Thursday, June 19, 2008

A Day to Play

I took the afternoon off today with the intention of finding a new car. I visited the Honda and Toyota dealerships that are just down the street from the office and fell in love 3 times. The only problem is that all 3 of the vehicles are on backorder. For several months. It seems I am not the only one who is looking to find a more fuel-efficient method of transportation. Who would have suspected?

I am intending to venture into the world of hybrids with my next car, but none were available to test drive. The Honda folks had one, but it had just sold and was off limits except for viewing from the outside. The Toyota folks were sold out of hybrids, too. I had to satisfy myself with sitting in the non-hybrid counterparts to get an idea of what is available.

Except that I did get to sit in an honest-to-God Prius, but it was a used car and with the mileage I put on cars, I prefer to start from new and wear them out myself. It was the one that whispered sweet nothings in my ear. I have a strong feeling that I will be ordering one for myself in the near future. The salesman estimated it would take 6-9 months for delivery. Sort of like having a baby. This was a new experience. Usually I go looking and come home committed to take delivery in 2 or 3 days.

Even with getting a thorough visit with two very nice salespeople, I was done with my afternoon shopping plans in under two hours. No way was I going to go back to work, so I started a slow ramble back home. I decided to stop in Elgin and pick up a new history book that was just released by the Elgin Historical Association. It turned out that 4 more years worth of the Elgin Courier were available on cd, so I picked those up as well. The book is a collection of memories written by a multitude of people who grew up in Elgin and I've already read several enjoyable stories about Camp Swift, growing up in the Depression and various childhood experiences. The newspaper cds are always a lot of fun, since I generally find references to some of my Mobley kin in the personals columns from Oak Hill, McDade and Pleasant Grove that appear in every issue.

I ended my day of play with a stop at Fairview Cemetery to take a volunteer photo for Find a Grave before heading home. When I entered the house, I was hit with the wonderful smell of a roast I had left in the slow cooker this morning. No having to think about what to do about supper tonight.

Sometimes you just have to take a day off. It's good for the soul.

LSW

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it true that if you stick your hand out the window of a Prius at highway speed that the car will turn? Ha!

LSW said...

Hey, they aren't that small. I initially was aghast at the idea of a Prius after 3 SUVs and a pickup in my past, but they really are roomy inside and sporty outside. And 44-48 mpg. Verrrry interesting when you have a 100 mile round trip everyday.

Anonymous said...

I get 15 mpg......