Category: Cars and Trucks

ORANGE IS NOT A NEW BLACK – JUST ORANGE – Marilyn Armstrong

RDP# Tuesday prompt: ORANGE

We recently bought a new-er car. It is a Jeep Renegade and it is very orange. Bright orange. It’s the same color Garry’s 1969 Dodge Challenger ragtop was. He loved that car and kept it for 20 years when it stopped being even minimally reliable.

So, in a way, this is a return to the days of yore. Back to The Orange Car.

BUT MOSTLY, NOT PINK: DAY ELEVEN – Marilyn Armstrong

BUT MOSTLY, NOT PINK: DAY ELEVEN

I took pictures today. I made sure there was at least some pink in them, not counting our Renegade which is definitely, positively, and totally orange.

But this picture tickled me because not only is the car in the pink, but there’s pink if you look for it. Or, pinkish, anyway.

Also, kind of impressionistic, in a graphic and photographic way.

ROCK CHIPS, WINDSHIELDS, AND LICENSE PLATES – Marilyn Armstrong

Rock damage to windshields is so common that sooner or later, it will happen to you. If you drive, that is. Usually, the worst part — for me — is a sharp bang on the windshield. It sounds like a bullet.

Very startling.

I try to not drive behind big trucks with wide wheels. They kick up a lot of rocks and other stuff and can make a mess not only of your windshield but also your car’s finish.

Sometimes you see the damage immediately, but often, it takes a day or two to show up. After it arrives, it will creep along the window, starting as a little ping with a few rays, then inching its way up the glass until suddenly one morning, you realize you don’t have a choice. You need a new window.

The old PT Cruiser with Garry at Fenway

I don’t know about every state, but both here and in New York, the glass people come to you. They will replace your windshield in your own driveway.

The last time we needed a replacement, the people next door drove the same car as we did. Ours was silvery gray and theirs was maroon. After replacing the glass, the guy called my son and said he was done.

Owen asked him what did the car look like and he said it was a 2007 Red PT Cruiser.

“Dude,” Owen said, “I’m sure they’ll be pleased, but that’s the neighbor’s car.”

Our neighbors are not very neighborly and never said anything, though surely they recognized they had a new windshield. We got a new one too.

Moral of the story? Check the license plate number before you start the work.

Word Prompt: Rock Chips

BUYING A NEWER CAR – Marilyn Armstrong

Photography: Garry Armstrong

This is a yarn. A nice story about being able to move from an older to a newer car. It has kept us really busy for the past couple of days, too. Meanwhile, on Friday, Garry’s going to get his new gear.

Life is definitely getting in the way of art!

Side by side, old and newer.

Someone quotable (a friend’s father maybe?) said that the best second-hand car to buy would be two or three years old with about 20,000 miles on it. And by golly, that is exactly what we got.

Parlay in the lot.

To be fair, the car we were trading in wasn’t a piece of junk. Visually, it was in exactly the same shape it was when we bought it three years ago — from the same dealer. We’d only added another 12,000 miles during our three years of ownership making it a six-year-old car with fewer than 60,000 miles on it. Someone’s going to get a bargain.

During the long waits while the car was getting spiffier for us, we spend a lot of diner time.

Parts were beginning to wear out. They weren’t wearing out from hard use. Winter is rough on cars in New England. You can count a cars year as 1-1/2 for each calendar. One winter … and the rest. The Jeep was six-years-old and we still owed money on it. If I was going to owe money, I thought something a bit newer might not be a bad idea.

We needed two things from anything we buy. It has to be reliable and it needs 4-wheel drive. I was beginning to feel we needed a newer car, but it had to be priced at the same cost we were already paying. There’s no “spare money” lying around.

The new one, also a Jeep, is a Renegade in a color Jeep calls “Orange Crush.” The Renegade is a bit smaller than the Patriot, higher on its wheels. It’s also a bit “truckier” and it is from 2015. It has a mere 28,000 miles on it.

It will be big enough for we two, but not good for luggage if there are more than two people in the car.

So, with the shuffling of papers, we got a newer car. This little honey was right on target for us — price and type and even the color. It has almost white upholstery so we’ll need seat covers.

Also, there’s no CD player though there is a connection for a USB machine. I’ll have to see if it works. It even has one of the fancy rear-view cameras to help keep us from banging into things.

We have the newer car. And we got it done before winter, too.

FOWC with Fandango – Being (without Nothingness)

RDP #82 – YARN 

WHICH WAY? by Garry & Marilyn Armstrong

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge

Photo: Garry Armstrong – Just a truck in Douglas

I fully intended to take some pictures while we were coming and going from the hospital today, but I was too edgy in the morning … and too tired by the end of the day. It has been quite the day!

Windy day in the parking lot
Bridge over Chocolog Road
Photo: Garry Armstrong – Midtown in Douglas

CEE’S WHICH WAY CHALLENGE – Marilyn Armstrong

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge

I don’t have a lot of pictures, but these came out of the chip on a camera today.

Mendon – Photo: Garry Armstrong
Medical Building and ramps
Welcome to UMass Hospital
Valet Ramp
Medical School and traffic

GARRY ARMSTRONG HITS THE ROAD – CEE’S WHICH WAY PHOTO CHALLENGE

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge
Somewhere in Uxbridge
The lonely motorcyclist

Just when Marilyn thought I’d given up photography, having not picked up a camera since the great storms of March, I surprised her and took the camera with me today. It was a good road day, too.

Watch your speed!
Passing the cop shop

Before the day was over, I was in and out of five separate valley towns.

I call him “The Lawn Whisperer”
Gardener at work

Starting in Uxbridge, I went through Mendon to Milford. From Milford back through Mendon and Uxbridge to Whitinsville and the Super Walmart. From there down into Douglas, then back up and finally, home.

But I got a lot done and in the end, that feels pretty good.