I Miss My Rav 4...

But I must say I am loving my new wheels!!! All of the pictures below are taken from the internet. It was dark when I decided to write this so I did not take pictures of my own.

Today's drive was pretty long and boring. There were a few great "cloud" moments that were fun to look at. Also had an assorment of weather. So I decided to focus on what I love about the "car" :) So here is my favorite things list:

The feel of the steering wheel. It is very comfortable to handle. Can't wait to see if it keeps it's climate control in the summer heat.

I absolutely love the headlights. Having driven in the dark a lot lately it was one of the first things I noticed... Everything was more clear and visable things at night with these headlights. Major night vision improvement. It was so much easier driving at night this trip.

The gas mileage: It is suppose to average about 50 mpg highway but I am still waiting to see that Right now I am averaging about 35 mpg. What I have noticed is that I started with a full tank of gas when I left the dealership on Saturday night. I filled up in Nampa Idaho Monday night. Today I drove about 4.5 hours and only used 1/2 take of gas. So tomorrow I will head to Fallon NV and not fill up until I get back to Winnemucca. So this is looking like a 2 fill up trip. Comparing to the Rav 4... This trip will cost me about 80 in gas whereas the Rav 4 would have been about $200. I am so excited about this.

I love the Volkswagen Information System. It tells me how far I have until I need to fill up next, what my avg mpg is while driving, trip distance, avg mph... My favorite is the miles till next fill up. And when the gas light comes on I should have about 100 miles left before I need to fill up. Not that I plan on letting it ever get that low :)

Sirius Satallite Radio!!! - Love this feature. Driving hours on end and always having clear reception. This has quickly turned into a must feature for me.

The audio quality is fabulous. I am not missing my old stereo at all. The system uses three speakers on each side in front, and two in each door in back, comprising 10 speakers total.

6 disc CD/MP3 player. Haven't tried this out yet, but so need to prep those disks. Driving and singing at the top of your lungs is a must for long road trips.

I love how spacious the cargo area is. One of the things that I wanted to make sure is if I bought a large item that it would fit into the car. The center section folds down so I can fit my skis in the car. I am thinking more of the flat IKEA boxes :)

I also really love how the center seats fold down. They are so easy to do. With my Rav 4 I had to pull the seats out. That was cumbersom in itself. But now it is so easy and simple.

The sunroof and shade is so fun. It opens all the way up to the back seat so it can be enjoyed by all.

The seats are made of faux leather. They are very comfortabe. They are also heated front seats. I look forward to tring out this feature in another month or so.

So here is a "stock" picture of my new wheels. I know am the proud owner of the Volkswagen Jetta Sportswagon TDI.

Nice Surprise

I checked into my hotel tonight and headed up to my room. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Nampa, Idaho. The room was gorgeous. The first thing I noticed was a dark hall to my left and the room to the right. I walked into the room and it was very spacious and comfortable. It had a 42" Flat Screen.

And then both beds had robes packaged nicely on each bed. This is the first room that they had these little luzury items to use. So I used mine tonight :)

I know it is hard to tell from this pixture but the bathroom is sooooo big. It has a deep and spacious tub with a shower in it. Then there is a second walk in shower. I have not been in a room bofore with two different showers. And the towels are bath sheets.

Then this is what was down the hallway to the left. Here is my family room with another 42" flat screen TV. This stay is big enough to have several friends over for a party :)

I have a small kitchenette area with bottled water and mints at both desks. Then the hotel was having Pizza night. Home baked cookies and drinks. I wished I was staying here for more than one night. But sadly I have a long drive in front of me tomorrow. I usually stay at Holiday Inns when I travel. This one by far tops them all.

Mountain Home

Today I was in Mountain Home, Idaho. It is home to an Air Force Base. We almost moved here when I was a teenager. My dad was a recruiter for the Air Force but we ended up moving to Utah. I was driving to my new store opening today and passed a park with this aircraft in it. I had not seen these here before and have driven past this park 4 times since May. Talk about having blinders on. This is a pretty big thing to miss. This was donated to the Mothers of the Military. A perfect picture to showcase Mountain Home.

Walking With Dinosaurs

In addition to seeing the Oregon Coast we were fortunate enough to see the Redwoods as well. We picked a couple of different hikes/walks through this amazing forest. You felt so small among the tallness of the trees. There were many ferns growing and the whole scenic hike just reminded me of what it must have been like with the dinosaurs.