Tuesday, November 23, 2010

4WD is my new best friend...

With Superman overseas, his car has been parked for almost a year.  Last month I put new brakes on it and put it back on the insurance to give it a turn on the road.  I'll be the first one to tell you that I don't really care for Superman's car.  It is a base model 2000 Ford Explorer.  I usually drive my beloved fully-loaded 1999 Suburban...leather seats, power everything, lots of room for a tall family, and cargo space that is big enough to hold everything from a new washing machine to a sheet of plywood to skis, boots, poles and coats, etc., for a family of five.  The only thing the Explorer has that the Suburban doesn't have?

4Wheel-Drive

Two years ago when we got 97 inches of snow and the plows couldn't get to our street for weeks, Superman's car could get us anywhere we needed to go.   That was the first time I ever got stuck in my Suburban.  Stuck.  I had to get pulled out of a parking space at the grocery store because ice had formed under my rear wheels.  It only happened that one time and it was happening to everyone that day...there was a guy cruising the parking lot non-stop just to pull shoppers out of their parking spaces.  After that, Superman equipped my ""rig" (that's what they call it in the Pacific Northwest) with a shovel and sand, so I can get myself unstuck if I ever need to.

Anyway, back to today.  I'm driving Superman's car because my beloved Suburban needs a new heater...the defroster doesn't work and when the temperatures are as cold as these, you need a defroster.  We had a small blizzard last night (really!) and they are expecting more snow Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The roads were crazy this morning...snow plows were slow to get to us.  I still ran my errands (and got our turkey!) with no problems.   The kids have orthodontist appts on Monday and Tuesday and I have a dentist appt on Monday.   Snow-covered hills are in our future, but I'm cool, because I'm driving Superman's car.

I still don't love it...but I've definitely decided that 4WD is my new best friend.  But my Suburban is still my BFF.

P.S.  They're predicting record cold temperatures tonight.  Since it is -3F right now (9:30 p.m.), I'd say they have a good chance.

2 comments:

Alison said...

Bbrrrr! Sometimes I think I might like 4WD. But the only time I would use it would be like the last couple of days, when we have snow. But we don't get snow that often.

Glad you have an alternative to the Suburban. Stay warm!

Anonymous said...

My BIL brought me back to reality with all this cold weather when he sent me the temps and pics of all the snow they got. I keep trying to tell him it's different there - everyone over the age of 8 has a blade on their form of transportation LOL. We're suppose to get some of the white stuff on Thursday here on the west side - considering our county sold all but two snowplows it's gonna be a long winter! Hurray for 4x4s!!

Stay safe - depending on the conditions 4WD can be like having a large vehicle on ice skates (just trust me on that one - LOL)