Anticipation

Anticipation.

2023 really was all about anticipation. The order for our cars being confirmed. Then the process of watching each of them pass each manufacturing milestone. The lead up to European Delivery. The morning of the big day.

Delicious anticipation.

Then returning to Canada and waiting once more. The anticipation rising again as we tracked their progress across the Atlantic. Sitting in the Halifax port for weeks. Then rail-bound for Toronto and another wait at the Autoport. Finally making the trip down to London to get our hands on them once again.

Lots and lots of anticipation leading up to the reward of ownership. 

And now, those anticipations have morphed - evolved into something new. Now, instead of anticipating just getting the car, I anticipate the next drive. The next turn of the key. The next trip downstairs to the garage (ok maybe that one's a bit much).

Take this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend for example. It's a little over a week away, and I've decided to make one more run out to the East Coast before cold weather and the threat of snow make longer sojourns unadvisable. 

A week away. 

So what am I doing?

Anticipating. I'm thinking about the route we will take. I'm remembering that lovely short bit of excellent road alongside the 'Chain of Ponds' lake in Maine; the straight shot from Sherbrooke to the border, where the road rises and dips repeatedly as you pass Mont-Mégantic park in Quebec; the ever-so-familiar sweeping curves of the airline route to Calais from Bangor.

Top down and tunes up, I'm anticipating the crisp fall air and the smells of the forest as we rip our way back to 'home home' for a quick Thanksgiving getaway. I'm anticipating Mum's baking delights, the cups of tea and the chatting; seeing what things I can help my folks with, maybe a tree to fell, or a field to mow. We'll wash cars and watch movies and it will be worth every kilometre travelled, not the least of which is because of the car we are driving to get there.

In the future I'll anticipate doing it again. Maybe a different route? Maybe with friends in convoy? Who knows? But for now, I'll just shoot for a rapid and uneventful blast down and back to close out the summer road trip season for 2024. 

As I said, delicious anticipation.

But this time, a different kind. Because now it's not about the waiting to get. It's about the excitement to drive. 

It's different. And better. 

~ Luke