PARKING SPACES OR LACK OF…

A post from Susannah over at athingirl inspired this piece this morning even though the post itself needs no inspiration because it’s always there…right in my face.

The parking at our house is nil to none, meaning there is none. Oh sure, we have a carport and until recently –  like two weeks ago, if you must know – housed the car or truck. The problem with that was only the driver was able to exit or enter the vehicle easily and safely. And that was stretching it a bit. If there were any passengers in the car you had to let them out before pulling all the way in or back out before they took a seat.

Andrew decided to tidy that space up a couple of weeks ago. You don’t want to know what all he threw away – and neither does H. I told H he sounded like one of those hoarders on the TV show protecting his hoard. It also didn’t help that Andrew did this at 11:30pm so the voices had to be kept to a minimum to spare the neighbors. Oh, wait…maybe that was a good thing. 😉 H survived and  found a little humor in it all after-the-fact, though not much. Now its forgotten and we have a nice clean carport to pull into in the normal fashion.

Since that carport only holds a single vehicle – because I guess back in the 50’s a two-car family was not the norm – there is still the problem of parking the hunting truck and H’s truck. I have thoughts and solutions on that hunting truck, but all that goes over H’s head so it sits a few feet from the carport taking up valuable space I could find other uses for.

H loves this truck!

H’s truck sits at the end of the driveway – away from the pine tree the squirrels have claimed for their lunch room. Gnawed up pine cones drop like bombs throughout the day so H won’t park anywhere near that tree in fear one may dent his truck or my car. The hunting truck doesn’t matter. It has seen better days.

That doesn’t sound too bad as parking goes does it? But…when company comes or Andrew is home it’s a three-ring circus of musical chairs. We live on a cul-de-sac so parking on the edge of the front lawn in the street is ok. The problem with that is on Tuesdays and Fridays we have to go out early and move what ever vehicle claims that space so the trash can be picked up. (We have been overlooked before if there is a car too near the trash receptacle. (I never have figured out how that truck turns around in this cul-de-sac with all the cars parked on the street. Some skillful driving at its best!)

There is enough room in the driveway to pull three-and-a-half cars in end-to-end on trash pick-up days. I’ve never come across that half car though and there is still the squirrel’s lunch room to contend with.  When more than one extra car is on the scene we really have a mess. Andrew sometimes parks across the street at my neighbors. H warns him not to park under that oak tree though and since there are so few options sometimes it can’t be helped so we have to listen to that.

You don’t go to bed at night around here until the schedule is made up of who and what car needs to leave earliest in the morning. Then go out and move all the vehicles around putting them in the right order of who leaves first, second, third…You get it, don’t you? There is nothing like being shook awake early in the wee hours of the morning to move your car for someone else to get out.

We also have to remember to check for turtles under the tires before backing up. They like to come in to eat the cat food on the carport in the early mornings and late evenings and then take a siesta in the shade of  a vehicle before returning to their homes.

turtle sighting

Like I said – It’s a three ring circus. Tell me about your parking problems. I know we can’t be alone in this dilemma!

~Elle