Last week I took a road trip, 800 miles, total. Destination: Port Townsend, WA. A trip to visit family and friends. There was a heat advisory all over the state, including a rare string of ninety-plus degree highs in western Washington.

 

Ew!

 

Ew, indeed, 9. Factoring in rest stops, it’s an 8-hour drive to get there. I did this in one day.

 

Every spring I make my Subaru travel-ready with a wellness visit to the mechanic’s, and an alignment and tire check at Les Schwab. In mid-May the Subaru was having an issue, three warning lights- -flashing Cruise Control, plus steady Check Engine and Stability lights- -illuminating the panel all at once. I looked it up online and learned this was commonly caused by one of six minor issues. One of these has to do with emission control sensors. My mechanic ran an analysis on the car’s computer, decided the gas cap was the issue, replaced that, and reset the panel.

 

At Les Schwab (they are always so nice!) the alignment was good but the wear bars on the tires were down to the treads. Four new tires later, I took the Subaru to the car wash for its semi-annual bath, cleaned the interior at home, and felt mighty pleased with myself for being such a responsible grown up.

 

Which is a huge relief because, of the three of us, you’re the one who knows how to drive.

 

You’ll get your chance, Lily.

 

Frankly, I’d rather walk.

 

You feel that way now, but when you finally get your driver’s license at sixteen and a half, after failing the written test on the first try- –

 

I find that extremely hard to believe!

 

I’ll just say, it’s amazing what nervousness can do. After you pass the written exam on your second try, you’ll fail the driving part the first time, too, by two or three points. But, after your second more successful try, with license in hand you will suddenly realize you can drive anywhere you want to. To see a play in Seattle, for instance.

 

You can take me places, too!

 

I can picture the two of you cruising Port Townsend in Old Blue, the family station wagon. Which brings me back to my story.

 

 

 

The trip over went splendidly, though every bit as hot as anticipated. Late on the day before I left, I realized the Subaru’s a/c was only working at about 20 percent. No time to fix it before I rolled, but easy to deal with in the short-term by rolling down all the windows.

 

 

When I got home I’d make an appointment to have the system checked and repaired or recharged as needed. The guys at Les Schwab had told me the rear brakes were in the red zone, so I was already planning to take it in.

 

That sounds expensive.

 

I’m trying not to think about that right now, Lily. So. . .The Subaru and I made it there. The return trip was Saturday. Friday evening I drove to Safeway to fill up the tank, at which time those three pesky lights came up on the dashboard again. I knew from the previous experience this disabled the Cruise Control.

 

 

The first half of the drive has a fair amount of winding road and stop and go traffic, so cruise control is not particularly helpful. But when I descended the east side of the Cascade Range onto the relatively flat, fast stretch of Highway 12 from Yakima to Walla Walla, and relentless triple-digit temperatures- -yeah, I really missed it. Not the least because I have a slight misalignment between my right ankle, knee and hip that causes my foot to flip off the accelerator when it gets fatigued.

 

 

This happened quite a lot the last 150 miles, at 70 mph and sometimes beyond. Two words: not fun. It was a challenge to stay hydrated, too. With both the car and myself malfunctioning it got a bit scary. When I at last reached home I burst into sobs.

 

It didn’t get so hot here in 1968.

 

That is true, 9. Extreme summer heat is now, unfortunately, the new normal.

 

The next time I make this drive is early September. The Subaru will, hopefully, be in tip-top shape. Fingers crossed that I will be, too. It’s been a practice of mine to carry a gallon of water when I have a long driving day. Though it’s likely to cool down by September, it’s still a good idea to cultivate more anti-heat hacks for extended car travel. Like packing a couple of neck coolers in the ice chest, and starting in the early morning or late evening when it’s cooler.

 

Because given the so far ineffective, uneven and highly politicized response to global warming, I’m certain the summer heat is here to stay.