A new routine

It is interesting not having to drive anywhere.

I wake up, shower, breakfast, then it's a short 10 min walk to work.
At lunch I walk another 5-10 min to a different part of town, grab a sandwich or burrito and head back to work.
After work, walk home, cook dinner, then Allison and I walk to run errands - grocery store, or to try out one of the dozen coffee shops around us.

Weekends we've been figuring out the bus system to get to other parts of the city. 10 min to Uwajimaya market and Pioneer Square, 10 min to Fremont and this tasty organic coffee/bakery place, a 15 min walk and 30 mins on the ferry to get to Bainbridge Island and a bunch of other stuff.

However sometimes the car has a purpose

In order to get way out into the suburbs last night we rented a car - $30 for a day, well, 6 hours of running to Ikea so that Allison can put her clothes in a 'normal' dresser instead of baskets on shelves in the closet, and then way north to pick up a great deal on a bicycle.

Ever how convenient it was to use a car instead of the bus, it appears to be rare that we'll actually need it. I'm wondering now what the cost of owning a car (even one fully paid for and cheap insurance) is compared to renting, and if it is worth it.

This is a foreign idea for someone that finds the engineering that goes into certain cars as fascinating and who likes to drive. However in this city, it does work to live mostly car free.

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In other news - all this talk of the rainy season has been just that thus far - today it's sunny and in the high 50's - perfect fall day in my opinion.

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Also in other news - after trying out 3 different types of bike and finding them ill suited to my purposes, I've come full circle back to a basic Trek mountain bike. They're simple, durable, and comfortable, not to mention affordable new and exceptionally cheap used.

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Finally- the parents and grandparents are visiting this weekend - should be fun.