Licensed to the Yukon

As part of this summer job, I will have to drive a 15-person passenger van and a heavy duty pick-up truck pulling a trailer full of canoes. I'll get to see a lot of the wild Yukon from these vehicles, but at 5-foot nothing, I'm a little concerned about how exactly I'll fit in one of these monster. It took me almost 3 weeks of diligent searching and testing to find a car that was small enough for me to comfortably drive, so I can imagine what a gong show it will be for me to drive one of these brutes. I should start scavenging pillows today...

I also have to take a Level 4 driving test, which unfortunately involved a written knowledge test. I'm not gonna lie- I failed my G1 knowledge test. There, I've said it. Embarassing but true. Likely the first milestone test that I had ever failed. And living in a rural area, the stakes were even higher for that almighty plastic piece of certified adulthood. So, you can imagine my anxiety over writing the Level 4 test.

You can also imagine my embarassment when I realized I had read the the Driver's handbook and Level 4 abstract over 4 full times, to write was turned out to be a 10 question multiple choice test in which you could get 2 questions wrong. But, in the end it didn't matter.

I passed theknowledge test! Hooray. No more reliving childhood scars of public shame. Instead, I can look forward to the soon-to-be-heckling I will no doubt endure from my co-trainees when I have to haul the three pillows I will need to see over the dashboard of Leonard the Passenger bus. Now graceful way to hide that. I'm not even going to think about what kind of contraption I'll have to rig up so I can reach the pedals. And the judging eyes of my road test examiner when I have to oh-so-gracefully climb up over my mountain of pillows to make my vehicle entrance.

Yeah, this is going to be fun.

UPDATE: Again, because of my posting delays, I can report that I've had a chance to drive in the 15-passenger van and it is NOT pretty. I'm not high enough up to see completely clear of the hood, but high enough that my feet dangle a little from the floor. The offset of the pedals creates a new challenge: when I get my seat far enough forward to reach the gas, then I almost can't get my foot around to get to the brake. Makes stopping and starting into intersections a little nervy. We'll see how it all pans out. Could be interesting. Luckily, I can take my road test on any car of my choosing (how wild is that...road test on a Echo and they let you loose to drive a 15-passenger bus?!). Maybe I will have to look into rigging up some kind of pedal extension and seat pillow....

Stop giggling....it's not funny...