I was having a lovely time . . .

I was having a lovely time on my road trip until I rear-ended a less than year old sedan driven by a young woman who is probably very friendly when you don't hit her car!

No one was hurt. I was only going 20 mph and I don't exactly know what happened. It was stop and go driving and all of a sudden the car ahead of me was stopped and I saw the brake lights. I slammed on my brakes, but sadly, not soon enough to avoid a crunch!

My car was not damaged. She thinks hers was, I couldn't see any, but I don't know. She called the local police. That was the best thing she did. He was nice. Calming. Told me accidents happen. Gave me a written warning, not an actual ticket. Lent me his cell phone to call my insurance co, when my cell phone had no service. Told me not to worry, it would be ok. Said the same calming things to the young woman and made her feel ok too.

That was Wednesday late afternoon. It is now Saturday and I have finally stopped replaying the screech, crunch and upset. I have spent a lot of time reading. watching tv, listening to the radio. Silence has not been my friend.

But today I feel more like myself. I don't have any trouble driving around town. I called my insurance co. They told me my rates would not increase as long as the repairs to her car were less than $500. I can hope. This is the first time, since I got my license, I have had an accident (and my record of no moving violations is still intact). Sadly I'm sure the insurance company will not consider all those years of good driving if they have to pay more than $500 to fix the young woman's car.

I'm glad to be back home. I had some fun adventures and I'll share them when I'm feeling a bit more gounded.

Road Trip

I'm going to be away next week.

My daughter returns from her 3 week Central European mini-Abroad, only to jump right into her summer job as Waterfront Director at a cool co-ed camp. She & her brother went to this camp together as kids. They each did the LT (leadership training) and CIT (counselor in training) programs and were counselors.

I met my husband at summer camp when we were counselors, and as a teen, I spent 2 glorious summers on Catalina Island at Girl Scout camp. Summer camps hold a special place in my heart!

My daughter could take a plane to camp. I don't really need to drive her, but I want to. I'm hoping she will talk about her trip. Driving in the car together, if she's not bummed about stuff, is one of those great places she opens up and shares what she's doing or thinking. (The local CPK near her college is another. Good thing I like the food!) Of course, she may sleep after the long flight.

My other ulterior motive is to do a bit of antiquing. I mean, as long as I'm there. . . I'm familiar with the area and there's one antique mall which usually takes me all day to peruse. I'm slow, I admit. I know folks who can walk in and zero in on the things they want. Not me. This mall also has a really good little cafe, so I can stop for lunch without leaving the premises. I'm sure they planned it that way!

I'm trying to do this trip on the cheap. I'm even considering car camping in my van. I don't expect to have internet. So I'll see you all when I return.

Home

I don't live in California any longer. But I was born in Hollywood and grew up here. Whenever I visit, it still feels like home. My son flew in and out of LAX about a month ago and commented how sprawling it looked and too big.

LA is big. It has been ever since the 30's/40's when they stole the water rights from the Owens Valley. The choice was either be part of LA or find your own water. LA is a desert, water is very important. Hence, the sprawling nature! In college I drove from the west end of LA to the east -- it's 100 miles long! So flying in at night is amazing. The streets are laid out in a grid, the lights are twinkling and to me, it's familiar!

I also really like driving in Southern California. This morning I headed south from Orange County to San Diego County. I stopped in Carlsbad for lunch and to visit some antique shops. We lived there once. Then I kept going, keeping the Pacific on my right and as close to me as I could get. It is a beautiful drive. You go through such cool little towns like Del Mar, La Jolla, Leucadia, Encinitas, Mission Beach . . . pretty places with lots of people out in the sunshine on a Sunday.

I'm now staying at an old friend's place. Her daughter and mine became friends in pre-school and still talk on Facebook. I have plans to visit with other friends (they are taking days off work just to hang out with me -- how cool is that?). And when I'm not with friends, I'm gonna drive around and just feel at home.

Don't Upgrade My Rental Car, Please!

In the past 3 months I have had the occasion to rent cars twice. So what has happened is not even close to any statistical certainty . . . still it seems a pattern.

I always ask for economy or compact cars when renting. The difference between those two is the number of doors, not the size of the car. But otherwise, I like driving small cars. I learned to drive on a Volkswagon Beetle. I once owned a Honda -- y'know the car they first made with the modified motorcycle engine. It was about the size of a Mini-Cooper.

So, when in a new city or driving an unfamiliar car, as one does with a rental, I like it small. And I keep getting mid-size cars. The nice men at the rental counters seem to think they are doing me a GREAT favor by upgrading my car size. Really, they grin and say, "Oh I've got a great car for you."

In January, when we walked out to find our car we saw a Prius and got really excited, this was a treat -- small and great gas mileage. Sadly, the treat he had in mind was the Sebring in the next space. It felt like a boat to me. The guy at the counter was startled to see me back a few minutes later. It was after midnight, all the small cars were gone so after the Sebring he offered me an SUV, which on general principles was completely out. Next he offered me a van and that I took.

I know, I know, it may make no sense that I won't drive a mid-size car but I will drive a van. I can't explain it. I drive a van at home. It doesn't feel like a boat. Maybe it's that they are higher up?

This latest rental (yesterday) was just funny. Or awful. It depends on how you look at it. We arrived at LAX at 8:30 pm and at 10:30 pm we were driving out of the lot with an unrequested mid-size car. Honestly, it took a full hour just to get to the counter. The computers were down. Apparently this is a scheduled thing. On Saturday? At the beginning of other state's Spring Break? There were a lot of tired cranky kids and parents.

I tried to switch cars but didn't have the heart to wait another 45 minutes. Luckily, I wasn't staying in LA, so I drove south and this morning called the rental counter at the John Wayne Airport. If I got there within an hour, they were willing to exchange my car, no problem.

I think the next time I rent a car I am going to have to have a fit at the very start of the process. I'm not very good at fits, actually. Most of the time I have such good experiences travelling or getting my money back for tickets I can't use or other things running so smoothly. . . my daughter actually bragged to one of her friends that I was a whiz at this!

Maybe just a note in the car reservation form that says, NO UPGRADES, PLEASE! Give them to someone who really wants them!