Got my car back and then some...

So I got the Touareg back last Thursday. And we almost got a used Passat for Rachel. But we didn't. I'll spare you the ups and downs we went through. It wasn't much fun. But we ultimately ended up going back to Vallejo Volkswagen in the Jetta on Friday. We took a trip down Bad Memory Lane (that's Tubbs Lane where Rachel got rear ended) on the way.

And we drove home in Rachel's new '08 Bunny.

Ain't it cute? Not sure if it's a boy bunny or a girl bunny. But I'm sure Rachel will figure it out. I don't know if you knew this about her, but she was in 4-H and got a blue ribbon or something for being able to determine the sex of rabbits. I am not kidding, this is true.

Anyway, front wheel drive, anti-slip traction, anti-lock brakes, lots of airbags, and safety cage construction will keep her safe. And the 2.5L 5 cyllinder engine will get her up the hills and still get good gas mileage. And once we hit 1,000 miles, she can start using the Tip-tronic transmission and hill assist on her commute.
On Saturday, we took a family drive down to Healdsburg to to return my loaner car. Did I mention it was a Malibu Classic? The same car I first learned to drive on, only that one was a '74 and had a big old 350 V8 and this one was an '06 or something and had...well, it had a convenient cup holder.

We had lunch at this great little diner called "Fitch Mountain Eddie's." Great food and service. And while there, in the Verizon EV network, I downloaded Robert Frost's The Road Less Travelled as part of my super-secret plan.

These Touaregs are supposed to be the bomb off road. And I was a little skeptical. It just feels too nice inside. And it is too fast on the street to be any good off road.

But I've been wanting to try it. I took a sudden and sharp left to a "shortcut" on Ida Clayton Road and pulled over. Rachel said, "Ah, honey, you don't want to go this way. It's a dirt road most of the way." But I did. And I'm glad we did. I read the poem to my family and off we went.

It was beautiful. I mean, it's not the sort of thing I'd want to do all the time. But it is a nice alternative to all of the jerks on the mountain through the twisty bits. There were waterfalls and some absolutely stunning views. And I think we saw Bigfoot, Laurie.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.

There's a nice long patch of dirt road with some switchbacks and I was amazed at how well it handled. The braking assist was a dream, and it didn't slide an inch over 8 miles or so. I love it. I thought the Trooper handled that road fine, but the Touareg is flipping amazing. It was also really smooth - didn't bother Rachel's back at all. But the best part is probably when I got back to pavement and put my foot in it to get back on highway 29. It's like my old Mustang, my Trooper, and my parent's Lincoln Continental all rolled in to one.

And I love dirty Pirelli's!
I was also thinking about getting new vanity plates. Seems odd to keep COMMTEK since the company is no more. And I haven't gotten around to doing the paper work for CommTech V. 2.0. And I was looking at those nifty "Kids" plates they have in California. You know, withe the nifty little icons like stars and crosses and hands and such. I came up with this...


...but I don't think it will fly.