Congresswoman Chloe Lobster Treehorn is her name

Last night the car we ordered a little over a month came in and we were able to go and pick it up. Even though I tried to speed up the process by getting a pre-approved loan from our local Credit Union and faxing info over to the dealership earlier in the day it still took us about two hours to complete paperwork. I know this process can be easier on buyers because it was when we purchased Sophie the Mini Cooper 13 years ago. So, really, come on Subaru. You can do better.

Manuals are getting harder to come by - I do not understand this, the fun in driving is in actually having to drive the car, isn't it? - which is why we ended up ordering our car. She's a gutless wonder but my driving has mellowed since the arrival of the kid so this doesn't bother me in the least.

It seemed fitting that we go on a mini road trip today to help break her in since all we had time to do last night was drive her home from the dealership. Our destination of choice was the beach, which turned out to be an excellent decision because it was beautiful at the coast today. It was warmer than expected, the sun was shining, and we had two sets of folks we were able to swing by and visit.

Congresswoman Chloe Lobster Treehorn (yes, that is her name and, yes, Hen helped with the Lobster Treehorn bit of it) handled well. We motored nearly 200 miles stopping in Rockaway to visit Cousin Mia and the gang, in Garibaldi to visit Safranit Molly and her crew, and went home on Tillamook's Highway 6.

I cannot say I love this car the way I love Sophie. It feels like our choice to drive it means we are becoming more responsible and pedestrian and, well, somewhat boring. Drive anywhere in Portland and you're bound to pass a gazillion (true stat, for reals) motorists driving the same dang car. I imagine the nicest thing you can say about it is that it is dependable. And, for now, that is just fine. A dependable car that might not turn heads but will get us reliably from point A to point B with little to no fuss. The upside, of course, is the all-wheel drive. The price is right. The interest rate is fantastic. And the extra room means Hen is no longer scrunched in the backseat, more friends can join us for adventures, and the new boot holds about three times as much as the old one. Of course, there are pictures…

at the dealership

100 miles and counting

lunch at Cow Belle Café

has Dum Dums, will travel

afternoon in the sun

cousin Mia

photographic evidence of where we parked the car

Sophie and Congresswoman Chloe Lobster Treehorn

Future job prospect #473: Superhero rock star

Superhero rock star from Christie Glynn on Vimeo.

A note on Washington drivers

Washington drivers suck.* Apparently these folks don't have the same rules regarding fast lane usage as everyone else in the United States of America. Inevitably, when you reach a long line o' cars in the fast lane while traveling on I-5 (north or south) and the cars aren't moving as fast as you would expect given that they are driving in the fast lane (read: far left lane), it is because a Washington driver is at the front of the line poking along at 65 mph. This in and of itself isn't the worst part. There are times we all hop to the fast lane, forget ourselves, and accidentally allow our speed to decrease. What makes the Washington driver reach such a high level of suckitude is that he refuses to get over when you come up behind him and he has an opening in the slower moving lane to his right. No. The Washington driver continues to poke along oblivious to the line of cars forming behind him.

*I write this knowing full well that some day this blog may be discovered by someone reviewing applications for admittance into the Bar and that I may have to answer for my comments regarding Washington drivers in front of a review board.

An inconvenient back seat

Well, the new car seat has been installed. And I have realized how much the new car seat is going to suck. Gone are the days when we could quickly pull Henry out of the back with one tug. Here's the new method of extraction:

1. Open driver's side door.
2. Flip up seat.
3. Climb in back seat.
4. Unbuckle Henry from car seat.
5. Pick Henry up.
6. Hold Henry while climbing out of back seat of car. (This is more challenging than it sounds.)

It might be time for Darr to step up his shopping for a second car.

You want me to pay what?!

In my quest to do some traveling before I head back to school in the fall, I've been considering lots of options: Ireland, Washington D.C., Canada (we are almost out of Cheezies), and Mexico. Alas, the thought of a 14+ hour international flight overseas with infant scares the bejesus out of me. What do you do when hour eight rolls around and said infant goes nuts? Jumping out of the plane might seem like the way to go but I don't think anyone on the plane would actually let you open that door. Canada is great but I've been to Vancouver B.C. so many times it would feel like I was cheating. So I buy a book (Fodor's Washington D.C. 2008) and start researching a trip back east. I've never been to D.C. and there would be lots to see. But holy Christ, the costs of hotels are prohibitive. The folks at Fodor's must have much higher traveling budgets than me because they recommend The Four Seasons, by all rights a fine hotel - I hope to stay at their hotel in the Maldives when Darr and I celebrate our 10-year anniversary, only I can't spend $970 a night for a room. I scroll through the book looking for less extravagant hotels with a price range that is more to my liking - that's a no to the Fairmont, no to Hotel George, no to Hotel Monaco, no to the Ritz-Carlton, and no to Swann House. Which brings me to the Marriott. Wait, Courtyard Marriott - read: cheaper than the real Marriott - and I'm thinking that I'll finally get a reasonable quote. Wrong. The Courtyard Marriott is charging upwards of $360 per night and that is at the hotel closest to the airport. (Note to travelers: It is always enjoyable to vacation at airports. <insert sarcasm here>) For that price, I'd rather stay here. Google Maps estimates it would be just over 1100 miles and approximately 17 hours to drive there. Sounds doable to me.

Potential future motoring options

I'm already thinking ahead to the day when Henry needs/wants/expects us to buy a vehicle of sorts for him. And for whatever reason I've been imagining him wanting various motorcycles. (I wanted one when I was learning to drive but the idea of a girl on a bike didn't sit well with my parents, who later let my younger brother purchase a motorcycle. <grumble, grumble>)

Anyway...

If he's a short, little man with a Napoleon complex, he'll probably want to cruise around on one of these crotch rockets.
If he has aspirations to join Hell's Angels - hopefully the non-criminal element of the club - he'll request a hog.
But lil' Henry should prepare himself because his parents will probably end up buying him something like this:
That's right. A load-bearing steel chassis with welded structural supports, single cylinder, four-stroke catalytic Hi-PER4 (I don't know what this means but it sounds impressive, eh?), cam head single shaft-SOHC (2 valves), with a price that is beyond reasonable (approx. $3,199). Yes, all that and a top speed of 39 mph and 70-80 mpg.

Ride on, lil' man, ride on.

ETD May 2008

Last week we put a deposit down to get on the waiting list for the Mini Clubman. Here are a few pics of the car. Check out all of that room.