The Crazy North: Auf Wiedersehen, Edelweiss

She was an integral part of our family for over 12 years: Edelweiss (aka Edel, aka our 1996 Nissan Sentra) is no longer with us. We sold her to a family in our ward for their children to drive around in and are certain she will be cared for there. This was not an easy decision to make for us for sentimental reasons, but we felt it was time considering we usually had three vehicles parked at our place with only one driver at home during the day (I usually commute on my bike or on the bus). So this blog post is a dedication to Edel and all the memories she was associated with.

Edelweiss came into Julie's family when her father bought her from the Ventura, California mission. Mission cars, although frequently driven, are well maintained and in good shape so Julie's dad likes to pick up cars from them. Julie ended up with Edel after her parents drove to UT in her for a visit and they decided she would be a better choice over her original car (a Ford Country Squire station wagon with fake wood paneling and the works) for her student teaching assignment. After getting married, we then officially inherited her and she has been a family member since then.

As a way to honor her memory we sat in her as a family one last time and reminisced about a few of the memories (some big, some small) we have with her. Here are some of the highlights of our memorial service:

Julie and I had our first date in her - it was Wendy's, in the parking lot of Kiwanis Park in Provo, after finishing our shift at the MTC.
Our first kiss was in her (two months after the previous entry).
Julie and I had our first road trip together in her (to California) before we were married.
Our entire road-trip honeymoon was in Edel and she needed to be repaired in Cupertino, CA and Richland, WA (not high points of the honeymoon).
After picking me up from field school at BYU, Julie dropped her credit card into the door cavity while we were sitting in El Azteca's drive-thru. She had to pay for her order with my card and later I had to take the entire door apart to access her card.
Bringing Chloe and Tati home from the hospital (it was a beautiful spring day in UT for Chloe's first ride and a blood-freezing winter day in Edmonton for Tati's)
Chloe's first campout was in Edel. We drove up the Alpine Loop and camped with Stephan, Marnie and Larry.
While Julie was teaching, she carpooled every day with a group of other teachers to Sandy (a very packed car). One carpooler was an old man who pooped his pants one day. Julie discovered this after dropping him off and noticing an obvious stain on the back of his pants. When she got to her school she borrowed some cleaning supplies from the janitor to clean the mess and stink out of the back seat. She never told Leonard anything about it. How could she? Poor guy.
She has been through six moves in three cities and two countries.
Julie would like to take credit for teaching me to be a good driver in this car (still a work in progress). Now I actually check my blind spot before changing lanes and don't draft just inches behind the car in front of us on the highway.
I taught Julie about "overdrive."
I really earned my car repair merit badge on her: spark plugs, distributor cap (and wires), adjusted the timing, replaced the ignition switch, O2 sensor, window buttons, brakes, oil changes, a few flat tires, tie rods, engine block heater and a variety of interior repairs.
We experienced numerous snow storms, off-road adventures, scenic drives and vacations.
Chloe and Julie went on a breakfast date the day she was sold.

Edel has had a wonderful life as far as lives of cars go. Before I finish this ode to her, I wanted to include some of her little quirks that really endeared her into our hearts. When you get to know a car like this, you really do feel like she's "alive".

Personality quarks:

When it rained, we could not use the auto windows. If we did unroll the window, it would not roll up again until the window was completely dried out.
We could not open the gas door alone. One person needed to push the gas release button while another person pried the door open. We have made many a friend at a gas station whenever we went to fill up alone.
Hills were much better to climb when we turned the A/C off.
We still had bits of white shoe polish that was used to write messages on our windows at our wedding reception that never washed off.
The trunk had a bit of a leak so if it rained super hard we would end up with a pool of water at the bottom of the spare tire well. Luckily their was a plug at the bottom of it that we could pull to drain the water.
The trunk was also difficult to pop. Here again, one person had to pushing the button while another was pulling up on the trunk. This was another chance to meet people if we needed to open the trunk in public.
If it is super, duper, cold outside, Edel hated it. As we drove, we would hear the doors lock and unlock spontaneously. It was a good idea to have a spare key with you on those extra cold days.
The front bumper was cracked. It was held together with electrical tape (turns out duct tape is worthless when it is below -15ºF). Somebody did a hit & run at a baptism of all places.
There was no visor for the driver’s side. Whenever the sun was a problem, we just put a hat visor (which we conveniently kept in the car) on and were good to go.
The glove compartment was spacious however, it could not open unless you used a screwdriver.

Like I said, we have had many memories in her and these are just a small sampling. We loved her very much and will miss her.