Learning my way around the Odyssey

This past week I began embracing my new vehicle.  I spent a couple of hours reading the entire manual to familiarize myself with all the gadgets.  While I had been a passenger multiple times in the van I hadn't realized all of the perks.  I had no idea that the van had a rear camera.  Madison pointed that out to me as I was turned around and backing up in my driveway.

"Uh, Mom?  You can just look in the mirror here."

Sure enough the picture of the back view of the car pops up in the rear view mirror when you put the car into reverse.  I read about that later in the manual.  A manual that my friend, SueG, who turned over the car to us, never read in the three years she had the vehicle.

"Pfft.  You'll learn all of it as you go.  It's like a scavenger hunt."

The first day I took it to fill it with gas I couldn't get the lid open.  I didn't remember ever reading about the gas lid in the manual.  Nonchalantly, I pushed on the lid hoping that it would just open.  I texted SueG for help, but she works nights and had already texted me goodnight so I got no response.  I looked around the gas station parking lot in search of someone that wouldn't make fun of me.  Then I climbed back into the car and searched.  At the bottom of the driver's side near the emergency parking brake was a lever with a picture of a gas tank on it.  I pushed it.   Nothing.  I tapped it with my foot.  Nothing.  I leaned down and pulled it and ta da the lid electrically opened to allow me to fill my tank.  I thought that was funny.

The next incident wasn't so funny.  I was on my way to pick up Darcy from high school swim team practice when the evening skies opened up and it began pouring rain.  No worries.  This I remembered reading about in the manual.  I looked at the lever sticking out from the right of the steering wheel, saw the wiper picture, and turned the knob.  The wiper came on and began clearing away the rain ON THE BACK WINDOW.  I looked down at the handle and tried it again.  Again the back window got cleared.  Now the rain was coming down in sheets that made it impossible to see the road in front of me.  I hate driving in the rain in the first place and not seeing caused me several moments of panic.  I frantically tried to steer the car through the rain without hitting anything or anyone while trying to figure out the wipers.  Madison tried to help.  Finally, by accident, I hit the lever down and the wipers came on.  Then we laughed.

It wasn't until I was in the same place the next day in the same situation that I thought of the lights.  In Florida if your wipers are on your lights must be on.  Holy crap!  Were my lights even on?  I remembered the manual and reading about the lights.  I looked down to the area to my left where I thought the lights were.  Nothing.  Suddenly I remembered driving the girls in pitch darkness that morning to school.  OMG!  I must have driven them without lights.  I felt the panic coming, but by this time I was at practice.  When I pulled in I noticed my headlights shining up at the building in front of me.  Whew.  I have never had a new enough vehicle here in the last ten years where the lights came on automatically.  Sitting there waiting for Darcy to arrive, I found the light switch on the turn signal handle.  Apparently I have four headlights, two that come on automatically when the car is turned on and two that need to be turned on manually in times of need, I guess.

The other issue that was a learning experience was the opening and closing of the electric doors.  This is actually what got me to read the manual in the first place.  The doors do not unlock when in park, something our Buick does that I'm use to.  I read that I can change that feature, but they don't recommend it in case someone tries to open the door from the outside.  That was enough for my anxiety ridden we-are-sure-to-be-kidnapped mind.  I left it as is.  Problem with that is I can't open any of the doors with the key remote unless both the driver and passenger sides of the door are unlocked.  The rear door is also like that and so far I haven't had much luck with opening that damn door either with the remote or from inside the car.  I think I'm just going to have to take some lessons from SueG.

"I have more gadgets now in this new car that I don't have a clue about."

Ah, the worries of "new" car ownership.  I haven't had that in 22 years since my mother bought me a brand new car after I moved to Florida and my used one blew up on me.  Back then there were no bells and whistles or electronic windows on cars.  I'm not complaining.  I am grateful for the means to purchase a nice vehicle and grateful for my good friend who made it happen.  I'll keep studying the manual, searching in my scavenger hunt for the information and clues to operate it.  Then I'll have to teach both my girls who will someday take over the wheel.

"I'm getting my permit as soon as I turn 15.  I'm not going to be like Maddy and wait."

Oh, boy.