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In 2015 Heidi and I spent a lot of time in rental cars, mainly because it was fun. It started way back at the start of the year when it was raining and ruined our plans for the day. We had a free day and within 20 minutes of getting up, we had a free day rental booked for the same day and off we went to pick it up. That tradition continued throughout the year and any time we wanted to go for a road trip somewhere for the day, we would grab a rental and get something fun, and new.

So let’s look back at those 12 rentals that I had during 2015 and figure out which one was best. (A side note that Heidi likes to name cars, so we kept the tradition going in naming the car after something that kind of fit. Our rental car during our honeymoon was called Spartan because it was a Chrysler 300. Like the movie…. 300 ;)… ok back to it).

First up was “Ghost” the 2014 Dodge Challenger

From Seattle Life 2015

Pretty decent car, Heidi’s first Challenger. I still think that if i had to get a 2 door coupe, this would be it. Prefer this over a Camaro or a Mustang.

Next up was a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, Heidi named it Crater (all my photos point to the name of Moby… but you know, go with the wife).

From Seattle Life 2015

Pretty good drive, fully loaded, but the gas tank on this thing was HUGE!

Next up was a 2015 Ford Explorer Limited… meet Clarke

From Seattle Life 2015

Named after one of the famous explorers in the PNW. Not a bad car at all, pretty comfy for 4 people.

Next up was Sled a 2014 Camaro

From Seattle Life 2015

The Camaro was not to bad, but it was basic basic and we had some problems with it because it was filthy!

Next up was another Challenger, this time a 2015 and we called it Gary (i don’t remember why).

From Vegas 2015

Pretty decent upgrades over the 2014, still love it!

Keeping up with the SUV theme for the year… take this new Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Because it was a Chereokee it got a slightly racist name of Kemosabie

From Seattle Life 2015

Pretty decent car, again fully loaded and comfortable to drive!

Then there was the Dodge Durango, I wanted to get one of these before it was finished.

From Dorkfest 2015

Because this one was rented on my own in LAX with my friends… no name. Still liked the car, it was fully loaded (including remote start).

When i headed out to Oklahoma I ended up with a 2015 Altima, it was not a bad car, but it was not really what I wanted. Again this time had problems, but National came through in the end.

From Oklahoma Trip

When we headed out to Spokane in Early October, we ended up with this guy…

From Spokane Trip

Meet Troy our new 2015 Chrysler 300. Not as loaded as others, but still pretty well set up. Enjoyed this car, well worth it!

One car I had been wanting to try all year was a GMC Acadia. I had turned down the chance to take one on our honeymoon and took the 300 instead. So we took Joan for our weekend roadtrip to Portland.

From First Anniversary Roadtrip

The car wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. I just wasn’t all that thrilled with it compared to a Durango (same class).

Car #11 was Shiny, a new 2016 Ford Explorer.

From Seattle Life 2015

We took this out to the Tri Cities area and I was really happy with it. If I had the choice of an Explorer or an Acadia, the Explorer would win.

Our last car of the year was one that I didn’t really get to pick. When you pick up from a Downtown location, you often don’t get a choice and this is what we go.

From Seattle Life 2015

Meet Matthew the Lincoln MKX. Not a bad car, not fantastic either. Pretty basic for a “luxury” car maker.

All in all the years worth of cars was pretty good. I don’t think we will end up with the same amount of rentals this year, but the free days were fun. We paid for a couple of rentals, and got a few freebies as well. It sure was a lot of fun. Looking back, my favorite cars over 2015 would have to have been the Durango, the Jeep and the 300. I do still love Challengers and the one we had in Vegas confirmed that fact. But National has been good to me in 2015, let’s see what 2016 brings!

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2015 was a very different year than expected.  There was a considerable amount of change and any goals I tried to accomplish were just not going to happen, so rather than look back on those goals, I am instead going to look back on the year as a whole.

2015 started off as a year of waiting.  The paperwork for our immigration applications were submitted just days before 2014 ended and so the year started with the feeling that the wait would never end.  Heidi and I celebrated our first year together and then the Patriots won the Superbowl, much to my wife’s (and most of Seattle’s) displeasure.  By the end of February I was looking for new work and spent a good month trying to get a job.  I took a temporary job doing hard labor but in a good position (on the ramp at the airport) but managed to secure myself a job that has lasted to date.  I travelled to Germany for a trip I have wanted to do for a number of years and spent time with an old friend.

As the year went on my travelling was slowing back down but Heidi and I still kept on going together.  We spent more time doing 1 day road trips, all over the place and enjoyed it immensely (mainly because we weren’t taking our cars).  But work continued on and on, I began working nights and that meant that Heidi and I would not see each other as often as we would like, something that continues to this day.  I got to do some travelling in towards the end of the year, but nothing as crazy as the old days.  Those crazy days of long mileage runs or frequent trips are history now.

Heidi has had a big year herself, as she spent a good number of months doing her student teaching all while working and going back and forth to uni at the same time.   Working three jobs at once essentially took their toll and she has had so many ups and downs I could hardly keep up.  We still love spending every minute together we can, but it hasn’t been easy at all.  We do our best and we keep on working things out, together.  We celebrated our first wedding anniversary this year, it was not really a big affair, but then that’s us, we aren’t really big on that kind of stuff for parties etc.

This year will see some more travelling on the books.  Since Heidi and I never really took a true vacation last year because of all the job changes, this will be good for both of us.  I can’t wait for Heidi to get down to Australia and spend some time with my friends and family.  But it will also mean a return to Singapore and Tokyo for me and some of the things I enjoy, the pointy end of planes!  I am sure the new year will bring on other advantages and changes, but here is to 2016……. Bring it on!