I’m not sure why I’m telling this story because I think my husband and I look pretty bad in it. But I feel like I need to tell it because we know enough people in town who probably already think we look bad. What’s our problem? It is the acquisition of vehicles.

We currently have seven things registered with the DMV. Seven vehicles (and vessels and trailers) for two drivers is a bit ridiculous, I admit. But maybe as I lay out the story, it won’t seem quite as crazy.

Let’s start with our first acquisition: A 1984 13-foot Boston Whaler. My husband and I bought this little boat the year before we got married, so we’ve had it for more than 22 years now. And I love it, I will never sell it, end of story.

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We also have two very normal cars for a family of four: a sedan and a 4-wheel-drive SUV for snow and such. Not crazy … yet.

But my husband and I are both of the mind that buying and trying a vehicle for a while is the best way to know if it should become a permanent part of the family. And I’ll tell you, it’s a good thing that we both are of this mind, because I imagine if only one half of a couple thought this way, divorce court would be in their future. Seriously, don’t try this at home if you aren’t both a bit impulsive and devil-may-care.

If I had to pinpoint when we started diverging a bit from the more traditional vehicle-purchasing strategy — define a need for a new car, research the car, save up money for it, and keep it for many years after — it was about eight years ago when we drove to Sacramento for Krispy Kreme donuts, and returned home with a new Volkswagon Eurovan.

After owning the van for a couple of years, we realized it wasn’t the right vehicle for us, and we sold it … for more money than we paid for it! The year we bought it was the last they’d made them, and they were in such high demand that a man flew from Texas to buy our Eurovan and drive it home. We obviously did not learn a valuable lesson about impulse shopping.

From there, we bought another boat … long story, but let’s just say it seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn’t, and we sold it a couple of years later for the same amount that we paid for it!

Then we bought our beloved little GEM car. It’s perfect for Davis, and we’ve been very happy with it. It’s still on our active roster of vehicles.

Then we bought a pop-up travel trailer. It was only $3,000, and after using it a handful of times, my guys decided they are more interested in backpacking. This item is currently for sale and needs to be taken off the roster.

Recently came a purchase that I’ve had a hard time explaining even to myself: Our second two-seater convertible sports car. Yes, we now own two two-seaters.

The first one was a total impulse buy; it was really cheap, and it is a blast to drive. We thought it would be good to have a manual transmission car so our kids could learn this lost art, plus it’s a fixer-upper. A project car seemed like a good thing for a dad and two sons.

Well, this little car has proven to be such a joy, that we decided to sell it and buy one with fewer miles and more safety features. Except we bought another before we sold the first one.

So, yeah, it is crazy, and the explanation didn’t help much. I think the reason I’m self-conscious about this — to be honest, my husband doesn’t care a lick that we look a little ridiculous to people — is friends, neighbors and acquaintances often ask, “Where’s your other boat? Where’s the VW van? Why do you have two of those cars?”

I haven’t mastered the phrases, “None of your beeswax” or “We changed our minds.” Instead, I launch into the long story about our acquisitions and dispositions. And it’s tiresome for me and the listener.

Now it’s time for me to write a couple of Enterprise classifieds. “For sale: Fun car, fun trailer. Reason for selling? None of your beeswax.”

— Tanya Perez is an associate editor at The Enterprise. Her column is published every other Thursday. Reach her at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter at @enterprisetanya

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