The Mis-Adventures of Mister and Lady

It's been a little bit since I last wrote, but I seem to find that once I get up, catch the ferry, go into work, feel sufficiently like I know nothing about dental insurance, catch the ferry again, brave the 101 home and make dinner, there's very little left in terms of inspiration.

That being said, I realized today that I had failed to share with you the first of the mis-adventures.  It all started with a rental car.

We did, if you recall, have a pretty nice Mustang rental car, which barely fit all the luggage.  However, it was a better deal price wise to exchange the car mid-week, thus avoiding the week-long rate.  Car number two ended up being a Chevy POS.  I say that because I have no idea what this car was, but it was little and clearly powered by hamsters.  Thus it was called the Hamster Wagon.

The Hamster Wagon had brakes that squealed and sometimes locked up.  It also had no suspension.  If you've ever driven on California roads you probably know that shocks are a good thing.  All of this was nothing compared to the smell.  Apparently one of the hamsters powering the car died at some point and the smell permeated the interior.  This meant that you had to ride with the windows down.  Sure, I could have traded it in, but that involved a trip from Marin County to the airport and that was not going to happen mid-week.  So I braved the Hamster Wagon.  And it was all made worthwhile when I picked up Matt in the horrid vehicle and he got to experience the squeal, shocks, and smell first hand.

By the way, in case you didn't know, when you get into such a terrible car, you simply have to make fun of it in order to bear it.  So, we would usually say, "Hamster Wagon AWAY!!! Doodle-loodle-loo" (picture the old batman serial for that sound effect).  Followed shortly by, "Oh, urgh, roll down the windows."

Thankfully, my car arrived on Monday, which led to the mis-adventure I was speaking of.  Having a car delivered is like having someone come your house to put in cable.  "We'll be there between 11 and 1."  Sure, 11 and 1 in some other time zone maybe.  In actuality, they came at 2:30.

 The problem being we were attempting to meet them so I wasn't lounging at home waiting.  Oh no.  I'm cruising Oakland in the Hamster Wagon.  I finally picked up Matt at his interview (which went well by the way) and we proceeded to the final destination to pick up the finally arriving car.  So where's the mis-adventure you ask?  The car was being delivered in West Oakland.  In a place that I later found out is known for "violence and blight".  It was a bit gritty.  You have to picture, in your mind the worst neighborhood you've ever been in, and then picture me and Matt in a white Chevy Hamster Wagon circling the block waiting for a tractor trailer to pull up with my car.  It was not one of our better moments.  I kept thinking that we must be a sight to the locals.  Actually they were probably thinking "what a horrible car they have there and what the heck are they doing here." (this might not be the correct phrasing...)

Ultimately, the car was safely delivered.  And in point of fact we met the nice lady that lived in the neighborhood who was having her car delivered as well.  Now, I'm not gonna sugar coat this, that neighborhood is bad news.  I strongly suggest you not take a recreational trip through there in the wee hours of the morning.  But just to give the story its full flavor, I must say you can meet nice people anywhere.

So, I have my car and learned where to park in the city and that it's expensive.  I also can now state with all certainty that San Francisco and the surrounding areas have the most narrow lanes I have ever seen.

And I can report that the Hamster Wagon was returned.

We really wanted to leave a note in it that said:

"You've just rented the Hamster Wagon.  This is the most horrible car ever made.  It smells of something indescribably awful.  The brakes squeal.  Don't drive over rough roads.  Good luck and God bless."