Parking Paradise

Today we had our monthly payday bowling outing for work. On the way to the alley, I stopped by my apartment to scarf down a salad so I wasn't tempted to eat bowling alley food.

As I headed back to my car I noticed my parking job and actually said to myself, "Wow! I parked really close to that car!"

In reality I was about a foot or more behind it, which is more than generous in my opinion. But it struck me then how my perception on acceptable distances between bumpers had changed.

I am the Queen of Parallel Parking - and not self proclaimed either. It has often been noted how I will/can fit a car into any spot. And I'll do it without damaging any vehicles. In D.C., you just have to be willing to do a little bumping if necessary, and know you will be bumped just as often. That's because the number of cars needing parked FAR outweigh the number of parking spots. Consequently, drivers squeeze themselves in as tightly as a can of packed sardines.

In Wyoming, I have all the parking space in the world! Actual inches, sometimes feet, between cars! I could park a semi in some of the spaces I've seen.

So, when I saw how (relatively) close I had parked my car to someone else's I was surprised. I still park close from time to time, but I usually correct myself when I do. I gave a guilty look around to see if the owner of the other vehicle was watching to see who the rude parker was...

And while I'm on the subject of parking...I'd like to note how nine times out of 10 there is parking directly in front of my apartment any day, any time. I have never, ever, ever had to drive around my neighborhood in circles for 15, 20, 30, 50 minutes looking for parking. Ever.

Now, I may miss a lot of things about D.C., but this is about on the bottom of that list.

It's like a parking paradise!