Just a little motoring

It's a beautiful fall day here in the foothills.  I always wondered why there is both a foothills region and a Piedmont region in North Carolina, since Piedmont is French for foothills, I think.  You see & hear "foothills" everywhere - on the news, names of businesses and so on.  Secretly (or not so secretly), even though they say we're in the foothills, I'm pretty sure we're in the Piedmont.  There are actual mountains to the south, west & north of us (I know they're there, I can see them out the kitchen window), and we're in an area that is anything but flat, but is not in the mountains, which spells Piedmont to me. 

I got off topic before I even got on topic.  Maybe it's the pre-topic.  Think of it as pre-boarding, or pre-ordering, or all those other "pre" things they tell you you're doing before you actually are, hoping you never stop to think that it is impossible to do something before you actually do it.  It's a marketing thing to try to make you think you're special, take my word for it.  OK, that's off topic discussion number 2.  Enough!!!

The real topic:  I went for a ride today in the little red mustang.  I shifted gears with abandon, flew up and down hills (only going airborne a couple of times) careened on two wheels around curves on these narrow, twisty, country Piedmont roads which frequently co-exist within sight (or hearing) of I-40. I laughed maniacally & rudely pointed at all those drivers plodding along on staid, old I-40, driving from here to there in relative safety, speed, comfort & respectability. How boring!  Leaves are starting to change, the air is clear & crisp, the mountains are beautiful and it was good to get out and about & careen around curves.

Hmmm.  So I wrote almost twice as much about things I didn't mean to write about than the thing I did mean to write about.  Interesting.

Check out my bad ride!

A few years ago I was riding down I-97 in Maryland just zooming past Millersville, when I was passed by someone driving a Ford Taurus station wagon.  And that got me thinking. 

Frequently there is a story behind how people end up with the vehicles they have. Many times it isnt as cut and dry as just going somewhere and buying one.  Lots of times for whatever reason, people just end up with whatever it is they're driving.  And I have to belive this person just ended up with a Ford Taurus station wagon.

No one as a child says that when they grow up they want to own a Ford Taurus station wagon.  That is no one's dream.  It is hard to believe that someone walked into a car lot, stood there with their hands on their hips, looked the car up and down and said, "Man, that is one fine automobile".  What would someone have to go through in their life that would get them to the point that a Ford Taurus station wagon would be their dream car?  I have a hard time believing that it is anybody's dream car.   I think it just happens.  I think it is the type of car that someone just ends up with.

We're in the process of buying a new car.  Not sure what it will end up being, but it will not be a Ford Taurus station wagon, or hopefully, it's equivalent.  That's what got me thinking about this.

Just a scene downtown

During the warm months (roughly April to October - not that the other months are that cold, comparatively), Myra's sponsors a "Drive-in" on Friday nights, down in Valdese, and people bring their antique and classic cars. I think the rule is that they have to be operational and driven there under their own steam. These cars are immaculate. On a few of those Friday nights, the town shuts down main street, and the show is a little larger than usual. Also, coinciding with this is Music, usually in the Wachovia Bank parking lot. It's kind of fun.

This picture is a scene a while back, from one of those evenings when main street was shut down. I'm facing east, the Wachovia parking lot is to the right & people are beginning to gather for the music.

I really liked the cars.