I must be getting old.

Or maybe a better description would be "practical."

I was walking some mail out to the box in our parking lot today when I passed an old station wagon parked in front of the community center next door.

A few years ago, I'd have snickered and thought, "You couldn't pay me to drive something like that!" In fact, I was just having a conversation with an officemate last week about how pigs will fly over a frozen hell before I'd ever drive a minivan.

Not that I'm driving a Mini Cooper or Beemer or Porsche 911 now or anything. The Zoemobile is about as vanilla a car as you could ask for. It's color is even vanilla. (Not really, it's "Heather Mist Metallic," which basically is a nice way of saying "dirt-colored" as it hides dirt well and generally just looks rather dingy when it's dirty, rather than outright dirty.) It's a good, solid car that's practical and gets decent gas mileage and rides okay and is reliable. It's loaded with all kinds of great options like climate control and a moonroof and steering-wheel controls for the radio. Good stuff, maynard.

Even though it's getting on in years and doesn't ride quite as comfy as it used to, I love my car. Given the choice, I'm gonna go with my beater Zoemobile over a brand new minivan.

So anyway, today I saw an old Pontiac Safari Station Wagon, complete with geniune simulated wood grain (I'd like to meet the designer that thought of coating sheet metal to look like timber...and find out what he was smoking), and I didn't snicker, and I didn't gaze scornfully.

I looked in the giant windows at the giant space in the back, and I thought, "Damn, I could fit a pack 'n play, stroller, the results of a shopping trip to Sam's, Target and Shop 'n Save, and all my photography gear back there. That would be cool."

The Photographer's Dream Car? Perhaps.

Part of what makes the station wagon so alluring is the famous (infamous?) shot of Ansel working on the roof of his wagon. He had a big ol' wagon that he drove himself and all his gear around in, and a platform constructed on the roof so he could get high to make shots. I don't remember for sure, but I think his "Moonrise, Hernandez" was made from the roof of the wagon.

Think about it...it's got a ton of space inside and a big roof that would allow room for you and your tripod, and isn't too high to clamber up on fairly easily.

And, it's sexy as hell.