well, there’s bad news, but there’s good news too

The bad news is… our engine is ruined. Yes, you can actually destroy your engine by driving through what looked like a big puddle! Especially if you drive a Honda or a Toyota, apparently. The good news is that it looks like our insurance will cover it, because it’s considered flood damage. Unless they determine that it was just a coincidence that the engine died at the moment we drove through water. Lucky for us the water was on a main street and it was during a tropical storm. I’m still shocked by that even being possible – this was NOT like a lake  – Baker B didn’t even see it until it was too late. I’m also shocked that if killing your engine is this easy, we haven’t done it years ago.

Shocking thing number two is that we’ve had a really nice trip. And… we’re still here. We are leaving tomorrow, but we just couldn’t get everything taken care of in time to check out by noon today. We had to wait till Monday to get the car towed. We ended up taking it to, oddly, a tire shop that the tow truck guy recommended that is close enough to walk to from the motel. They do all kinds of things other than tires, it seems. And it was around four yesterday before we found out the shocking verdict. The tire shop guy told us to call our insurance agent, which had not occurred to me despite all those commercials about being there and being good neighbors and being in good hands during a disaster. I just think of insurance claims as something to be avoided at all costs. But maybe all these years of forking over zillions in premiums will pay off! 

Since it was so late in the day, we didn’t get the claim made in time to talk to the adjuster until this morning. And it will take them a couple of days to get to it. By the time we’d walked to the shop, talked to the insurance people, walked back to the motel, and started the surprising hell that is finding a rental car, we had to just get the room another day. Horrifying for sure – another day in my favorite place on earth! And now I’ll get some more days here since we’ll have to come back down and retrieve the car. Although we don’t know when, and won’t know until the insurance adjuster looks at it.  

Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, since we’re going to be stuck with the rental car until we come back down. And unfortunately I don’t have a rental car as part of my insurance package. And do you know what it is impossible to get? A one-way rental car to Teeny Tiny Town where we live! We called everybody in the book trying to find SOMEBODY who will let us pick it up here and drop it off in Boone. The closest we could come was dropping it off in Asheville or Hickory. Then we’d have to get to Boone, and then we’d have to get back to Charleston when the Civic is fixed. And we can’t take the Colt on a trip like that. Unless we want another disaster. Which wouldn’t be covered by insurance. We sat here for about an hour, trying to figure this out. It was like a logic puzzle. Being tackled by tired, illogical people.

"Okay, we’ll get a car here, and we’ll drive it to Boone and then we’ll get a car there and we’ll drive both cars back to Ashevile and we’ll turn in the first car and take the second car back to Boone and then we’ll turn in that car, and then we’ll….ummmmmm…..not be able to get back to Charleston. Oh. Wait, wait, I know!! We’ll get a car here, drive it to Asheville, turn it in, get another car in Asheville, drive it to Boone, turn THAT one in, get another car in Boone to drive back to Charleston, and then…ummmmm… no."

It was easier just to rent one indefinitely and hope they’ll fix the Civic fast. We did at least luck out and get Enterprise to pick us up tomorrow because she told us the Enterprise that’s near where we are had a car, when they’d already told us they didn’t, so when she found out she made a mistake she called back and said they’d come get us. Which made me eye Enterprise a little more favorably. Even though they won’t let us turn in our car in Boone, to the Enterprise right beside where Baker B gets a latte every day of his life.

So – it really WAS a Disaster!Trip. But… we’ve had a great time. Very very weird. We’ve been hemorrhaging money as we pay for more motel nights and we pay for more food and beer and Starbucks and we pay $12-15 a shot for taxis… but it is so nice to just call a cab and let someone else drive us into town and not give a thought to parking. Then when we want to come back to the motel – we call and someone drives us back! It’s wonderful! We may actually have a taxi fund for the next trip, especially during weekdays when it’s hard to find parking in town. Baker B has been bizarrely happy and even tempered and has been looking at all the bright sides. The White Noise Incident was the only time he’s even approached meltdown. As he said in the Brewery, "A kid at the next table banging his spoon on a plate?? MELTDOWN!!!! We kill the car and are stranded for days and have to buy a whole new engine? Oh, well, it could be worse!"

And now we get to come back in a week or two and get the Civic. And I’m quite thrilled about that too, of course. Of all places to have a car incident, it sure was nice to be somewhere I adore.

And – more pictures of the Place I Adore since I’m making use of this high speed thing. Which of course I’m paying for too, but it is SO worth it.

 

Near the Battery

 

 

 

On the Battery – the cool falling-down mansion I love.

 

 

Nifty red door.

 

 

Look on top of the door.

 

 

What’s he doing up there??!!?? Who knows!

 

 

Rainbow Row

 

 

Pink house at night

 

 

Why, hi there!