Plains, Trains, and Automobiles

Last week was our winter break, and we didn't have classes (so no teaching), and we decided to take advantage of our time off. I have been trying to do a blog post once a week, usually on Sunday, but last week I was unable to post because I was traveling across the plains to visit friends in Lethbridge.  There have been several exciting developments in the past two weeks. First, we got our new car! We have never owned a new car before, and can hardly believe how much cars have improved in the last decade and a half. So far we absolutely love it.

Happy new Toyota owner

The very first thing we did after getting the new car was to take a road trip across the prairies to visit friends in Alberta. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive across the flattest land I have ever seen. The scenery was quite different from what we see driving on the West Coast, but I was pleasantly surprised that it has its own beauty, and is interesting in a different way. You can see so far, that it is possible to see an entire train from engine to caboose. I had never really thought of this before, but I somehow found it captivating, and kept trying to take pictures out the car window to capture it. I felt sort of like a three-year-old, pointing out every train to Jeff as we drove. I would have needed a panoramic camera lens to get a whole train, but I was able to get a couple of pictures of most of a train.

My view from the car window

We had a lovely visit with our friends, and returned on Tuesday night. Then on Thursday, I had my driving evaluation to determine whether I would be allowed to drive on my own. I was really nervous leading up to the test, more nervous than I thought I would be. Part of my nervousness was that I had been practicing driving in our old Passat, but had decided to take the driving exam in the new Prius. The Prius is easier to drive, but I was less familiar with it. I was still making some mistakes when driving, and was worried that I might not pass the test. On Thursday afternoon I went for my evaluation, and the evaluator was very nice. We drove around downtown for about 20 min., and at the end the evaluator went over the mistakes I had made. I got marked down for failing to look over my shoulder nine times, and a few of their mistakes. Looking quickly over my shoulder (as one would usually do when making turns or lane changes) is the one situation where I have problems with my double vision, and a little bit of trouble with vertigo. Despite what sounded to me like a huge number of demerits, I passed the exam! I am now legally allowed to drive all by myself wherever I want. We immediately went out for ice cream to celebrate, as we do.

Chocolate hazelnut ice cream with fudge brownie on top, and an unrestricted drivers license

Ready to take the driver's seat

 I have only driven alone once so far – to go pick up contact lenses from my eye doctor. Not too glamorous, but still exciting. It was the first time Jeff had been home by himself since we moved here. An exciting milestone in my recovery!