Road Trip

I'd like to introduce you to my car.

Living in Manhattan for seven years, I didn't have many occasions to drive, so there was really no need for a car. My husband had one that we kept in a lot near our apartment in case we needed it, but I didn't use it much. I lived and worked in the city, and all my friends were there, so unless we were going away for a weekend, we never really left the island of Manhattan.

But the thing is, I really, really love to drive. Ever since I got my license the day I turned 16, I have loved the feeling of getting behind the wheel, rolling down the window, cranking up the music, and driving. And I forgot how much I missed it living in NYC all those years.

When we decided to make the move to the suburbs, we soon realized there was no way we could get by with just one car. We have wildly different schedules, mine is predictable, where my husband's is not. We do different errands. During the week, we rarely are home at the same time before nine at night. In short, I needed a car of my own, and nothing could have thrilled me more.

So a few days before we moved, we shopped some dealerships, and I drove away with that beauty up there. And since moving day, she has mainly accompanied me to the train station in the morning, and on various errands after work, all local.

But today. Today was a big day. Because earlier this morning, we hit the road for our annual road trip to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving. We go to Pittsburgh many times during the year to visit my parents, but we usually fly. But on Thanksgiving, because of the combination of expensive flights and impossible airports, we always drive. And this year, my new car came with us.

For six hours, I was in the drivers seat with the window down, and the music cranked up. And it was just sublime. And we are now in Pittsburgh, waiting for my sister and her family to get here, and settling in for a long weekend filled with family, food, and fun.

They say that it's about the journey, not about the destination. But in my case, it's about both. And they are both just fabulous.