In DC the chance to have a car is one that must be relished. With the opportunity to have one for close to two weeks my friends and I decided all the wonderful places we would go, and the amazing things we would see.

First off: shopping day. Now it is hard for those of you with cars to image the joy of going to Ikea and Target and Costco with no agenda or time crunch. It was great to just go and take our time and look at the wonderful possibilities these stores offered, things we had missed before because our previous trips had been under the stress of our zipcar reservation counting down before we could even get orientated.

I love when friends offer to take me to Target normally. But I feel like a kid in a candy store when my comrade has already tasted everything there. There is a silent pressure not to loiter too long in the kitchen section, thinking how wonderful it would be to have a blender. No! Get your markers and your books and your other misc. items and let’s go. Same thing with the grocery store, it was unbelievably freeing to be able to wander the isles and contemplate diet coke vs. diet dr. skipper, skippy creamy peanut butter vs. the generic store brand. Are the bags of peppers really a better value then three individually chosen ones? Hmmmmm. Again, you don’t have time to ponder these questions when you’ve reserved the zipcar for exactly three hours and you have four stores to hit in that time. It’s a very strategic outing when you have a zipcar – know where things are, get in, get out, avoid traffic and never be late!

Alas, not use to the freedom of having a set of wheels, I have to admit we wore ourselves out. I should have known better than to run a marathon when I was use to the 100-yard dash.

Though, the possibility of a car did open up social events. We were no longer metro bound and therefore less inclined go to far when it’s off peak hours or the reality of a bus ride at 1am sinks in. We carted everyone we knew around, and drove to everything! Walks that were once doable, and expected, were too far and an annoyance not to be tolerated.

Having a car did reveal some things to me, it made me wonder what kind of a car person would I be? Would I be open and receptive to my friends who are car-less? Would it change where I chose to hang out? Would I be more in the ‘burbs and loose what makes DC great?

Who knows. But I must admit, parking was annoying, gas was WAY overpriced and being stuck in traffic I envied those people on the bus able to read a book and push all responsibility away.