Take A Drive

The other morning, as I drove to work, I paused to have a bit of a chuckle. A couple weekends ago, a friend came over to little old Vancouver for a visit. While here, I took him to all the silly little tourist places, including a walk around the Sea-Wall in the middle of January. Nothing like a good host to send someone home with a bout of pneumonia.

But I digress.

On this guy's last night here, we went to the H.R MacMillan Space Centre, which is right down at Kits Point. Afterwards, I thought it'd be nice to take a drive along the water up to Spanish Banks. You know, for some scenery, because us Canadians are big on our scenery.

So, I said to this fellow, "Want to drive for awhile?"

To say he physically recoiled from the idea would be an understatement. Not only that, but he said, rather adamantly, "NO!"

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out why he didn't want to take a drive with me. To be honest, my driving skills aren't that bad. Sure, I speed a little and it might not be reassuring when I ask someone who hasn't been in the country since he was ten how to get somewhere, but it wasn't like we were lost.

Also, I'm not a very intimidating person, despite how people always tell me I am. Even if he watched a lot of gangster movies, I doubted whether he thought we were going to go for a 'drive' so I could 'whack' him and drop his body into the ocean to 'sleep with the fishes'. Still, he seemed pretty certain he didn't want to go.

Unsure of how to respond, I said, "Well, then what do you want to do? Go back to the hotel?"

For some reason, it dawned on us that there had been a miscommunication. Oddly enough, he thought I was asking if he wanted to drive my car. To which I laughed, because, as easy going as I am, I didn't want to die. We'd already previously discussed how he didn't know how to drive, so I found it rather humorous that he thought I would actually let him get behind the wheel of my car.

Needless to say, I mocked him for it. I mean, I couldn't very well not.

Once we got the cultural barrier out of the way, he is from England after all, we took our drive. Well, I took my drive and he accompanied me.Realistically, he didn't have a choice. What was he going to do? Walk back to the hotel? He didn't even know where he was in relation to it. Oh, the power. I'm surprised it didn't go to my head.

Driving is one of the most relaxing things for me. Every morning, as I head to work, I feel at ease. Although, I do have to battle turning the car around and driving in the complete opposite direction. I have grand dreams about just getting in my truck and hitting the road, no real destination, nothing holding me back. And, as much as I enjoy solo trips, I always imagine a great co-pilot with me on these adventures. One who would commandeer the music and provide witty banter with me. One who will go anywhere my little heart desires.

I wouldn't even mind doing all the driving.

I think what I most enjoy about driving, especially at night, is that it feels so freeing. The moments I spend in the cab of my truck are restraint free. It's almost like a home away from home. I don't have to answer to anyone or talk and I can listen to my music as loud as I want. I don't have a lot of people who will just up and go for a drive with me, which is okay because, like I said, I am comfortable with rolling solo.

Still, it's always nice to share the scenery with someone else.