Reducing My Driving: An Update

For my year-long adventure, I have been decreasing my driving during the month of August. Or at least I was supposed to be, and have failed miserably. I already knew going into this month that it would be a challenge, as we were embarking on a road trip to California to start the month off. Hard to not drive when you are on a road trip. Then, as we returned to Portland, summer had finally arrived. Pre-August was cool and rainy, and frankly, I had little to no motivation to go explore when the weather was no cooperating. However, once we came back and the weather has finally been sunny, and playing in the river sounds fun instead of torturous, we have been exploring natural areas frequently. And this means driving to get there. Which also means that since I am taking up huge chunks of days going on adventures, I don't have a lot of time to get my errands done, and don't have time to take the bus or walk for hours to do them, and I therefore need to drive even more. It has been a vicious cycle, really. But, I am being a realist. Summer here has been short this year and we didnt do a whole lot of driving in June or July since we didn't do much adventuring. I also have 2 kids and 2 dogs, and sometimes it just isn't possible to take the bus or walk if I want to go to the same places. I can no longer ride my bike for longer trips (at least until Phoebe is a bit older), and so our options are a bit more limited. I know this is no excuse, as I chose to have a second child, but it is what it is. Once fall brings cooler weather and a return to rain, we will still explore, but closer to home and with less frequency. Until then, I am actually relishing the days where we want to go explore and enjoy the outdoors.
I did manage to take the bus home form the dentist this month, and took it to pub knitting last week. I have also been better about trying to group errands into clumps so that I can get a bunch done in one car-ride. Not always the most pleasant with a 3 year old who gets bored after the first errand or two, but it does cut back on driving miles.
All in all, I have learned that August is not a good month to try and decrease my driving. I do plan to continue to try and reduce my driving throughout the year, and I hope that when fall rolls around and we are on more of a schedule, I will be able to do just that. And until then, I will try and not feel too guilty about the miles I have driven this month!