A Lot Can Happen in 100,000 Miles

Many of you are probably familiar with that new Subaru commercial that follows a guy throughout his life as he reminisces about the 200,000 miles he’s clocked in his Subaru. Now while the commercial is admittedly a bit cheesy, seeing as I just hit 100,000 miles last week in my very own first car, I can’t help but thinking that there is a lot that commercial gets right.

Which is why I’ve decided to dedicate this blog post to my little Alero. Below I’ve included some of the more memorable mile markers we’ve passed together as I toast the first 100,000 miles and wonder if she can make 100,000 more…

A big, big, big day for the Alero!100,000 miles:  We’re on the Merritt Parkway with my husband driving. I continue to wave my iPhone in front of him until we snap this picture.

74,000 miles: The Alero pulls up to our first house. No more landlords or fighting for parking spaces! Feels great to have a place that feels like home.

62,000 miles: The Alero stays parked in my driveway as I marry my college sweetheart. She knows him well from all our rides around Ithaca!

47,000 miles: A Flash flood overtakes us in Houston. A sketchy guy in a work van has to ram her bumper to push us out of the rising water. Later, the best repairmen I’ve ever met work all night to get her back in working condition, just in time for the drive home to CT.

40,000 miles: Road trip to Panama City! The Alero embarks on its first adventure down South!

36,000 miles: I meet my future husband hours after moving into my junior year apartment. The Alero’s still warm from the trip up to school.

15,000 miles: Off to college! I love you, Cornell!

12,000 miles: The Alero pulls out of its high school parking space for the last time. Its windows are covered in messages scrawled in soap, and balloons block my rearview mirror. The music’s cranked so loud you can hear it two cars over.

4,500 miles:  Spend my first summer with a car driving to my first job as a hostess at a local restaurant. Use my newfound freedom to go out for ice cream every night I can.

300 miles:  I pass that driving test despite the beginnings of a snowstorm. I make it to school just in time to show off my newly minted license, minutes before the principal announces early dismissal because of the snow.

7 miles:  Sweet sixteen. My dad drives that little red Alero off the lot. It's by far one of the best, and most generous, gifts I've ever gotten. I’m there in the passenger seat, unable to stop squirming as I try to imagine the ride ahead.