Teen Driving: Navigating the Permit Requirements

I wrote this when our son was 15 years, 7 months old. That means he was old enough to get his learner's permit so that he can practice driving while I practice patience. And praying. I'm sure I'll do a lot of praying while he's driving. I got my learner's permit 29 years ago and I only remember how excited I was. I don't remember the process, but I don't think it was this difficult.

We live in California (which might be part of the problem), and Drivers Education is not part of the high school curriculum. I took Drivers Ed one summer and passed all of my tests with flying colors (not surprising, I was a car lover back then, too). Now kids and parents have to find an online Drivers Ed course, complete all of the lessons, pass the test, and get an official certificate to take to the DMV to take another test to get the permit. Are you as confused as I am?

Car Mama Cooks: Easy Homemade Applesauce

The weather is finally changing from hot summer to cooler autumn. Yesterday the searing hot sun drove our temperatures up to 90 degrees, today it's overcast, drizzly and the high temp will likely be around 66. I love it. Time to cook, bake, and drink hot drinks! We recently picked a ton of fresh apples, but because of the hot weather I didn't want to bake the apple cake I'm craving, so I made applesauce instead. (Two weeks later and I'm still craving a warm, gooey slice of apple cake.) 

West Coast Summer Road Trip

We're going on a road trip this summer. Two kids, two parents, and a car full of shtuff. We're driving from Marin County, California to Pt. Townsend, Washington. It'll be great. It'll be fun. I'm sure I'll lose my mind by the time we hit the Oregon border.

A house full of family and friends awaits us in Pt. Townsend. We'll have a family reunion as well as visit the free-flowing Elwha River to celebrate my late Uncle Russ and the work he did to get the two dams on the Elwha River removed. I wish he could join us. We'll drink good wine, eat fresh salmon, and laugh in his honor.

I've already made one sanity-saving decision: The dog will NOT be going with us. He's going to Grandma's house here in California. More fun for him, less dog hair and panting for me.

We're still ironing out a few details about route, stops, and number of days to drive the 830 miles. Listed below are some of the things we know we must do on our trip north.

Must Do List:
*  Visit Voodoo Donuts in Portland, OR
*  Find a good wine store before arriving in Pt. Townsend, WA (must come prepared)
*  Fish, fish, fish (the activity of fishing and the consumption of fish)
*  Explore every nook and cranny of Fort Worden State Park in Pt. Townsend
*  Remain in good spirits as much as possible

Hmmm. It appears that I need to start planning in earnest.

Please help! Here is our route map; what are some other Must Dos for us? 

Relevant Info: Our kids are 14 and 10 years old and are accustomed to staying in the car for 3-6 hours at a time. We all like good food (no Happy Meals here) and comfy beds. We can take two or three days to drive from here to there.

Our trip home will take a detour to Lake Almanor in California, and we'd like to mix up the drive a bit through Oregon. Here is the return route map that I like today. What do you think?

Our time at Lake Almanor will involve fishing, swimming, reading, eating, and drinking. I doubt I'll have any desire to get in the car and explore after so many hours of driving, but if my family does, where should they explore in Northeastern California?

Thank you, friends. I'm so overwhelmed by packing for this road trip. I think I'll grab a pint of ice cream, a good book, and go hide in my closet until we leave. (But I'll read all comments and suggestions via my phone in the dark.)

(c) Copyright 2010-2016. Erika JN Fish. Car Mama. All Rights Reserved.

2014 Toyota Highlander Limited: Home Run for Families

Photo: Toyota

Toyota hit a home run with the new 2014 Highlander. This family-friendly SUV has everything a family on-the-go requires, plus a few extras that we don't need, but we sure do appreciate.  This Highlander is quiet, powerful, and roomy with interior materials that please the hand and the eye.

Time. It Just Takes Time

I came back to my blog last week with the intention of writing daily, and posting three or four times per week. Well...I guess I didn't solidify my goals very well. I realize now just how easy it is to let the housework, the kids, the dog, and the research take over. I allowed all those other things to take over for a year. I thought I'd conquered my issues with completing tasks and posts, but my 11 draft posts tell a different story.

Tips for Your Next Walt Disney World Vacation

(c)Car Mama

In my opinion, February was too warm in California. I'm not in the mood to ski, or make hot chocolate, or bake cookies. I'm in the mood for shorts and enjoying umbrella drinks by the pool. Our pool at home is about 37 degrees Fahrenheit so I'll skip that one and wait until April to dip my toes in the pools at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. 

