Car salespeople and giving in to Iowa

Used car lots!  Nick's 85 toyota is officially not going to get us around the country and we've been spending much time today using Theresa's car to check out different cars for sale.   Our original plan was to spend a few thousand dollars on an older car with low mileage that would get us from town to town.  We test drove a 99, hunter green Camry, and it seemed like a good deal on the lot, but once we left and called our Dads to get their sage advice, we decided that the slightly spongy breaks were enough to let it go.


We are reevaluating a little bit, considering spending a little more and getting a more reliable, perhaps longer usable car.  We don't want to get stuck in Gallup, New Mexico like I did with my buddies Shannon and Lynn on our post-college road trip.  I really like the Toyota Matrix and Subaru wagon.  Nick's scoping Craigslist in nearby cities for noteworthy posts, and I am anxious to get on the road.  Though my horoscope today recommended not rushing into financial purchases this week!


The bigger news though is that I succumbed to Iowa today.  In order to purchase a car in Iowa, and avoid paying exorbitant Illinois 10.25% sales tax, we had to be residents of Iowa.  For this to happen, I had to register to vote in Dubuque.  And get an Iowa drivers license.  I was completely surprised by my emotional reaction to securing these paper documents.  I really was under the assumption that we could merely move our mailing address so we could receive mail through Nick's mom, and that we could maintain our drivers licenses.  I felt like I was giving away part of myself.  Apparently state governments don't like for us to be free agents, I was hoping we could be just be transients for a while, but it's not going to happen.  Until we discover where we are going to end up, we are officially residents of Iowa.


On the list for tomorrow, we continue the search for a reliable car, we think diligently about our roadtrip of discovery route, we find out where are delinquent mail is hiding, I start my new backyard dance series, and I keep working on reconciling conflicting thoughts in my brain about the future (desire to work, dance, travel, grow: how do I make it all happen?).  Baby steps.

Now, on to our not so secret pleasure:  Masterpiece Mystery and Poirot.  He makes everything right with the world.

Down by the river, the ducks go a walkin'.