I am on the third day of a whole three days with my boys. The whole holiday weekend, with no plans. No work to do (aside from housework), nowhere to be (except for church on Sunday morning).
It's been really nice. I basically let them set the agenda, so we've watched our favorite movie (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) another couple of times, and had yet another time-sucking mishap on the subway on the way down to church, and have made some curtains and brownies, and talked about kombucha and checked on the (frankly terrifying) progress of the kombucha I'm making.
But. I feel kind of trapped here, with no outside space that isn't the public park. And once again I wish I had a car.
I could have rented one, I suppose, to get out of the city overnight or even for the day. But we're going to visit my brother and sister at the end of the week, and I'm renting a car for that, so twice in once week is financially excessive. (Especially since I'm still paying off the lifesaving catheter procedure for Alex the cat.)
I hear people say all the time "I'm so glad I don't have a car," but I'll never be there. I think being raised in the Midwest, where we just hopped in the car and went wherever we wanted, has spoiled me for living anyplace I'm beholden to public transportation.
I know I'm supposed to like the work trips I take that don't require renting a car, but secretly I adore having a car, even for a day or two or three and being able to control when and how I go, and where I park, and the detours I can take and what I bring with me.
And now I'm signing off, so we can pay the Cars driving game on the Wii.
Do you have Flex Car or Zip Car in NYC? It might be worth it for you so you can grab a car when you want (and probably cheaper than renting).
Posted by: Courtney Groeneveld | July 05, 2010 at 02:10 PM
We do, but it's still $15 an hour so prohibitive for more than a few hours.
Posted by: Moxie | July 05, 2010 at 02:41 PM
I've been carless seven years now, and it is starting to get to me, too. Granted, my husband has car, so we can go where we want together on the weekends, and our neighborhood has a lot of public transportation options, so I rarely feel trapped at home.
But I don't even have my French driver's license yet -- a whole saga in itself -- and I find myself dreaming of the day I can just go off to Ikea all by lonesome just for the heck of it, y'know?
Posted by: parisienne mais presque | July 05, 2010 at 04:16 PM
I absolutely agree with you about car=control. I do have a car, but the job I'm at right now is in the city so I'm taking public transit, and I hate being out of control, going by the bus schedule, and being screwed if there's a problem on the T, plus can't run errands on the way home ... ugh! I just am not a city girl.
Posted by: ccr in MA | July 05, 2010 at 05:32 PM
I'm thinking you love the speed as well as the freedom. There is legal documentation of that fact.
;)
Posted by: Julie | July 06, 2010 at 05:39 PM
We just vacationed in NY (where I grew up) and found that MetroNorth has tremendous package deals for outings, both in the area and further afield. The train tix and the destination tix are discounted, and they give you specific info about getting from the train to the destination.
Of course, NY area destinations aren't cheap....
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