ZiggyBackRide: Me and My Purple Car, Vol. 3

This was the scene at 9:13 p.m. Central time on Sunday, October 14th, 2007, just north of mile marker 224 on northbound Interstate 55 in Mississippi. Amid much fanfare, me and my purple car celebrated completion of our 100,000th mile together.*

The drive was a bit nervewracking, as I feared all the pre-milestone hoopla could prove to have been premature and that my outstanding automobile would suffer an untimely demise before reaching the highly anticipated mark. All was well, though, and a celebration befitting the moment was enjoyed by all (read: me).

The big moment even had its own soundtrack, including (I'm gonna be) 500 Miles by The Proclaimers, one of the ZiggyBackRide staff's very favorite songs and the Main Theme from Star Wars, which was playing as the odometer turned. As I pulled the car over to snap the above photo, Texas Fight, the University of Texas fight song, came pouring forth from the speakers and, finally, as the jubilation began to subside and I was able to reflect on what had been accomplished, One Shining Moment played while a retrospective of the car's life played in my head, much like the video scrapbook of each NCAA basketball tournament that accompanies the song as each hoops season comes to its end. I remembered the Accord as a baby, when it was scarcely larger than a Civic** and all the moments between then and now, that have each been such a special part of the ride.

A few facts about the first 100,000 miles...

- Well over 12,000 of the miles have been driven along I-55, between Memphis and Jackson, MS. That is the very same stretch along which the six-digit mark was reached. That is 30 round trips between the two cities - a modest estimate. Often, those trips were part of longer journeys to or from New Orleans or other parts of Louisiana, or Utica, MS. Sometimes, they were specifically Memphis-Jackson.

- I have driven the car in these states: Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. I'm pretty sure that's it. Each of those states is or borders one of the two states in which I've lived during my ownership of (though I prefer partnership with) this vehicle. Illinois is the exception. I was there very briefly on December 6, 2006 (see post from that day).

- The city that has never been my actual destination that I have visited most often is Grenada, MS. Located almost exactly half-way between Memphis and Jackson, Grenada is a frequent rest, bathroom, fuel, and/or snack stop for me. Good ol' exit 206 has much to offer the traveler, but besides the array of gas stations, convenience stores, fast food establishments, Super Wal-Mart, and a few other spots along a one-mile stretch just off the Interstate, I have no idea what you might find in this town. I believe there is a lake.

- There is a white cowboy hat in the trunk. It has been in the trunk or in the back seat for at least 40,000 miles. You never know when you might need a big, white cowboy hat.

- The historic tank of gas, described in Volume 2 of this series, did, in fact, get me to - and well beyond - the 100,000 mile mark. The tank yielded 29.015503 miles per gallon. Not bad.

* First of all, me know that this sentence should be about "I" and not "me", but me wanted to stick with the title of the series, so BACK OFF! Second, the car and I didn't spend the whole 100,000 miles together. I believe there were some 60 miles on it already when we became an item.

** The car didn't really start small and grow. That was a lie, but you get nostalgic at times like these, you know?