a social experiment

I find it intriguing that people have such different methods to their parking madness. It's something I used to take for granted - that my "perfect parking spot" was the same as others' "perfect parking spot" and hence, it is always taken :o) Since I've been married, this Saddie-centric theory has been blasted to smithereens!

Levi's parking hunt always leads him to the soonest get-away position spot. This may be *miles* away from the door, but that's okay as long as he doesn't have to go back up or down another row.

I have experienced several changes to my parking preferences. For example, when I was first learning to drive a stick I tried as hard as I could to park directly in a spot that required the least amount of maneuvering to escape. It was also beneficial if it was far from any other living being to avoid stalling with an audience.

In college, it was all about location, availability, and timing. I always had my favorite spots that I knew I could get to at specific times for specific classes - though sometimes it required a few laps around the lot.

Nowadays, I have to keep the little children in mind, so we park as near as we can to both the building and the cart corral or sidewalk. All it took was one trip to the store with the baby to realize that I needed the cart to heft the newborn, carseat, and groceries, but that returning the cart left the baby alone and vulnerable. (yeah... I just ditched the cart... something I generally wouldn't do.) Nearness to the store is mostly only important if there are no carts for hauling or there is inclement weather to escape.

So, that's the method to my madness, at least for now. I wonder what my parking priorities will be when the children are older? Hmm...

So, why do you park where you do?