We Have A Car!

Hi everyone!

This just in -- we have a new (used) car!
I have always admired and aspired to the car-free lifestyle and we were rocking it for a while there (in a way) but now we officially have bought our first car together as a family. Behold:

1990 Toyota Camry DX Station Wagon

Let me just give you a rundown on my car history while I'm at it...

My first car was a used Saab that my mom bought for Kathy and I when we were 18 (?) and it got us through most of college and then got adopted by our little bro. I don't think it's still alive anymore...

After college, I was car-free for my life in L.A. and got around through the public transportation system and my bicycle. It was grand. Then when Dash and I got together and learned that we were expecting a baby, we assumed we'd need a car and so leased a Toyota Prius which took us to Oregon, many a long trip, and finally got returned to the dealer when I just couldn't stand the monthly payments in May 2011. Never lease a car.

We were car-free that whole summer and into autumn, until a friend of ours, whom Dash does work for, lent us the use of one of his car from November 2011 through April 2013. A 1993 Toyota Tercel. Such a generous gesture~! It came to us just in time to drive us to Portland for the one ultrasound we did with William, and served us well all the way into this great weather.

So there we were, just embarking on another car-free stint, when early Saturday morning, Dash said that a post on Craigslist had caught his eye and he showed me the 1990 station wagon for sale for just under $1K. The price was right, the build was right and we were pretty much sold even before we went to check it out.

And it's exactly what we need~! A four-door hatchback that will fit the two kids + dog for any family outings beyond Corvallis (I'm thinking Springfield for skating, Portland for flights). But besides that, our two-bike/two-trailer existence should serve us very well in general. As I mentioned in this post, we have a trailer for each kid now and the weather is very suitable for biking around. Just today we went to a birthday party in the park across town, Avery Park. It was a glorious ride~

Anyway! That's all for now~
I'm still going to stick to my goal of being car-free 4 out of the 7 days of the week. And though I haven't been reporting back here about that New Years Resolution, I assure you driving (or being driven around) has been minimal -- hurray!

Well, I hope you are all enjoying the weekend so far and good luck with your own Car!