2013 Kia Sorento EX: A Good SUV

I drove a 2013 Kia Sorento for a week, logging 165 miles of combined town and highway driving. I found the Sorento to be a capable family vehicle with a third row that could deploy for emergency car pool situations. The interior was nice, the ride was comfortable, and the kids weren't embarrassed by the Sorento. For some reason, however, the 12-year old is embarrassed by me no matter what I drive, wear, or say. I have a feeling it has everything to do with me.

Kia Optima Hybrid: Quietly Turning Heads

(c) Hyundai Motor Co

I had fun driving a 2013 Kia Optima Premium for a day. I had even more fun driving a Kia Optima Hybrid Premium for a week. My challenge was to empty the gas tank, but I couldn't do it. I drove around town, I went shopping in various towns, I went to Sonoma and sipped wine, but I didn't drain the tank, and therefore my gasoline costs for the week were low. Looks like I flunked my assignment, but the Optima Hybrid seems to have done well on it's assignment.

2013 Kia Optima SX Pemium: Sporty Fun for Every One

2013 Kia Optima
(c) Hyundai Motor Co.

Up until recently, I would rarely gave a Kia a second look. But when the redesigned Kia Optima came out for 2011, I started to pay attention. I think a lot of us did. This 3rd generation Optima projects a strong, sporty attitude and seems to have a lot of features for substantially less $ than you'd pay for a new luxury sedan. I held off driving an Optima until the 2013 models hit the dealer. You shouldn't wait too long -- the 2012 and 2013 models are in demand. I hope you'll be as pleasantly surprised as we were.

Audi A3 Overnight

A cute little Audi A3 spent the night in our garage last week and the whole family was smitten. As posted in my earlier review, it is an adorable car that's fun to drive. My 8-year old daughter loved the overall size and the backseat legroom and window height (it was low enough). Now that she's out of a booster seat, some backseats are so low she has a hard time seeing the world as it rushes past.

Gratitude & Patience

We all know that volunteering is a good thing: giving our time and skills helps others when they need it; it feeds our souls; it gives us purpose. I like to volunteer at my kids' schools and with my local mom's club to show support and to help out when needed. I haven't yet gone outside my immediate community.  Volunteering feels good and is a good lesson for my kids, but I never expected to meet the people I've met in the past year. I had no idea that volunteering at a book fair, having a true friend, and two people with cancer would lead me to living a life with more gratitude and patience.

Annoying Features: Who Thought of That?

Every now and then I'll run across some feature of a car that really throws me. Why did the designers do that? What's that for? Who thought of that? Here are a few that are on my mind today. If you have some, please share in the comments.

2012 Honda Odyssey: A friend just bought a new Honda Odyssey and she's thrown by the way the radio displays the time and the station: It displays the current time, the radio band, and to the far right the station number. For example, "3:45 AM       680." It annoys her and gets confusing. Maybe if she didn't listen to AM stations...

Sienna cupholders

2011 Toyota Sienna: (This one comes from a friend who is a new Sienna owner.) Where are you supposed to put your iPhone/iPod once you plug it into the auxiliary port and/or charger? On the floor where you can't see it? Or in a cup holder (where you want to put your coffee cup)? Maybe get a little suction cup thing to attach to the cheapy plastic dash?

2011 Chevrolet Malibu: I had this as a rental car and it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to get the gas tank door open to fill up the tank. I would have just skipped this step if the gas at the rental place didn't cost $8/gallon. There wasn't a release lever or button in the car. There wasn't a finger hold on the gas tank door. How in the world was I supposed to know that you press on the door and it pops open? I even looked for the book in the glove compartment, but it wasn't there. A little sticker on the gas tank door would have been helpful. Especially for a rental car.

2001-2009 Lexus RX300: Cup holders. The cup holders in the older RX were ridiculously short and would only keep a kid-sized drink upright through any braking or turns. Super annoying. 



(c) Copyright 2010-2016. Erika JN Fish. Car Mama. All Rights Reserved.

2012 Prius v: Trust Me, It's "vee," As In "Wagon"

The new Prius v is the wagon alternative to the original Prius hatchback, and it's a very good alternative if you need the space a wagon offers. It's also a Prius with great city and highway mileage and the quirky alien-hand shifter.

Dear Santa, Car Mama's 2011 Gift Guide

This year I decided to cut out the middle woman and send my Christmas list straight to Santa. He's got an army of elves to help him pull this off. (I just have a stinky dog who hates riding in my car, and kids who are too busy with homework to be my helpers.) Ho-Ho-Ho!


