Sun, Grass, Longing

I’m down here in Scottsdale, AZ, an icon of the West. Spring Training for major league baseball, TPC golf, sun and radiant heat. Baseball and golf – a couple of great reasons to go in search of the sun. But on the way to golf or baseball, or even breakfast, I sometimes pass by British Automotive Repair. It’s a reminder of what for the past year has been lacking on these sunny excursions – my sports car. Yes, I’m still having issues with my Aston Martin.

If you’ve been following my car issues over the last year (The Best Laid Plans, and A Reward for Patience and Research), you will know where this is coming from and be able to guess where this is going. Without getting too geeky about it, my troubles originally started last April in Cave Creek, AZ when the engine unceremoniously broke a valve spring. Not a big deal unto itself, but often an ominous indicator that something much bigger is wrong. In the end it all got sorted out at British Auto, a Scottsdale exotic car specialist. They did great work and got me on the road at an order of magnitude less than the local dealer. But that wasn’t the end.

In the interim, I went shopping for some cosmetic upgrades and repairs as well as a software/hardware issue that had coincidentally surfaced. Upon arriving home with the car last August, I ordered the aforementioned cosmetics (from Poland, no less). Once the parts arrived, I scheduled the remaining work to be accomplished by my local mechanic at Park Place Ltd in Bellevue, WA. Chasing software/hardware and electrical issues in any car can be challenging. In an exotic car they are often downright daunting.

When I dropped the car off before Christmas last December, I told the guys, “I recognize this may take some time to sort and to finish my list, so I’m in no hurry. If this takes a couple of months it’s not a problem.” They had laughed and said, “Oh no, it won’t take that long.”

Haha. I knew better. Astons always take longer and in the meantime the demands of repairing other cars also come into play. So, here we are, it’s almost April again and they still have my car. Waiting for a yaw rate sensor to hopefully fix its ills.

I’m seriously into withdrawals now. I look longingly at pictures of my car, of the places we’ve been. I imagine what it’s like to sit in the driver’s seat, smell that Bridge of Weir leather, slide my fingers across that steering wheel, grasp that solid aluminum shifter. I ever so slightly let out a sigh and a quiet whimper. I feel like a lost dog. I think of the schedule of events I’ve committed us to; I’m starting to get nervous she won’t be ready. Uurrgh!

But it’s sunny now and time to try and forget that car stuff. It helps that just before heading to Scottsdale we decide to buy a new (to us) GMC Yukon XL Denali. Loaded with every option to spoil the crap out of ourselves, we gleefully pack up our bikes, our clubs, baggage, lawn chairs, pool toys, and hiking gear and head south. Still, while driving this mega SUV I can’t help but think of driving that Aston…. Sigh, whimper… oh, slow down and get over it!

A round of golf (in the rain, no less) followed the next day by a spring training game resets my outlook. I’m grateful to be here. It’s a fast, 2 hour, 11 minute game, a 0-0 tie. Not very exciting, but fun to sit in the fourth row by the dugout and be treated to closeups of all the players. The rule changes designed to shorten game times is really working, maybe too well. Many of us have gotten used to the old tempo of pitchers and batters lollygagging between pitches. The new pace means you pretty much need to pay attention all the time. A few days later we attend another game with essentially the same outcome – about 2 hours and 10 minutes despite a 5-4 score. This will be an interesting new wrinkle to the season.

The weather is very spotty this season, as you have probably heard. Our back and forth between Scottsdale, Sedona and Palm Desert doesn’t provide an escape. Unseasonable rain and cool temperatures are all across the southwest. Still, today is fabulous in Palm Desert – anything in the 70s with some sun works for me.

So, despite all these self-made, first world challenges, we are having a good time. It’s always great to have a break from routine and spice it up with a bit of travel. And one of these days soon, I will have a car back to further amuse myself. It’s so hard to be so spoiled…. When I think of it that way, I stop complaining and think about how lucky we are to still be kickin’ and doin’. Now, where’s the next tee?