I am so loving my Subaru Forrester I bought from Boerne Dodge Chrysler Jeep. She is a zippy little darling who handles wonderfully on the road, and is a dream to park! I had a little trouble getting used to her at first. Like the first time I started her and went to put her into gear I grabbed what is on her, the windshield wiper arm. I haven't driven a vehicle with the shifter on the floor in a LONG time. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn off all the windshield wipers I had turned on, but I finally got even the back windshield wipers off. Then I went to gas up. I couldn't get that darn door to the gas tank filler open no matter how many ways I pressed on it. Finally I gave up and went to visit Mr. Grinch. I told him what happened, and he said, "Look for a switch or lever inside somewhere." I went one better, and went and got the owner's manual while he was having his shower. He was right, there is a lever by the side of the driver's door I have to pull to open that door. After his shower we went outside and I pulled her under the shade in front of the building so he could see her. I can tell he's not that wild about her, but I don't care because I love her. He still has his truck to drive when he gets well enough to. But, from here on out, the little Subaru Forrester I affectionally call SweetPea, is what BB is going to be driving. I can see great out of her, and am getting used to her zippy little ways very quickly. After driving that crew cab truck I had taken to calling The Behemoth, she is a little sweet pea to drive and park.
As I was starting her up to leave the parking lot after visiting Mr. Grinch, I accidentally set of the panic alarm. I didn't even know I had a panic alarm, much less if you press the remote key longer than two seconds it goes off. All I could of think as the lights flashed, the horned honked, buzzers blared, and beepers beeped was, "Great, I'm going to get arrested for trying to steal my own car." Then I tried hitting the remote key button just to see what that would do. Thankfully that quietened things down. I once more referred to my owner's manual, learned all about the panic alarm, and how NOT to accidentally set it off in the future.
By the time I made it back home, little SweetPea and I had begun bonding. Though they did a good job of detailing her out, I used some stuff I have on the dashboard and seats that helps protect them from the sun's harmful rays. I got the front all done, then moved to the back seats. I had closed the door and was working on the side farthest away from me, working my way back. When I go back far enough I went to reopen the door. And had a bit of a bad moment when the lever refused to open that door. For a moment I was thinking, "Geez should I have named her Christine?" Then I scooted over to the other side of her, and thankfully, that door opened. I got back in on the other side, and closed the door. Thinking maybe that was some fluke or something. It was no fluke. Once more, no matter how many times I worked the door handle, the door would not open. It was back to the other side, out that door, and around to the stubborn door. It would open fine from the outside, but not the inside. I tried using the remote key to trip it to open, but that didn't seem to work. Then as I was studying the open door while sitting in her I noticed a small white lever with word "Lock" under it. I flipped the lever, closed the door, and hoped that worked. I was relieved when I pulled the door handle, and the door opened like it should.
After I got through putting a few more loving touches on her upholstery and trim, I removed some things from the truck that included my walking stick, umbrella, and tennis shoes. I kept my walking stick and a pair of tennis shoes in the truck in case when we were out driving, I wanted to stop and do a little walking or hiking. The umbrella of course is for those rainy days. I have all the items I got out of the truck neatly stored in the cargo area now. There may be moments when I'm on the road that I decide to just make a little me time, and go for a walk somewhere.
