Getting into the Spirit of the Season

You know those times you're on the road and, all of a sudden, unexpectedly, traffic slows to a crawl? Then, 10 or 15 minutes later, you see the source of the slow down: a car with its hazards flashing, right in the middle of the road. Every time this has happened, I wonder (out loud even!) what were they thinking? Didn't they know that they were almost out of gas? Or, didn't they know that their car was a beater that was on the verge of complete breakdown? Who are these people that hit the road seemingly oblivious of the fact that their car is not up for the trip?!
Yesterday, we were those people. At an incredibly busy intersection in downtown San Francisco, our car stalled and wouldn't start up again. And, it didn't just stall at the light or by the curb. It stalled in the very middle of the intersection effectively blocking traffic going both ways. It was embarassing and it took a good long while for the police to arrive and some random bystanders to help us push the car out of the intersection, to the curb. Then, the tow truck. And finally, a cab ride home for Ashe and the boys while I rode with the tow truck driver. It's a good thing that Grandma and Grandpa had driven their fair share of beater automobiles over the years. Anticipating this imminent event, they had given us AAA Membership cards for Christmas just one day before. What timing! Free tow, here we come!
Our faithful Nissan Sentra has served us well and we've shared so many incredible journeys together. That Sentra has taken us to places most people wouldn't take an SUV. Really. Ask us about it sometime. We've moved boulders with it to clear forgotten fire or logging roads. We've built log bridges for our Sentra to cross otherwise impassable gulches. This car has done so much more for us than 99.9% of economy cars can even dream of doing.
Still, this event convinced us that it is about time for a new car. It seems we were the only ones who didn't know it. Even Rai saw the need for a new form of transportation. For several weeks, he's been searching for reindeer here, there, and everywhere. Anything, even a flying sleigh without a roof, must be better than this junker Mom and Dad are driving around!
But, it's Christmas and Christmas is all about shopping so we dashed out the door just before noon on this Christmas Eve and did some of that last minute Christmas shopping -- we bought a new car, a 2008 Honda CR-V EX in a great metallic green. We finally have some cargo room and we haven't seen the likes of a clean car interior like this one since 1999.
So, where a short 10 hours ago, we felt betrayed by our Nissan, unable to make the holiday trip up to the cabin, we now are ready for any snow and ice that the Sierra Nevada can throw at us. Markleeville here we come!