This summer, there was a 10 day period where I drove well over 1400 miles. Wild hair? Maybe….LOL!
This trip was for work! We headed to Las Vegas for the CHA Trade Show, then back home to Hesperia, CA. Then a couple days later, I left for Phoenix to meet with several clients, stayed in PHX for 30 hours, and then drove right back home to Hesperia, CA. The next day, I drove down through San Diego to do a tie dye demo, drop off goodies at the Charity Wings Art Center and visit Cool Scrapbook Stuff in Poway's new location. Whew!!
Last summer the kids and I took a road trip from CA to Dallas, Texas and then down to Austin, TX and San Antonio, TX and back across to CA. That trip was about 5000 miles. Here are some pics from that trip:
Oh yeah, that trip was really about me teaching classes :) LOL
Texas was full of oxymorons…like a burger and shake place called “Health Camp” and their own version of “Beverly Hills”. Nice try, Texas, nice try! LOL
I think I need to embrace that we are becoming the “family of the summer road trip”. But this car situation I am in has got to change.
I used to totally love my car. But the back gate rattles and a few years of the seat padding getting smooshed, well, those seats left my bum wanting for alot more. And at some point I could not turn up my Pandroa radio loud enough to cover the squeak of that back door as I bounced along Interstate 10. Why is that road so bumpy?!
A few years back, my mom and dad called me one night from a KIA Dealership. They wanted me to bring my car, which was on its last leg, so they could trade it in for a KIA Optima. No one in our family had owned a KIA before this. They would give me their “newer than mine” car in exchange as they took advantage of an awesome trade-in deal the dealership was offering. That was 6 years ago. Since then, we've gone through several cars but my mom still has her KIA Optima. I have to tell you, that KIA Optima is pretty sweet and it makes me and the hubs seriously consider a KIA as our next family car. My mom came over today to pick up my daughter in it and it still looks and runs like new.
The seating is super plush. I mean it is STILL super plush! After all these years! And the ride is so smooth – I love borrowing my mom's KIA Optima! And, as I was bumping along in the California desert in the middle of the night on my way home from Phoenix, I longed for those comfy seats. I kept thinking, “I have to borrow my mom's car next time I go on one of these long trips”. I am not one who likes to stop to get out and stretch. I want to get THERE and then get home. Besides, there are not alot of places in the desert I really want to get out of the car … the car is supposed to be our sanctuary in the desert heat! My not wanting to stop is even worse for the hubs. His knees hit the dashboard of my car and he is so uncomfortable. Guess what? His legs have plenty of room in the KIA Optima…and my car is an SUV!? I don't know how that works but his face kind of lit up when we start talking “KIA” after this last trip…
Besides the comfort and the ride, the gas mileage is amazing as well. I mean, taking a trip to Phoenix is already a long drive in one day but add 120 degree weather to it, and well, my maxed out A/C was sucking gas like air! I recently checked out the KIA website after having a conversation with my mom about her car – it has stood the test of time, performs great in the snow, takes the steep inclines of the Cajon Pass on her daily commute, and runs like a well-air conditioned champ in the heat of summer. I am sold! Next summer I want to take a road trip in a new car, in a new KIA! I don't know if we will go for the Optima or one of the SUVs. I am loving the Optima Hybrid though … best of all worlds!
This photo is a screenshot from the KIA website – you can choose the colors of each car model and interior colors to see what it looks like from all angles. I am liking this Aurora Black color! I think the windmills in the background are apropros seeing as BOTH of my summer road trips took us through the Palm Springs windmills! Watch for pics of our road trip in our new ride next Summer…or maybe as soon as this Fall!
Thanks for stopping by!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
