Most people wouldn’t think this is any big deal at all. Then again, most people haven’t seen me backing out of my parents’ (very straight) driveway and still managing to drop a wheel onto the grass. Generally, I drive very well. I don’t take my time getting from Point A to Point B, but overall, I’m a good driver. I’m well experienced at U-turns and getting lost on occasion has given me some great opportunities to practice 3- and 5-point turns. I’ve gotten better at parallel parking, too. Backing into a parking place, though, especially between two cars, is rather nerve-wracking. I’ve pretty much always been able to do this in my car, but doing it in my husband’s truck when I can’t see over the tailgate very well, plus have this trailer hitch sticking a foot off the back is rather more of a challenge.
I’ve had to get better at it, though, since I use his truck for First Sunday. First Sunday in Pittsboro, NC is a fabulous event, even when the weather’s less than beautimous – the people are wonderful and the other vendors are as nice as they can be. However, parking to unload to set up is always something of a challenge. The roads leading into the Historic District are all two-lane, and the road where we set up has angled parking places, angled, of course, in the direction of traffic. That means, to back the truck into a parking place near where my space is, I have to drive – hopefully – into a vacant parking place across the street from where I want to park. Now, keep in mind, the parking places are angled, so the angles are completely different – one zigs, the other zags. While I’m doing this, I’ve got traffic stopped in both directions, watching and waiting for me to get my big ol’ truck (OK, so it’s really not that big, unless you’re used to driving a compact sporty car) out of the street. Of course, there are never 2 or 3 empty parking places so I can be as messy a parker as I want to be. No, I’m stuck squeezing my truck in between two cars, hoping and praying I don’t hit the cars on either side, and also hoping my trailer hitch doesn’t hit the tree behind me.
