The beginning of the end started at 9pm Saturday night. I didn't quite realize how quickly the process would go, I actually assumed a few weeks might go by. Little did I know that within 15 hours my baby would be gone.

It was the summer of '98, I was back at my parents house after my junior year of college working at my internship for Hewlett-Packard in Roseville. It was my second summer of interning for HP, I had gotten to know the system pretty well. This summer I made friends with another intern named David. David was an expert in utilizing the benefits offered by such a company. As the summer went on my desire for a new car was growing. Mostly, I wanted to get a car with a manual transmission. So the stage was set, David and I would spend many of our lunches (does 2 hours count as a lunch?) to help me find the perfect car. My price range set me into the popular compact sports coupe market. There were so many options to investigate. The Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Subaru Impreza 2.5RS, the Acura Integra, and so on. And with that we started test driving each one, I had decided I would test drive every option before making a decision.

During a trip down to Santa Clara for a business meeting, David and I found ourselves free at 2pm. I had an appointment to test drive the new Infiniti G20 from the salesman who sold me my current G20 a year earlier. After being disappointed with the power output of the G20, we decided there was time for one more test drive. We headed over the Sunnyvale to a Honda dealer. This is when I first checked out the Honda Prelude. In the second year of its recent redesign, it sported a new style of angled head lights. All of a sudden the look was starting to grow on me, and then came the test drive. A quick romp though some nearby streets, a tire burnout or two, and a quick 110mph blast (by the car salesman!) down hwy 85 and I was hooked.

That weekend back in Sacramento, I went to a local Honda dealer and was able to find my perfect Nighthawk Black Prelude. 7 and a half years, 130,605 miles, countless sets of tires (usually lasting about 10-15k miles), thousands of gallons of premium gasoline later, my Prelude and I had created many memories. Seen many scenic visits, twisty roads of California from the coast to the Sierras, been witness to many sunsets. She was integral in intimate moments with an undisclosed number of special women. But above all that, she understood my emotions. She would love to be run to her redline in exhilarating weekend drives, or she was there to cheer me up on a sad and lonely week night. She was always up to keep me company and to help me work through the stresses of my younger years.

There were the bad days, during the final days of my "aggressive" driving phase, I would up being involved in my first auto accident. With the sun straight into my eyes, I rear ended a car in front of me when traffic came to a stop. I would go a month without a car while waiting for the repairs. I became familiar with the San Jose light rail and Caltrain to get around. But soon she was restored and looked as pretty as new. However, she would soon become jealous of a new sibling. In November of 2001, I purchased my first motorcycle. My interest in riding would grow quickly. Soon upgrading to a newer 2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i, every weekend would be consumed exploring roads and seeking the rush that comes with the lean, wind, and excitement of the ride. My Prelude would receive much less attention, relegated to more of a commuter during bad weather. She would prove useful still to make weekend trips later down the road to visit friends in Sacramento, or the ex-girlfriends parents in Hanford (Near Fresno). Time would get better in the later years. The loss of having a garage when returning to the bay area for my current would make riding a little bit more of a hassle. Riding would become more of an occasional weekend trip rather than a regular past-time.

That was until the addition of the latest member to my family. In September of last year, I would pick up a 1999 Toyota Tacoma. Just in time for the end of summer activities, camping, towing jet skis, moving the bike around for repairs and into the winter weather. I quickly found myself preferring some of the comforts of the truck. Able to explore a greater range of terrain the truck would open my interests into new kinds of exploring. Off roading, camping, hiking out in nature. Again the Prelude would sit for days on end as even commuting to work become a regular for the truck. On those few occasions I took the Prelude out she was a fun as ever to drive. Perhaps more so in contrast to the slow turning high center of gravity truck. But owning 3 vehicles was becoming cumbersome. It was time for my baby to find a new home, and someone else would could appreciate her and love her as much as I had.

Sunday morning, I final check of the car, a quick rinse in the rain and I took her to get SMOGed. I parked her for the last time, and I had a few private words. Forever a place in my heart of my steadfast companion of so many years, so many journeys and adventures. All those miles of fun and yet no tickets. (Despite a few years of a very loud exhaust). I gave her one last kiss goodbye and I told her to be good

Goodbye my dear friend... *tear*