The first driving lesson went rather well. I wasn't as nervous as I expected to be and I did feel comfortable with the instructor which is always a very good thing.
I found some things easier to do than others. I had a 2 hour lesson since it was my first and spent the first hour being given a talk about the car and some simple instructions.
When I did get to go on the road myself, I didn't expect to have to cross a roundabout so early in my lessons. I even got to drive round it 4 times trying to get the hang of "feeding" the steering wheel but got myself all flustered.
He said I did very very well with foot control. gear changes and clutch control which was what I most feared so that's given me a little confidence.
I drove along the local roads and through 2 villages before heading back along the local bypass - Not only did I not expect to be doing a roundabout on my first lesson, I wasn't expecting to be on a main road doing over 50mph either.
So, I've booked another 2 hour lesson for next Thursday. The steering needs to be worked on but I see what I am doing wrong, I understand where my mistakes are so I am going to go back and give it my best. I am determined to get there. Also, whilst on the subject, I got confirmation through for my theory test on July 19th. Blimey, that really isn't far off is it? Scarily it's 3 days before the start of the school summer holidays. Help!
Shortly after my first lesson I had my eyes tested. Whilst they were not as bad as I thought they may have been they did highly reccommend that I wear glasses for driving. So I got a nice little pair ordered and will be collecting them next Wednesday before my next lesson.
We also had a lovely weekend. Hubby and I got the kids looked after Saturday night and went out for the evening into the village.We had a lovely Indian meal. We have two Indian restaurants in the village, one we always use for takeaways and have been in a couple of times but we chose the second one to give it a go. It was just as nice, I couldn't say if it was any better than the other since I really love all Indian food. We had a fair few drinks and spent a little time in the pub where my friend Kate works so it was a lovely evening overall.
Sunday I was worn out from the late night and the normal waking up time to look after the boys. This resulted in around 4 hours sleep. We took a trip into Colchester then thought we would take the kids to the beach as it was such a lovely day. Once we got there we realised the coast was overcast and misty. We still had a lovely day wandering around the town, the new funfair and the pier and as we made it back to the car, the sun came out. Typical. But it was a lovely fun packed weekend.
Saturday morning was the start of a new era. James now has a car bed to rival Liams so my house is officially cot-free. My babies are in (toddler) beds 100%.My babies are officially big boys. Once the nappies are finished then I have 3 boys/3 children rather than the "little people" tags they get. Awwww. I love them all to bits.
I'm lucky, I had 18 miles of dirt road to practice on before I had to hit the highway in a stick shift. My mom insisted on all of her kids being able to drive a stick, even though I think that less than 5% of US cars are manual transmission now.
ReplyDeleteBut that was after my mom let me drive her "boat" on the freeway between Ocotillo and El Centro.(Thankfully, a fairly empty road back in 1978!) I swear, this car was so huge that I could have carried 8 passengers in the regular seats, and I could have stuffed 8 dead bodies in the trunk! Look up 1971 Chevy Impala to see what I mean!
It was an automatic, and the power steering was very touchy, so it was very easy to find yourself in the other lane! By the end of that first ride, my mom refused to teach me, and so her friend Ernie took me out in the much smaller Toyota truck and taught me everything I know.
Just remember, pretty soon it will all become automatic to you; the things that you have to actively think about now will just happen without a thought...and it will happen sooner than you think!