231,000 miles

The grey van turned 231,000 miles in early November.

I am clearly late to this party, and I missed the milestone by 947 miles.  I wonder by how much I'll miss 232K?

Who was driving?  Luca?  Olivia?  I'm guessing Olivia, I get the sense she uses the van more than Luca does.  Maybe she was on her way to volunteer at St. Margaret's House or the hospital?

Maybe she was driving home for our Thanksgiving snow?

It's been a wildly snowy fall into winter.  We got absolutely dumped on, easily over a foot:

Both the grey van and the CRV are wintering outside, getting buried over and over again.  I like digging them out.

I also am very grateful that both vans and the GLI have winter tires, and the CRV has Goodyear's Assurance WeatherReady all-season tire with the three-peak mountain snowflake.  While the Goodyears are not as good as a dedicated winter tire, they get the job done with the CRV's AWD.  All good.

64,000 miles

 The CRV turned 64,000 miles in early November:

I haven't been in that vehicle for some time.  I presume Madeline was on her way somewhere, bopping along to her music, and enjoying the freedom of independently getting to where she needed to be.

42,000 miles

 The GLI turned 42,000 miles today!

Allison and I had gone to Chicago for her company's Christmas party.  It was a great little overnight adventure, filled with good food, interesting people, and a tiny little European-style hotel room.

We were heading home in time to pick up Enzo from school.  We were caught behind a passing semi, just west of the Tire Rack, when the milestone arrived.

It was a surprisingly warm, wet, drizzly December day.  It was in the high 40s, the abundance of snow we've received had mostly melted from the median, and the VW just hummed along, happily putting on the miles.

Speaking of the weather, I've spent a lot of time this winter driving the VW with the roof open.  Even when it's in the single digits, the seat heaters keep me warm, the wind deflector does a good job of keeping the cabin warm enough, and with the HVAC set at 78, I get to enjoy a taste of fresh air while driving Enzo to school or myself to work.  It's been great.

I really, really, really enjoy driving.  It's such a gift that I get to do something I like so much almost every day.  This lifelong love of the automobile and driving, I never tire of it.  I'm happy in a vehicle, operating it, making it a comfortable temperature, savoring all the little nuances that make each one unique.

I know I've commented on this before, but the GLI is a delight at interstate speeds.  It has a surplus of power in sixth gear, and rolling into the throttle results in a respectable torque surge.  It moves with more urgency in fifth, but honestly, with the APR tune, there's more than enough power in sixth for most situations.  It's a lovely machine, and I love driving it.

41,000 miles

 The GLI turned 41,000 on Sunday, November 16!

It wass a gorgeous fall night, clear and cold, and Enzo and I were heading back from Chicago.  It had been a pretty long day, it was jet black dark, and Enzo was reclined in the passenger seat, sleeping peacefully.  

Every time I drive the car, I'm continually impressed by just how fundamentally good of a car it is.  Powerful, comfortable, efficient, and good at just gliding down the road.  On the winter tires, there is such a surplus of power that I don't really use much more than one third of the throttle.  I've been paying attention to boost usage, and find myself using about 50% of the total boost the car can produce.

The real question is, why were only Enzo and I in Chicago?  Well, we took a day trip to visit my new nephmews:

Enzo was in ecstasy and being able to play with the tiny creatures.  The kittens are so young that they still have spiky kitten fur - truly babies.  You don't get a sense of it when Enzo is holding them, but they weigh about 2 pounds each, and are smaller than my hand:

Kittens are so small for such a short period of time.  It's easy to forget when most of their lives, they're living in their full-sized bodies:

98,000 miles

 The blue van turned 98,000 miles in October.

While I'm not 100% sure, I think it happened when I was in Panama.  Allison, Madeline, and Enzo went to visit Indiana University as part of Madeline's evaluation process.  If I had to guess, I think they rolled 98,000 miles on the way down south.  Uneventful, competent, and good at putting miles in the mirror, the van was built for this.

97,000 miles

 The van turned 97,000 miles sometime in late August.  I have no idea when, where, or who was driving.

39,000 miles

Allison rolled 39,000 miles in the Boxster on the way to Chicago!

She was on her way to take care of Pia, Faris' cat.  Faris was out of town for the weekend, and Pia was approaching the end of her life, so Allison volunteered to go spend some time with her.  

We ended up having a magical date including a delightful dinner at Gibson's Italia, including a lovely walk through the city:

Allison is really the kindest, most thoughtful, wonderful person I know.  She took really good care of Pia, helping bring peace and comfort to Pia's final days.