on a busy road. 
The first time around the instructor took everyone out and showed off, spinning us around... then it was our turn! Obviously the point was not to spin, but everyone did. The driver controlled the wheel and pedals & the passenger controlled the hand brake. I'm sure the kid I was with would have liked me to have been better at the brake, but I did my best. We each had about 6 chances to get it right, and shockingly enough by the last time I was able to keep the car from spinning. We each earned a certificate (supposedly some insurance companies even give you discounts for this), and had a fun 3.5 hr course testing our reaction times & skills. I did have to be careful driving home though, I felt like a stunt driver ready for a movie, but then all I had to do was remind myself just how serious driving is and the dangers that always surround us. As usual I snapped some pics, but during the best stuff we were in the cars, should have thought to pull my camera out in the passenger seat when the wall of water shot up in front if us, oh well!
It's taken a lot to hold on to this post... my husband bought me a new car! My birthday was yesterday and since we picked up the car about a week and a half ago it falls into the category of b-day present (as well as anniversary & Christmas, ha-ha)! It's a typical small European city car with just the right amount of space for me, my tot, & our dog (and of course my husband if he wants to join). Since our daughter will be starting school a good distance from our house shortly after the summer we didn't really have an option but to buy a car. 
We've definitely talked about it for a while and started saving up once I passed the exam for my Dutch driving license. I haven't owned a car since I left The States 10-11 yrs ago (luckily my husband always did). And this is my first new car, it still smells new!!! One thing I had to adjust to was the stick shift, see here in Europe manual cars cost around €4,000-5,000 less than an automatic so it was obvious what we were going to buy. I haven't driven a stick shift since my driving lessons & exam, I actually never intended to do it again. 
So I was a little rusty after 1 1/2 yrs. Since owning the car, I've had my share of squealing out at lights, stalling multiple times at intersections, bumping down the road, and of course I don't accelerate fast yet so everyone drives around me. But I'll get there... I have all summer to practice before I have to start parallel parking the manual car outside of the school. We've been extremely busy since picking up the car and I haven't had a chance to really personalize it yet. I have added a kick mat to the back of the passenger seat, that way my tots dirty shoes don't destroy the seat. And I've ordered a special mat for the dog, hopefully sparing the backseat after dirty runs through the woods. Can't wait to clock some more kilometers, thanks for my car hubby!