Driving Mr. Blake

Well, it's been about a year since I've driven a car, but I still remember how. But this week, Blake was kind enough to teach me how to drive a stick shift. My mom taught me about ten years ago, but I never put it into practice. So yesterday, we took off and spent about 15 minutes practicing starting and getting into second gear. Then, I drove a little bit up the mountain to show Blake the place where we do health lessons and I practiced going up hills and reversing.

Then the real fun began. It was noon, when schools get out and when everyone leaves work to go home for a two hour lunch break. Blake had me wading through a herd of children, getting cut off and passed, going around round-points and through stoplights, and parallel parking in front of the post office. It was an intense experience, but now that I've done that, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything.

The funny thing is when I told my neighbor that I was learning how to drive, I think she assumed that I had never driven. So when we came back after an hour, it must have been shocking to her. What can I say? I learn quickly!