Street Shot

Why is Phil photographing that car?

Because he just bought it -- with a little extra help from me.

We'd been looking for a replacement for our 1991 Isuzu Trooper, a gangly SUV that I couldn't drive safely, because when I moved the driver's seat forward enough to enable me to reach the accelerator and brake pedals, I couldn't see what was visible in the side mirror. That meant that when both of us needed cars at the same time, our 2003 VW diesel Jetta was what I drove, and Phil drove the Trooper, which is a gas guzzler.

I'd always wanted a Subaru Forester, which has all-time 4-wheel drive, is small enough to park easily, ranks high in safety features, and is versatile in terms of what you can carry in it, so when the topic of a car to replace the Trooper surfaced again recently, we decided to look for a Forester locally, on Craig's List (an online, nationwide, free classified ads listing).

Second-hand Foresters are scarce, so when a 2007 with reasonable mileage and asking price appeared on our local Craig's List a couple of days ago, we followed up on it immediately. In classic Bellingham fashion, where everyone seems interconnected in one way or another, it turned out that this car was owned by the daughter of someone I knew, so that made the negotiating much more comfortable and rewarding for both parties.

Leaving out more details than I have time to write tonight, we picked up our Forester late this afternoon, the Trooper will soon find a new home, and our garage will seem roomier with two smallish cars in it. The Forester will mainly be Phil's car, although if his destination is some distance away he'll use the fuel-efficient Jetta.

Adding to the pleasures of today was a brief visit by my son, W, who came up from Seattle for a dentist appointment this afternoon. In the space of his six-hour visit, in addition to his appointment, he enjoyed looking at our Virginia vacation photos, checking out a great beer store here, being the first of our offspring to see the new car, taking a look at what was growing in our yard (he lives in a small apartment in downtown Seattle, so just being around greenery is a treat), and nonstop conversation.