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.