On Saturday we said a not-so-tearful goodbye to our old friend, the 2001 Chevy Impala.

Just a little over a year ago I wasn’t at all sure that I wanted to part with our first car–our first car as a married couple, my first car ever, and Stephen’s first nice car. (Of course he had owned a beastly dinosaur of a car–his 1988 black Astro van. After many years of trips to Greenville, SC, hauling a van load of college guys to extension every week, losing its grill and hood, etc. we “sold” the old thing to the junk yard.)

Anyway, back to the beloved Impala. We bought the snazzy silver car in January of 2007 with over 137,000 miles on it. The previous owner had cared for the car meticulously, so it was in great shape. We loved that car! Road trips were always fun and comfy, and we made a lot of good memories driving through the cornfields of Indiana, the mountains of West Virginia, the lake front in Michigan, the ocean shore in Virginia. Although we had discussed owning the car for only a couple of years before upgrading to something newer, I had visions of someday strapping my babies in the backseat and cruising around town on my errands.

However, continued car problems have a way of bringing you back to reality. Our car seemed fine as long as it lived in Indiana, but I don’t think it cared much for the Arizona climate. (Come to think of it, the car didn’t do so well in the cold eastern climate. We broke down on a trip to Chicago on President’s day weekend.) It seemed we were having car problem after car problem since we came to the desert, and I quickly became disenchanted with an unreliable car.

We posted the car on Craigslist and actually had several people make offers on it without even looking at the car! I guess they needed a car–any car–in a hurry. Finally, someone came to see the Impala this Saturday, made an offer on it, and now it’s sold. I was still sad to see it go.

Now I drive a white 2004 Buick Rendezvous we bought on Memorial Day weekend. It’s great to have all the space to haul luggage, furniture, and such! Maybe I can post a picture soon.