Sharka Ride #1

About halfway up the mountain.

About halfway up the mountain.

I’ve backspaced over the first sentence a dozen times. I’ve got no idea what to say that won’t sound like an insane person gushing over his car and daughter. I’m just ever so proud, you guys. EVER. SO. PROUD!

My little girl got to ride in Sharka for the first time. And SHE LOVED IT!!!

Cooling off in the shade.

Cooling off in the shade.

First, a note to concerned parents. Harriet has been signed off by her pediatrician for forward-facing since age 12 months. She had enough weight and neck strength. I waited a long time after to take her out in Sharka. A LONG time. We’ve driven around town in Bucky a few times, she and I. But not Sharka. I donno why. I guess I was saving it. Saving the ride till the opportune moment. That came a few days after she turned 21 months.

She has a Recaro ProRIDE car seat. You should look it up. It’s a phenomenal car seat. The thing has excellent safety ratings and a great metal structure. It makes most of the ones you can buy in big-box stores feel like toys. And it just looks bad ass. But really, I don’t care so much how it looks. I care about safety, and she’s got it with this seat.

Anyways, onto the drive.

Up Up UP!

Up Up UP!

The weather was incredibly nice for July. Usually it’s just punishing and above 100. Last week, we were treated to low 80s in town and the mountains were even cooler, so it seemed the perfect time to take Harriet out in Sharka.

Just driving around town was fun for her. Taking off from lights brought cheers of “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” and “VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM” and “SHARKA AWESOME! SHARKA AWESOME!!!!!!!!!” from her little lungs. I mean… you guys have no idea. My heart was FULL. I thought she liked going out in Bucky. That was nothing.

We parked. They posed. Does Sharka look a little protective in this shot?

We parked. They posed. Does Sharka look a little protective in this shot?

Playing in the mountains.

Playing in the mountains.

Gathering sticks.

Gathering sticks.

Again daddy! AGAIN!

Again daddy! AGAIN!

We drove and drove. We got about 3/4 of the way up the mountain and decided to stop to run around and explore. It was snack time and I didn’t want someone to get cranky and be prematurely soured to the Sharka experience.

We climbed and explored. She picked up sticks. I remembered doing that as a little one, something I’d not thought of for years. Then we sat on a bench and had snacks together. In the mountains. With Sharka.

Honestly, there was not one part she didn’t like. This girl was happy the whole drive. Almost as happy as her daddy.

Round and Round.

Round and Round.

We stopped to pick flowers.

We stopped to pick flowers.

RUNNING back for more Sharka time!

RUNNING back for more Sharka time!

Going up, we drove a little quick. Spirited? Not at all dangerous. Nothing that would even cause a seatbelt to lock. But Harriet was a little bit quiet going up. So, on the way down, I took it back a notch and mostly coasted. The curves are fun and plentiful enough that even taking them at the 30-40 mph is enjoyable. And that seemed to please Harriet. There were many more cheers, shrieks, and giggles.

We spotted a patch of mountain sunflowers on the way down. “SUNFLOWER!!!!” was repeated for the following 5 turns, so I took us back to pick them. I expected Harriet to spend a half hour choosing flowers. Nope. She grabbed one bunch and then SPRINTED back to Sharka.

There were corners to carve, dad!

Wheeeee!!! Down the mountain.

Wheeeee!!! Down the mountain.

One happy girl.

One happy girl.

Sometimes life is a downer. Sometimes I hang my head in my hands and wish something could be easier or some bill could disappear. There are nights I don’t sleep, but just work instead, trying to get on top of things.

And then there was the day that Harriet got her first Sharka ride.

The phrase “life is good” is horribly inadequate.

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  • sarah says:

    And every day since then, she has insisted upon driving. I have to reiterate the rules of driving in this house:

    * You have to be able to read.
    * You have to be able to write.
    * You have to be able to see over the steering wheel AND reach the pedals at the same time.

    She had such a good time.

  • Stoly says:

    These are the moments you’ll cherish forever. And these are the moments she will too. Mine is 18 and this story reminded me of her at your daughter’s age… :wipes away a little manly tear:

  • Zip says:

    Adam..

    As I sit here putting together an order for a few your oh-so-yummy custom goods, I click on this new post….

    Total *warm fuzzies* for this 47 y.o. single beach guy with 2 Miatas & 3 adorable ‘Midwestern Nieces’. Time to start planning vacations ;)…

    Thanks!

    Zoom Zoom…

  • Dave says:

    I’ve read this several times now and every time my heart soars!

  • GT-Alex says:

    Haha nice story ! My brother has a 2 year old son, and he love my Miata ! He always want to get in it, “drive” it and pop the lights up. When he was 1 year old, he was already trying to imitate the blow-off valve sound of my brother’s Impreza, and now he always tell his dad to go faster and overtake people. Kids are awesome !

    • revlimiter says:

      HAHAHA! That’s fantastic! I’m not sure Harriet has seen Sharka’s popup lights yet. She sits fairly tall in her carseat, but the lights are pretty low when raised. =)

      PSSHT!!! I can just imagine a baby doing a BOV.

  • Ncorlis says:

    I loved this post, and I’m so happy for you! I’m glad to see your little girl is doing well too!

  • zoona says:

    My three year old daughter loves “baby car”. It is the car of choice, and has sunglasses and blanket (this is the uk…) in front seat permanently for her.

    I just love taking her out in it as well.

    BTW I have recaro bucket seats and I found that the Maxicosi rodi is the only one that had a narrow enough base to fit – just in case anybody is looking for one.

    • revlimiter says:

      Baby car. LOVE IT!

      Mine constantly chants “SHARKA SHARKA SHARKA” now when we go anywhere.

      And the nice thing about Elise seats: pretty wide bases. Lots of carseats fit.

  • Nick says:

    This is so adorable. SO adorable!
    Although one thing stays on my mind.
    These pictures of Harriet and Sharka together would be the first time a Miata has ever looked big to me.
    Ever.
    Well, point over. Back to wishing I had a child to share my little NB with.

  • Cosmin says:

    This is awesome, I’m not afraid to admit this made me tear up. I really hope to experience this and share my passion for cars when I have a kid. Harriet is adorable and this post was great. Thanks for sharing Adam!

  • Bryan says:

    This is a day I’m SOOOOO looking forward to with my boy.

    Any special prep besides the seat? Like a locking clip for the seatbelt, for example?

    • revlimiter says:

      The Recaro actually has a built in clip that locks the seatbelt for you. No need for anything extra. Just thread it through the back, clip it in, and then close the locking clip. It’s fantastic.

      I did make sure the seat was WAAAAY back so that she didn’t kick my leather dash. 😀 But I don’t think that’s quite the prep you meant.

      I even swapped in the cupholders so that drinks would have a place to go.

  • BenR says:

    Beautiful.

  • BenR says:

    Seriously guys, can someone stop cutting onions in here?

  • Danny Cruz says:

    This is awesome man. Great read! Last year I took my daughter to the beach in my NC on a rare weekday off. She was also in a Recaro seat. It was a great day. We even found a cool little beach stone that we painted to read, “Dot and Daddy Beach Day 2012”. It’s still on my desk.

  • Matt K. says:

    Ironic I read your blog entry after taking my 19-mo-old son for his first ride in my `90 yesterday. I buckled him in, put his sunglasses on, and he was stoked! He played hard earlier in the day, so he fell asleep no more than 5 minutes down the road, but with the weather as perfect as it was yesterday, top down, engine singing, that is one of those moments you will always remember.

    Great way to spend a day! No shame in sharing this in your blog!

  • Randy Walker says:

    This is awesome:)

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