I have some silly fears. One of those silly fears is driving in the city. Heck, driving anything but in the country and/or towns! My sister asked us to come for New Years Day since we had to miss out on Christmas dinner with my family. My sister, however, lives in the city. She lives in Esquimalt/Victoria. A city 2 hours away. Meaning I’d have to drive through at least one other city just to get to the city in which she lives.

*Gulp*

Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem, since usually, my husband would be here and HE would drive. However, since Graydon (dh) has been gone 8 out of 12 months this year, and our life has been anything but usual this year, it’s either I drive, or we simply don’t go.

Finally, I decided that enough is enough, I’m just going to get over myself, and make that drive! So I did! And guess what? We quite obviously survived.

In fact, we not only survived, we ENJOYED it!

The drive was lovely, the weather was wonderful, and since it was New Years Day, and a Sunday, it was the PERFECT day for someone like me, with silly fears, to drive to a city 2 hours away! The roads were clear, there wasn’t much traffic, and we were not rushed at all.

I actually LOVE driving. In my ‘angst’ about other drivers though (some are pretty crazy around here, most likely, everywhere) I forget just how MUCH I love driving.

After we spent some time with my sister, her husband, and my other sister’s two children (and a girlfriend) who were also visiting, we started to head back home. Then we drove by the Gorge. Suddenly, I turned the car around, and went right back to the Gorge.

The Gorge is a place I’ve always thought was very pretty. When my husband and I first met, he was in the Navy in Esquimalt. We had driven by the Gorge MANY times and since moving to the Island 12 years ago, I had always planned to stop by there some time with the kids, but just never seemed to get around to it any time we were in the area.

I wasn’t going to put it off any longer. I turned the car around and found a parking spot. We got out and walked along the boardwalk and snapped some photos of the view, and the wildlife.

Then on our way home, we made two more stops at viewing areas along the Malahat and gazed, and snapped some more photos.

I realized again how much I love driving. Not just for driving’s sake, but for the places driving can take me. When not in too much of a hurry, there’s just so much to see, so much to do.

So much Life to Live Right, Now!