wedding road trip

Day 47: Streets of San Francisco

Everyone who has owned a car in San Francisco has a scary parking story. Mine took place five years ago in North Beach, an especially hilly section of the city. I was parallel parking on a downhill slope when I “tapped” the bumper of the car in front of me. “Tapping” is common practice with San Francisco parking, which is why most people’s bumpers look like rubber Etch-A-Sketches.

So I ever-so-carefully tapped the bumper of the car in front of me, edging into the spot. In the matter of about two seconds, the vehicle shot down the hill, up onto the sidewalk and into a nearby planter. Luckily (or unluckily, perhaps?) there were no tourists on the sidewalk at that moment or they would have been as flat as road maps.

Needless to say, you can understand why I was nervous to take Roxy out for a spin on the streets of San Francisco. After all, just because she was a good highway vehicle for six weeks doesn’t guarantee that she can charge up the hills and take the hairpin corners on some of the busiest streets in California. However, having not driven in a day and a half, I was itching to get back on the road. In a strange way, Roxy has become like the family pet, requiring food, water, and a good spin around the block.

Roxy did not disappoint. I was impressed with how she held her ground on the top of Divisadero Street, which is so steep that you can see all of San Francisco in one glance before diving back down into the City (and sometimes into the car in front of you). She also earned my respect by being uncannily good at finding the perfect parking spaces. She slid into spots right in front of the gym, the grocery store, and the post office.

In short, Roxy completely failed me. Why? Because I still want to keep her. I was hoping that after taking her on a tour of the City, she’d cough, sputter, and begrudgingly chug her way around. But no. She fits in with all of the BMWs, Audis, and Priuses like she belongs here.

Maybe she does?

Tags: #forddrive, day 47 san francisco, roxy fusion, san francisco wedding road trip