We had a station wagon that was blue. And it was old. I really wish I had a picture. We may have brought it from Utah. One day my parents said that we lived 5 hours away from Grandma and Grandpa's house in Daly City, California (a San Francisco suburb). I remember thinking that sounded terribly, horribly, no-fun long. And yet at the same time, pretty cool that we could just get in the car and drive there.
One of the times we drove to Daly City, Sam and I sat in the "way back." That's what we called the very back of the car next to the back windshield. It had a seat that could fold out, and that seat faced backward.
There are two things I remember about riding that way to Daly City.
First, Sam made up this game where we would count all the cars we passed. We were playing this in Pleasanton, where there were four lanes of traffic going the same way we were. So we really had to be diligent. And then he threw in a new challenge...we had to subtract for any cars that passed us! We were hopping. But I don't think we played that game extensively, because it really was mentally exhausting.
Second, somehow, the back window of the car had broken, so it we had no window back there. So Sam and I hooked ourselves up with all kinds of blankets, and we made sure we had our coats, so that we could keep warm on the drive. I'm not going to lie, it was freezing, and that part of it was just not fun at all. At all at all. But I also remember that we had a good time, anyway. Sam has always been someone I enjoy talking to. He is very easy to have a conversation with, and he is creative and fun. So in spite of the freezing cold toes, etc, it is a good memory for me.
