Thursday, October 11, 2012

Car-razy day

Kiel's car broke down and had to go into the shop for repairs. Poor baby had to bike to work yesterday and today. So my car is now the sole transportation for me and both my boys - and getting everyone to work and back when needed is a bit tricky!

My calendar is filled with pick up boy x, drop off boy y! Rochester is not transportation friendly. Buses don't run this far west of the city, and even if you can get to a place where they run, you have to go miles out of your way to get to the right place. Even then connections don't match up, leaving you standing for hours waiting for the next bus to appear.

Taxis are pricey and mostly don't come this far west either. No doubt about it. The Northeast is simply not commuter friendly. I loved living in places like Champaign Urbana where the buses went all the right places at all the convenient times (of course, it was faster to walk and I often did - get exercise, but most things were all within a 5 mile radius). Big cities offer good transport, if sometimes through less than desirable neighborhoods.

One of the reasons I moved closer to work was so that if I were really stuck for a ride, I could actually consider walking in an extreme emergency. It's only 3 miles. Hopefully it does not come to that, but I think I better start looking around for a newer car. I had tremendous help finding Baby. Hope I can connect with as good a vehicle as Baby has been. She is beginning to show her age - burns oil and is in need of brakes again, so knowing that I am the back up plan for others, guess I better do some planning.

I've looked at solar powered and electric cars, but there does not seem to be a good option yet on that front. If you have suggestions or ideas, let me know. Won't be making a switch any time too soon, but if the right deal came along, I could be persuaded!

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