I drove to school today

This morning, for whatever reason, I decided to drive to school rather than taking the ferry.
Whether it's because my weird fixation on Bike75 guy (also known as Mr Canaandale) has finally got the better of me, or because it was raining a little when I was getting ready to go, I don't know, but it was a bit of an adventure for a green Auckland rookie like myself.

I left my house at 7:50am, just to be safe. Usually I catch the 8:10am ferry, so I leave at about 8:01am (and still have time to ride around the carpark a few times, just for kicks). I was glad I did. Even at the top of remote-seeming Bayswater Avenue, Lake Road traffic was backed up. Seriously, it's mindblowing how much traffic there is up here on the Shore. I try to stay chill about it, because I guess now that I'm a Shore Girl, it's part of life.

Besides, I don't get to get to sing at the top of my voice to Carrie Underwood, Bad Religion, or whatever else happens to be playing on my iPod on the ferry. In my car, I can do whatever I want. This morning it was Thrice. I'm sure you can imagine, even being stuck in traffic which didn't seem to move until I hit the bridge (8:12am), I had an enjoyable drive. As I was on the bridge about the time my ferry would have left Bayswater, I tried to look out the window for it on the bridge. Possibly not the brightest idea I've had in a while, given that I've had enough trouble lately with sideswiping cars to the left of me. The last thing I want to do is cause an accident on the main motorway that links Auckland City to the Shore.

Being a planner (cough), I google-mapped my journey before I left, so I knew I had to exit the motorway at Fanshawe Street. I have to admit, as much as I don't miss Hamilton at all, I had an almost impossible-to-resist urge to stay on the motorway and drive home for the day. I think it was just because I saw the "Hamilton / Port" sign on the overpass, but anyway. Logic, for once, got the better of me and I took the prescribed journey past the Viaduct Harbour and along Beach Road to Parnell, where I parked at a $3 all-day parking lot. Score! The $4 I saved by walking the extra kilometre will be well-spent at Tank.

I arrived at school at 8:38am, which all made for a pretty swift trip, by Auckland standards. It's not something I'll do frequently, but at least now I know it can be done and it won't cost a bomb.

My drive home was remarkably easy too, given that I had a pretty good idea how to get straight out of town on to the bridge. The drive home took a little longer, but again I had Bad Religion's "Suffer" blasting through the pathetic speakers in my car, so I was happy. I was tempted to spend my saved parking money on a lime shake from the Bayswater McDonald's, but I resisted.

Tomorrow, I'll be driving to the airport...