December 13, 2011

Dear Santa, 

For my brother who desperately needs a new car, I'm asking that you send him a new Ford Escape. It's eco-friendly, has 4WD, and is perfect for fishing trips, commuting to work, and chauffeuring those 2 beautiful girls. It's time for a new ride: his Jetta windows are held up with duct tape. 

For all the skiers I know and love, please deliver some warm and perfectly performing Patagonia gear. And a Subaru Outback with snow tires. My go-to Patagonia gear includes Capilene 3 tops and bottoms for cold days (with Cap 2 for warm days); down sweaters for kids and adults; coats and pants that keep everyone dry and warm; and Better Sweaters for the whole family for after-ski time. Big bonus: When pieces are outgrown or wear out, anyone can send them back to Patagonia who will recycle them through their Common Threads Initiative. (We have yet to wear anything out, so get a color they'll like for at least the next 10 years.)

For my Dad who loves music but prefers silence, please drop off a Sonos system (with 3 zones) by his chair in the living room. This way he can listen to what he wants, when he wants (and Mom can find NPR in the mornings with no static). Please add on Spotify so he can listen to great Motown, Blues and Jazz that he hasn't heard in decades.

For my Mom who loves NPR, classical music, and spends a lot of time in her car, please install SiriusXM satellite radio in her Subaru Forrester. It'll be perfect for those long trips from Iowa to New Mexico. No more books on tape when they're in the middle of nowhere.

For my Mom, the teacher, please deliver 50 iPads loaded with the Khan Academy app and a few stylus "pens" so a few of her students can practice Math and get immediate help and feedback when she's not available.

For my practical father-in-law, please send a new Subaru Outback this year. I know he loves our old one that he fixed up, but the newer version has more headroom for his 6-foot frame. Plus a new Outback doesn't have those goofy automatic attached-to-the-door seat belts that he gets tangled in.

For my mother-in-law who needs to relax after directing choir all day, please put together a rest-and-relaxation package that includes: an Breville electric tea kettle, a collection of Mighty Leaf tea, a subscription to Yoga Download, and a Rolling Hills Day Spa massage gift certificate. Anyone who deals with kids and adults singing all day needs some quiet downtime in downward facing dog followed by hot tea. 

Kayla Rose Dehnert

And for my kids and husband and all of our friends, who I love and who have everything they need, please let them know that we're donating money to the Curing Kayla Rose fund via PayPal and St. Judes Hospital.  Kayla and her family need our support so they can focus on healing little Kayla and bringing her home from St. Jude cancer-free. And please see to it that Kayla and her little brother find some sweet gifts under their trees this year.

Happy Holidays! I hope you all enjoy a peaceful, healthy and relaxing December!

(c) Copyright 2010-2016. Erika JN Fish. Car Mama. All Rights Reserved.

Q & A with Car Mama: Three Rows of Luxury

Car Mama answers your questions! A reader recently sent this: 

Infiniti QX56

Q. Dear Car Mama: I live on Long Island with my three kids, husband, and our nanny. My husband and I both work full-time and like to fill our weekends with adventure, as well as soccer games and trips to the park. I would like a luxury SUV with All Wheel Drive (or 4 Wheel Drive) that has captains chairs in the 2nd row and an easy-to-access 3rd row. My husband already has a GMC Denali, so I don't want another one of those. And I really don't want a minivan. Suggestions?

2012 Ford Explorer - 225,000 Miles or Bust

Before 2011, Ford Explorers were never high on my list of vehicles with exciting design, so when I heard about the re-design, I didn't give it much thought since the last re-design wasn't what it said it was. But then I saw it. Finally an Explorer that's up-to-date, not too round, and not to square. But would it perform up to the standards that Explorer owners expect? Could it bring buyers from other brands? 

2012 Audi A3 TDI: Cute, Comfortable & Beyond Competent

The new Audi A3 TDI Premium is a great option for anyone who wants a competent wagon with a turbo diesel engine. The diesel gets you great mileage, some eco street cred, and a few talking points at dinner parties, PTA meetings and lacrosse practices. Add the soundbite "My Audi's B5 approved," and you may get an invitation to see the local biodiesel factory.  But hurry -- more and more people are now driving the 2010 Green Car of the Year.

2011 Nissan Quest: Big & Modern

The Nissan Quest has a new look for 2011, and like the previous design, it isn't going to appeal to every one. I'm OK with that because the Quest drives like a much smaller vehicle, is incredibly smooth, and the technology inside overshadows the odd external styling. The 2011 Quest has creature comforts just right for an active family (including more dedicated storage space), and the drive is comfortable and enjoyable.