Learning to Drive
I’ve driven a stick (or for those non-Americans, a ‘manual’ car) just twice in my life. First time was with my brother when I was 16… might have even been 15 and we had gotten this crappy, old, rusty looking, red Ford Escort. It was a stick and he said he could teach me how to drive it, “It’s not that hard. I’ll teach ya in five minutes.” Well… all that happened in that next 5 minutes was that I drove onto the highway just in front of a huge semi truck and almost killed us. Half a mile down the road my brother said, “Get out, I’m driving. You need a different car.” hahaha Oooooo K. Second time was a couple years ago when I was sitting at resturant with my friend Richie and challenged me to drive his car home… it was a stick, and driving in Houston could be a little intimidating. If you know me, you know that I am always up for a challenge… I will say that I tried to back out at one point but Richie wouldn’t let me. Oh no. So he drove my car and I drove his the whole 4 blocks and 1 stop light home. I probably only killed it 6 times. 
So when Christie and I were planning our trip, I asked her if she had ever driven a stick… she said she had… sorta. Ok… well so had I… sorta. There wasn’t an option that I could remember on the rental reservation so I wasn’t sure what the expect. We got to the rental place and I asked the rental guy if it was an automatic… he said, “I’m not sure… is it a problem if it isn’t?” Nahhhhh. No problem… I just might need a little lesson. And guess what happened? I got a 10 minute driving lesson in the parking garage. Went from parked to first to stop. Reverse….. and stop. Goooooo forward. Ok, got it. And by the grace of God, the car rental guy let us go. I think he was a little nervous too really…. gave me his cell number just in case we should need any instructions on the way! The scariest part of our trip really was that drive out of the parking garage. Up into the daylight and into the world of signs I can’t read, traffic rules I don’t know, one way street and tons and tons of crazy drivers!! Eeks!! On the drive from the rental place to the apartment I think we encountered every single obstacle there could be… pedestrians, scooters, one-way streets… even a ladder crossed the street at one point. That drive was a bit nerve-racking. But we did make it home in one piece. So this is where the journey begins……
A ridiculous looking car….. at least people could see us coming!!
A couple of drivers who maybe weren’t so sure about themselves…..
And a good time… about to be had by all…..
…more to come…..
