Friday, July 11, 2008

Call me CRAZY

One of the things I have loved about living in the city is not having to rely on a car. I love being able to get places by fairly reliable, though sometimes inept, public transportation. While carrying the kids up and down the subway stairs is not ideal, it has been a great way to get around. We haven't been severely impacted by the high gas prices. We're helping the environment. We don't have to put kids in and out of car seats. We haven't had to deal with parking a car.

So, what did we do this last week? In what has been called, "the most spontaneous things I have ever done, " by Monica who knows how indecisive I can be, we bought ourselves a 2003 Town and Country Minivan. CRAZY, I KNOW!

Last week, 2 days before our trip to Martha's Vineyard, I visited Monica out on Long Island, at her beautiful new home, who mentioned a van they were selling for some friends and asked if I knew anyone interested? I thought about it and saidI would ask around. She proceeded to tell me what is was going for, and I couldn't believe it. I started thinking about the possibility of owning a car in the city. It was something we had considered for further down the line. It all seemed to make sense to me. We have been renting cars pretty regularly. We have wanted it more now that we have two kids. We feel we received a great deal and it justified the purchase now as opposed to later. So, after a day and a half of craziness we were able to insure, register, and drive home our new minivan. We were even able to drive it on our trip!

So, I have begun the parking game. I am attempting to park in on the street since garages near us cost $450 a month. So, I have to move it at least 2x a week and up to 4 depending on how I play the game. We'll see how it goes! We have already received a ticket. It was a "welcome to New York with a car" present. I case you were wonderning, we are still planning on using public transport as our primary mode of transportation!
Boyd has never owned a car until now. I am sure he probably would have hoped for a better first car than a minivan. :)

8 comments:

Justin Call said...

I don't think I could handle having a car in a city like New York. Trying to find street parking here in Honolulu is near maddening for me and it must be much more difficult there. That's pretty sweet that you got a minivan, or Mormon Assault Vehicle as we used to call them in Utah. At least there will be plenty of room when you go on trips, right?

Unknown said...

That is awesome, and the fact that Boyd's first car ever is a minivan that pretty much tops it. congrats on the new purchase and good luck with driving it in that crazy city you live in. Do you have to move it around because of parking laws? Yeah for new cars!

Ryan said...

You are so brave to do that. I love how you guys are thriving as a family in Manhattan I look forward to seeing a picture of it.

Tisha said...

wow! I love that story- totally spontaneous! I remember the 2 months we had a car in the city and I played the "move the car for street sweeping" game. I used to hang out in the McDonalds parking lot in Harlem for an hour drinking my diet coke and reading then re-park on the opposite side of the street- it wasn't too bad- I just made it apart of the day! now it will be that much easier for an family roadtrip to N.C.! I love the camping post...looks like you guys had so much fun! I bet gavin loved it! He is looking extremely handsome and sooo grown-up! love you miss you guys!

Monica Rich said...

The happiest thing for me to hear while living in the city was turning on NPR when I first got out of bed on days when they would announce "Alternate side parking is suspended today". Adam would sometimes hear it before I was awake and would wake me up just to tell me -- so he could witness my joyous reaction. Oh, the planning that goes into parking in the city. My days were made or broken by the spot I would get. All trips were weighed against the chore of having to re-park.

The best thing I discovered was this site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/scrintro.shtml I still have it bookmarked. Hurray for random Jewish, Muslim, and Christian holidays!

I don't think I will ever take my new driveway for granted.

Monica Rich said...

I forgot to add my favorite comments by Abigail were the days when she would ask, "How far is the car? Should I bring a sweater or is it close?"

Anonymous said...

Hey Emily, how's it going? I found your blog through Justin's. That's nuts that you guys bought a car. I remember when me and my mom tried to drive in New York, that was crazy. Should be nice for all your adventures though.

breckster said...

I think this just proves how much you do like the city. When I feel like it makes more sense to have a car I'm probably going to just move. :)