A million miles away from anything

We went to Los Angeles yesterday (Sunday) to look at a used car (a Ford Escape Hybrid), which we ended up deciding to buy. While we were in LA, of course, we did lots of other things, like shop and visit and eat out. We left the house at 9 am and got home around 8:30 pm. Five+ hours of driving, hundreds of dollars spent, almost a full tank of gas used up. This is what we have to do in order to look at a used car. Yes, there are a few used cars for sale in Ridgecrest, and in Palmdale, etc., but not very many. LA is where the big selection is. So to LA we went.

And the worst thing is that we have to go back in a day or two to pay for the car and pick it up. All of us have to go back -- there's no way around it. Rocket Boy can't drive himself, because then he'd be stuck with 2 cars to bring home (I'm imagining him driving one and guiding the other with one outstretched hand, as you can do with 2 bicycles, if you've got very good balance -- only maybe not for 150 miles). And we can't leave the kids in daycare while we do it, because they're in daycare from 11:30 to 5 -- 5.5 hours -- that would only give us a few minutes leeway. One small traffic jam would mess that up. So we've all got to go.

Compare this to buying a car near you -- drive over in the evening, look at the car, get a check from your local bank, back the next evening to pay for it. Maybe even get your own mechanic to look at it before you buy it. No sweat at all.

The drive to and from LA actually seems longer now that we are so familiar with it. It has so many stages: 395, Garlock Road, 14 to Mojave, drive through Mojave, 14 to Lancaster/Palmdale, 14 through the mountains, Santa Clarita, 14 through more mountains, 5 south, 405 west, and then whatever streets we need to take in LA. On the way back, when you get to Mojave you feel like you've been driving for years -- and you've still got an hour of driving left. Twenty more miles of 14, 20 miles of the Garlock Road, 10 miles of 395, 5 miles from the Ridgecrest exit to our house. On and on and on. By the time we get home it feels like we've driven to another country.

And then you get up the next morning and it's like, oh, here we are in Ridgecrest, pleasant little town (sort of, depending on my mood). Just a MILLION MILES AWAY FROM ANYTHING.

When we're in LA I'm always horrified by the traffic, the crowds. We went to the Northridge Mall so I could return a dress (macys.com lets you do that so you don't have to pay return shipping). I was delighted by the gigantic Macy's and wished I had time to look around, but of course I didn't, had to rush on to our next destination. But the mall was so crowded, every parking space filled, cars circling the enormous lot.

Ridgecrest has plenty of places to park, just no reason to (no stores).

I always look at what people are wearing in LA. Long dresses, for those who don't know, are fashionable this summer, but I just haven't been able to picture myself wearing one. Like yeah, I'm going to go to Albertson's in a ballgown. But here were women in Trader Joe's, wearing long dresses and looking fine. When we got home I looked at the long dresses on macys.com again, but they didn't look any better.

In Ridgecrest we wear shorts and tank tops.

I found myself thinking, on the drive back from LA, of alternatives. For instance, we could buy an airplane (sell a house or two first) and fly to LA. Or go to Las Vegas instead -- except that's 250 miles away, not 150. Or Reno -- but no, that's 350 miles. San Diego? 225 miles. Boulder? A mere 995 miles. Sigh.