thank.... you....?

My sister, Jane, is in town for a few days for work, so since she was here, we met up with a few of her friends for dinner.  We met up in Old Town, Alexandria, and, as you know if you've ever been told Old Town, it can be hard to find a parking spot.

We drove around the block a few times and spotted one just a block from our destination.  The trouble was that it was on a one way street and the spot was on the left.  I'm already not the world's best parallel parker (though I did *almost* park in a spot that was exactly the size of my car in Chicago once).  Add to that, that the spot is on the opposite side that I'm used to.  And on a hill.  And the road was paved with cobblestones, and not brick sized ones - fist sized ones sticking out at all angles.  And it was raining and dark.  So, I had a lot of strikes against me.  Then add the last factor that I drive a stick shift.  So it was precarious to say the least.  I had to line up and gun it and then stop suddenly; those cobblestones did not make it easy.  But at last - success! I was parked nearly parallel to the street at an angle that would probably not get my car hit by another car driving down the road.

As Jane and I got out of the car, a man said, "Ah ha! I knew it was a teenage driver!"  It took me a second, but then I realized he was talking about me!  I would like to say that he was an old man with terrible eyesight, but he was probably only a few years older than we were.

So, on the one hand, it's nice to know that in the dark, I can still be mistaken for a teenager.  (I still get college student a lot, but it's been a while for teenager.)  But on the other hand, apparently I drive like a sixteen year old.  I guess you win some and you lose some.