The Griego family has just purchased a new car! It’s the first new vehicle we’ve ever purchased, so I’m a bit nervous about it. It cost us $22,000 out the door, which sure is a lot of money. We *almost* bought a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid down in Ridgecrest, but when we went back to the dealer to make an offer, they had closed up! We took that as a sign, so we came back to Bishop to see what was available locally.  We ended up buying a Honda CR-V, LX.  The color is “green-tea metallic,” which both Karen and I liked.  The interior is beige, so I’m a little worried about seeing a lot of stains.  I’m sure we’ll have our share, between the kids and the dog.  It’s nothing super fancy, but I like the all wheel drive for coming into Mammoth on storm days, without having to chain up.  That’ll be nice.

We really liked a 2007 Toyota Rav4 that was here in Bishop, but it had about 29,000 miles, and was only about a thousand dollars less than a new Honda CR-V. So, we went for the new vehicle.

It should be plenty big enough for us, the kids, and our dog – especially for our out-of-town trips for soccer tournament, swim meets, and such.

Joe Griego