Mile Marker

On our recent trip to Kansas City, our car reached this mile marker in its history:


Incidentally, this mile happened to be the curviest part of the drive, but Hubsy handled both the camera and the car very well.

This car and I have been through a lot together. She had 32,000 miles with a previous owner, but the last 68,000 were quite the journey for us - full of hardships, lots of quality time together, and memories.

We started our journey in Hutchinson, KS during college. I searched for the perfect 4-door car within my price range for weeks. The entire purpose of buying her was to have a reliable vehicle to get me through Medical School. Obviously, that plan has been long gone, but she was a good purchase anyways.

Our first hardship was due to a LOT of rain. One Wednesday evening, I was driving on dark, neighborhood streets and had no idea there was flooding until it was too late. The water was about 2-3 feet high and she almost drowned! After a little set-back and a visit to the doctor, she jumped right back to normal.

My little red neon and I have travelled quite a bit over the years: all over western Kansas, many trips to and from Lincoln, Hutchinson and Kansas City, and a trip to Texas. Thanks to some great gas-mileage, she is a good little traveler and we take her everywhere.

When she and I moved to Lincoln, we drove around almost everyday to grow accustomed to our new surroundings. One day, in the parking lot of Target, she and another car had a little fight and she lost. She got her first new bumper, and in no time was back to her normal self.

Since then, she has seen a lot of bumper action. This past fall she had a run in with another car because she was in such a hurry. Once again, she got a new bumper. Unfortunately that bumper had to be replace the next day due to a mishap at the body shop. Then, just this past February, she must have said something mean to the car behind us. Sure enough - we were back to get another new bumper.

Recently, she went in for a physical. It had been awhile since she had been looked at inside, and we found out she was not feeling well at all. She's feeling back to normal and driving well.

So, 4 bumpers, a few flat tires, and 100,000 miles later, the Little Red Neon That Could is still chugging along saying to herself, "I think I can. I think I can."