Traveling with me you find what never tires.
– Walt Whitman, “Song of the Open Road”
Our 2005 Subaru Legacy wagon crossed the 200,000 mile threshold yesterday morning on my way home from the post office, the most miles we have ever put on a car. That averages out to 20,000 mile a year and I can believe it. That is over two-thirds the distance from the earth to the moon! Our car is a war horse if ever there was one.
Purchased in early January 2005 when we drove it off the dealership lot in suburban northern Virginia, it is our fourth consecutive Subaru since we bought the first one - our first new car - in 1978. Now, over ten years later, it is still a smooth and enjoyable drive. And like all the Subarus that preceded it, it has been extremely reliable and durable after numerous fully loaded trips to and from Florida and Maine, as well as the shorter road trip to hither and yon. And the old girl still gets incredibly good mileage.
Most of the miles are the routine daily local trips. Driving in and around the Washington, DC metropolitan area takes a heavy toll on any car. The streets are rough and full of potholes. Add to these conditions the cold and damp winters and the hot and steamy humid summers which also exact their heavy toll. The war horse goes where we point it and brings us back again.
We crossed the 100,000 mile mark in Florida in March 2010, and now we are in Maine and another summer during which we will rack up several thousands of miles of back road driving. We take good care of her and she treats us well in return as we continue to explore the edges of America. I’ll never tire of the old gal.
I wonder where we will be when we reach 300,000?
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