Aliens in the Apple

Today I did a really crazy thing…

Franci 21 Sep 2010 NYC

I think I made some angels work overtime today. I’ve just returned from a shoe shopping experience in a great big shoe store my mother-in-law recommended. The shopping experience was quite fun, but that wasn’t the crazy part. No, the method of reaching said store was the madness. I got behind the wheel of a car and I drove in New York City. And I made it home alive! Whoop!

To say that I was terrified would be putting it mildly. Which is exactly why I had to do it! Even now, half an hour after getting home, my stomach is still in a knot and my hands are shaking from all the adrenalin making its way out of my body.

(A friend from church has let us borrow her car for almost 3 months, which is a wonderful offer. There is the hassle with parking, but we’ve been pretty lucky so far with good parking spots — never more than a block from home. You have to move the car once a week too because of street cleaning. If your car is on the side of the road getting cleaned during the time specified on the street sign, you get a hefty ticket. But that’s all fine, because we have access to a car! We hope to go visit Ben’s aunt Sharon and uncle Sherwood in October and the Braunings for Thanksgiving.)

As for the driving experience, I must say it wasn’t too bad. Despite the fact that I had to drive on the wrong side of the road in a manual. I made sure I kept right! The car only stalled once in traffic, I only got honked at twice and I only had one near-crash. So I’m a happy gal. God was good and kept me safe, gave me convenient (easy) parking spots and kept Esther quiet. I don’t think I could have handled a crying baby as well!

Another item for the bucket list: Driving in New York City. Tick.

Comments (4)

Hannah 21 Sep 2010 at 9:19pm

Good on you! (And did you find any shoes?….)

Franci 22 Sep 2010 at 9:12am

Yeah…, but Ben didn’t like them, so I’ll swap them. :-) I can’t say I loved them either, because I tried to choose pretty quickly with Esther there!

Jeremy E 23 Sep 2010 at 8:06pm

Woooaaahhh, that’s impressive. I do remember my time driving in NYC, and it was a bit stressful to say the least.

PS, the Braunings don’t live that far from me, so when you’re down look me up!

Anna Miretti 17 Oct 2010 at 11:26am

I, too, find it nerve-wracking to drive in NYC. I have done it occasionally, but I do not enjoy it. I am REALLY proud of you for driving a MANUAL on the opposite side of how you normally would! Stick shift is so much more difficult than automatic; I don’t think I could do it. Go you!