European Cars

We said our hellos and they explained how their plane got in over thirty minutes early and they decided to wait for me where I should be coming up from the train. At one point Justin returned to the gate but he said he did not see me sitting there. His co-worker, Robert, told Justin to page me at 8:30 (he waited until 9:30). I felt horrible that they had been waiting for two hours after a long flight but what could you do? I asked about the phone and Justin told me he was given a work phone, which I did not have the number to.

It was all said and done now and they were ready to get out of the airport. We headed to the car (which they had already gotten the keys to) and made all of our luggage fit. We check the car and found some scratches on the back bumper; Robert went to tell the guy at the car rental place, who said to bring the car around.

After trying to turn the car on for about 5 minutes, we were finally able to get the engine going (brake and clutch need to be ALL the way down). We were on our way...kind of. We stalled, started up again, stalled, started up again, stalled. It had been a few years since Robert had driven stick and I had a feeling it was going to be a long car ride. After 5 stalls we made it the 100 feet to the car rental guy.

We parked facing a cement wall and the man walked around the car looking at the damage. He said that it was already marked on the sheet and that we were good to go. We put the car in reverse and went forward. Put it in reverse, forward. Please note: at this point in time we are INCHING closer and closer to a cement wall. There was very little room left before we got Robert to just ask the car rental man how to put it in reverse - since it obviously was not going. This guy was trying so hard not to laugh, I do give him lots of credit for succeeding.

He showed us that you needed to push the stick down when you put it in reverse and Robert tried again - success. I could not imagine having to fill out an accident form before we even left the garage and in front of the rental man.

We got to the main road and only had about an hour's drive. It was a beautiful ride with lots of farms, mist over everything, crops growing, the sub rising, and even biking and walking paths throughout the farmland. Just lovely.