She's gone

I did it. The Prius is gone. It now lives with the nice folks at the Rockville Carmax, at least until they sell it - which I am sure will happen pretty soon. I decided to go with Carmax because it was quick and convenient - they took care of everything with the bank and title and everything, and they bought it from me for more than I bought it for new, so I walked away with a nice fat check.

The car and I had some nice last moments together. I left work a few minutes early to make the drive up to Rockville. I had to be there by 7 p.m. because Carmax had to be able to call my credit union in Utah, which closed at 5. (I first went to Carmax on Saturday and got my quote for what they would pay for the car, but the bank was closed so I couldn't sell then.) On the way home it occurred to me that I would have just over an hour to make the highly unpredictable rush-hour drive that would include a long drive on 16th Street on the way out of town (always busy during rush hour), on the Beltway (ALWAYS busy), and on one more interstate. I'm not going to get there on time, I decided. But I went ahead and tried anyway. And the Prius and I enjoyed an unusually smooth, light-on-traffic ride all the way - sure, 16th was busy, but the lights are so well-timed on that road and even that stop-and-go was more go than stop. So we arrived in one piece, relaxed and with a half-hour to spare. Well done, Prius. Well done, Doug.

Sure, I miss my car a little. So many good memories with it - the excitement of learning all about driving this technologically awesome new car, the road trip with my bros to Santa Barbara, the four days of just me and Edison and the Prius cruising across the country with my dad in the Penske in front of me as I tried to cope with the fact that every mile was another mile between me and the rest of my family and friends. But I have to admit already feeling a certain amount of freedom. As I was driving to Carmax, I kept trying to plot out in my head what route home would be the best - and then it would occur to me that my only route home would be a traffic-free Metro ride. Walking home from the Metro past all the bumper-to-bumper parking along all the curbs, I realized I won't have to deal with that again.

Oh yeah, and that fat check!