On the way down highway 29 in Napa, CA my family and I passed American Canyon Car Wash and there was a special. One Dollar quick car washes! (Update: No more dollar deal. Boo!)

YES!

Our cars rarely get washed. I mean rarely like once or twice a year. With nary a cloud of rain anytime in the near future and a couple bucks to spare our truck full of kids turned into the driveway and paid our $1.

American Canyon Car Wash Off Hwy 29

Car washes aren’t all that exciting really but for us it was fun. Remember, we have 5 kids and for 4 of them, it was quite an experience. The baby sat quietly wondering what was going on. Number two, screamed in fear at the sights and noises attacking every panel and window. Number 3 and 4 were all smiles and keenly observing each phase of the wash from the initial spray of mist by the two guys at the beginning of the wash, they sprayed front, top, sides, wheels, and rear with their misting hoses, to shifting into neutral as the conveyor took the wheels and started pulling the truck forward.

For a buck it was a nice family event that the kids won’t soon forget. Not to mention that the vehicle now looks spotless – at least on the outside. The inside is a different story and it will cost way more than a dollar to clean that up. Nasty!

The waiting room

The quick wash even came with free use of their vacuums. That’s quite a deal if you ask me. But just like all good deals this dollar wash ended the same day. That being the case as soon as we got home, I took my car there. Numbers 3 and 4 came along for that one, too! I don’t know what it is about car washes but I remember trips to the car wash when I was a kid and that one was the kind where you had to get out and go into a room where you could follow your car through the wash through the windows. Even though you had to get out of the car it was still a fun experience.

With my car I decided to splurge and pay $3 for the extra foam wash and some other thing that I forgot but it sounded clean. Then after that my kids and vacuumed the interior. That was a fun thing to do with them and to be able to watch them work together at something was a pleasure to see.

I guess seeing something dirty and gross transform into something clean and shiny is a nice thing to witness. I know when I watch shows like Overhaulin’ where Chip Foose transforms ugly cars into works of art or Flipping Vegas when Scott and Amie Yancey take a junky house and morph it into beautiful homes that sell for top dollar, I really enjoy watching the process of the transformation.

In a small way, getting your car washed is kind of the same thing.