So long, dear Altima.

After just about 12 years and four months to the day, I traded in my car for a new one, ending a journey that covered 90,000 miles.

That included trips in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  It’s possible the car went other places on its own, but those were all the ones that involved me.

For a long time it was immortalized in a Google Street View of my apartment in Florida.

It was such an attractive ride that I always had a few bees to keep me company:

The bees never said much, but we got along just fine.  The car brought me to and from college during my senior year and then down to grad school.  It was my ride to two different jobs selling shoes, a TV station internship, a TV station job, a transcription/video editing gig, and my current position.  It brought me to Starbucks for countless weekend morning book writing sessions, and some, uh, interesting dates.

Oh and Taco Bell.  Most people probably wouldn’t want to know how many times their car took them through a fast food drive thru lane, but I can’t think of a better statistic.  Let’s conservatively estimate the number at 45,938.

Now the people at my local Taco Bell will have to get used to seeing me arrive in something newer and whiter.  Welcome to the family, Accord.  It’s been real, Altima.