Barely Made It

So I've been calling the state of Virginia home for about 13 years now. Whether it was in the Northern Virginia area or where we now dwell in the Central Virginia area it's been home to me. That being said, I've made numerous trips from this great state back up to New York where most of my family still is. As you can imagine (or any man between the ages of 21 and 40 can imagine) this drive has become a bit of a game to me. I'm always trying to find the best route, beat my previous time or just generally push it to the limit. When this game started I was a single young man with not much to loose so it was "pedal to the metal" and caffeine at every stop (which were few and far between). I used to make what should be an eight hour drive in about five hours and forty-five minutes (which I believe still stands as a record). But now that I'm older, married, have a wonderful daughter and traded my cool yellow Xterra in for a Town and Country minivan things have clearly changed. It's no longer "pedal to the metal" and relieving myself in Gatorade bottles so I wouldn't have to stop. I've traded that for bathroom breaks and stopping for meals and feedings. As most of my family and friends know I'm not the most patient man in the world and it has taken a good amount of discipline for me to get to this point, along with my wife and her never-ending tolerance (bless her heart).

BUT, during our recent trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa S I decided to push it a bit. I was cruising along in the minivan making great time. Both Mommy and Emmelyn were fast asleep so they wouldn't know how much gas was in the tank. Stop? Who stops for gas when you can run on fumes for at least seven miles? I mean, come on! Well, it got to the point where I started to get nervous and Mommy woke up and said "Do you think we're going to make it?" I looked over and uttered the words she probably wasn't expecting to hear and said "You know, I'm really not sure this time, lets just hope we get close enough so the walk isn't that bad."

Well, we made it, and with only a few precious miles to spare. I clicked the gauge on the screen and here's what I saw:

Yep, that number is a six and what you can't read in the lower left hand corner is "DTE" or Distance to Empty. It wouldn't have been a fun walk. I believe my days of pushing the limits may be coming to an end.

Until we take our next trip of course!