is "driving" really the right word?

One thing that's fun about people coming to visit.... they learn what life is like here.  Really like. 

This is the first time my parents visited since we've become a car-owning family.  And Mom and Dad agree... the verb "to drive" doesn't really describe what really happens when you slide behind the wheel.  At least not the way that most Americans understand "to drive". 

Different parts of town, different kinds of roads, call for different driving techniques.  In some areas of the city stoplights have camera sensors that snap photos of red-light-running license plates.  In other areas of the city, weeeeellllll.... no camera sensors.
 

I consistently run the stoplight nearest our apartment.  So does everyone else.  Which means it's less a stoplight than a warning signal - approach slowly, look for cars approaching from other directions, yield to everything bigger than you :) 

Friday night we were going out to grab dinner before heading to the airport to pick up Mom and Dad.  Traffic slowed, then stopped and we quickly realized the problem.  No one was paying one lick of attention to the stoplight at this intersection. 

The camera was in the floorboard (in prep for meeting Mom and Dad) and I snapped a few photos.  For reference, you can spot the gray-colored hood of our minivan in the bottom left of the photo below.  We needed to go straight through the intersection. 

It took a few minutes to get through. 


Come over and visit.  We'll take you for a drive!