Chevy Volt

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Dear Jack: One Day I Want to Drive Our Family Back Across the Florida Keys

5 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack: One Day I Want to Drive Our Family Back Across the Florida Keys

Dear Jack,

Four years ago this month, two major things happened: 1) Our family became (and has remained) vegetarians. 2)  Our family was recruited by Chevy to drive across the Florida Keys in a Chevy Volt, beginning in Naples.

At the time, you were barely a year old; so while Mommy and I had a wonderful time, you don’t remember it at all.

Now at age 5, you are the age to where I believe you would be able to truly be able to appreciate and remember such a fun trip.

We spent our first night in Naples, which might be my favorite American beach yet. That’s the first time we ever saw dolphins in the wild. We collected seashells that first morning; those shells remain in our home 4 years later.

From there, we drove through the Everglades and then to the Keys.

It was such a dreamlike experience to be literally driving in the middle of the ocean, driving on a series of bridges connecting islands off the Florida coast.

But on both sides of the narrow roads, all we saw was ocean.

And I remember how Chevy put our family up in this really cool, historic house. You would love it now!

If our family were to revisit that trip, it wouldn’t simply be better just because you’re older now. There’s also the fact I have better camera equipment, as well as the skills and ability to make more artistic photo collages and well as music-laden videos to put on YouTube… like these two:

I don’t know when we can do this trip again, but at some point, I would love to make it happen.

Our family has made two different trips to Florida this year; back in June to Pensacola, then to Destin for your birthday in November.

My inner Jimmy Buffet is starting to reveal itself; it’s only enhanced because I tend to leave Sirius XM on Channel 24: Margaritaville.

As for now, these few pictures I took from 4 years ago serve as bookmarks of that trip, as well as inspirational images for us to get back to Key West.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: One Day I Want to Drive Our Family Back Across the Florida Keys

3 Comments Posted on parenting, Storytelling

7 Reasons This Dad Wants a Chevy Volt

December 9, 2011 at 6:28 am , by 

One year.

A life motto of mine is, “The secret to having it all is believing you already do.”

I choose the simple life as much as possible, as an American. The last time I can remember truly yearning for a particular material item was probably back when I was a kid, before the Internet was practical and/or relevant; back when the phrase “cell phone” was automatically linked to “Zack Morris.”

There is so much power in not wanting. It can cause a person to truly ignore advertisements.

With that being said, I am a man who is struggling in his principles right now, because I really, really, really want a Chevy Volt… as much as I wanted a regular Nintendo in 1988.

The folks at Chevy reached out to my family recently, inviting us to go on a road trip in sunny Florida; starting in Naples, adventuring through the Everglades and the Florida Keys, and ending in Key West.

As a 30 year-old dad with a wife and a one year-old son, I represent an important and valuable demographic. By participating in a glorified test drive of the Chevy Volt, my family would illustrate the car… in real life.

So Chevy’s experiment ended up with extremely positive results, because now I share with the world the 7 reasons this dad (really!) wants a Chevy Volt:

1. For the entire 302 mile drive, I never had to fill up the gas tank. In fact, by the time the trip ended in Key West, I’m pretty sure I still had more than 3/4 of the tank left. The Volt goes about 35 miles on its electric energy before switching over to gas power, where it averages around 37 miles a gallon.

2. The car is flat-out cool. For a guy who’s not hip enough to have Internet on my  phone, you can imagine what an awesome culture shock it was to use OnStar for the first time in my life. I called them to find out directions to the nearest Starbucks (for my wife) and they instantly downloaded the directions to the car.

Not to mention, I got to experience hands-free cell phone use through the car’s speakers, XM radio, and if I wanted to, I could have watched a DVD on the Volt’s built-in GPS screen. Plus, the one I drove was black with black and red interior. It totally made me think of Knight Rider.

3. It was the perfect size for me. To be the most fuel-efficient compact car sold in the United States, it didn’t feel small. Obviously, we had my son Jack’s car seat in the back, along with all our luggage, including his Pack-N-Play crib; but we still had plenty of room left.

4. The Volt is the perfect status symbol. Driving a Volt says, “I can afford a $40,000 car (minus a $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit) but A) I spend hardly anything on gas and B) I care about the environment.

5. It drives perfectly. Imagine driving a hovering cloud but not hearing a motor.

6. The Chevy Volt is an American car. Born and raised in south Detroit… Plus, I’m pretty sure the Volt is the answer to the age-old question, “What would Jesus drive?”

7. Driving the car makes you part of an elite club of  Volt owners. It’s a Volt thing, you wouldn’t understand. Ever heard of the “Volt handshake?” (It involves one of those prank electric buzzers.)

Until the year 2015 brings us the flying car (as featured in Back to the Future, Part II) I will gladly settle for the next coolest car until then, a black and red Chevy Volt.

It actually did kind of remind me of a DeLorean and… and KITT from Knight Rider combined.