Wednesday, March 31, 2010

FOUR RINGS

Yeah yeah, I know... slacking right?! Well, I've got an excuse, well kind of. I guess I could have blogged photos as I went, but I didn't, so you get em now all at once.

So last week, I finally made moves and sold my beloved Passat wagon. She treated me well and between all the expected VW breakdowns and even self inflicted damage you get from driving low, I have to say I loved every minute of it! Not 24 hours later was approved for a new ride and out the door... well actually, out the state.

Some whirlwind events led to an impromptu flight out to Southern California. Thank god for a forgiving job and co-workers! I have to say, it feels a lot better to be able to call in with an important matter and have the crew cover for you, than have to call in some sort of fake illness or excuse. I hope the guys know how much I appreciate their hard work, and I pay it back likewise when they need to take time off.

Anyway, the gist of it is that in roughly 48 hours the following events went down...

1: Sell the Passat on Wednesday at lunch for a pile of cash.
2: Call the Audi seller in Cali and tell him I'm ready to buy.
3: Hit up the bank Thursday morning, get final approval of loan.
4: Buy one way ticket and fly to Long Beach at 2 PM Thursday.
5: Get to LBC. Can't rent a car because of need of dedicated credit card (which is at home) (VISA debit won't work).
6: Get a cab from LB Airport to Thousand Oaks for $150 flat rate. (65 mile trip)
7: Finally get ahold of my Aunt, while about halfway to her house already.
8: Tip cab driver $50 for the trouble and because he was a great guy.
9: Chinese takeout dinner with Aunt Merri, Uncle Paul and the kids Grant and Mara.
10: Freak out all night trying to find a ride the 60 miles from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara.
11: Ryan Fudger hooks up some train info and I get a Business Class ticket for $26.
12: Get to Santa Barbara Audi at 10:30 AM to meet the seller (he works there).
13: Meet Bill. Good guy. Knows his shit. Sounds and looks like Kevin Porter, but with glasses.
14: Chill out at SB Auto Group while Bill does a timing belt job on the car.
15: Walk around looking at tons of Audi's, BMW's, Mercedes' and Porsches. One guy says hi, once. No other help. I guess I looked poor.
16: Walk up to Whole Foods to grab a bite.
17: Talk to Mutt on the phone for an hour while waving off buses at the dopest bus stop ever.
18: Walk back to SB Audi and eat lunch in the sun across the street at an abandoned dealership.
19: Hang out in SB Audi Service watching old rich folks come in and pay thousands of dollars for repairs like a leaky window washer fluid hose and bad SAIP's.
20: Bill finishes the install and we take her out for a test drive. This thing pulls hard!!
21: Free car wash and the Avant is delivered to me at the door.
22: Say my goodbyes and thank yous to the great guys at SB Audi.
23: I have the keys, I can finally relax and stop stressing now. Hit the road back to Thousand Oaks to meet the fam for dinner. I love driving this car...


After all the madness was over, I ate dinner, pumped my own gas for once, and headed to Long Beach to kick it and stay the night at Drew Lira's house. Good to see a friend from Portland while I was down there.

Saturday I hit up a RideBMX / Ballpark HotDog jam at the Long Beach skatepark. Saw Barney, Nate, and Fano from TIP, Jim B and Stephen from Odyssey, and Fudger. Ate some Church's Chicken and then hit the ole Interstate 5 North around 2 PM.

With the exception of gas and a McDonald's, I drove 12 hours straight and got to Springfield at about 2:30 AM where an awake Mutt and HamBone greeted me. I told them a quick version of the events and then we all hit the sack. Up at 11 AM, showered, shaved, and hit up our fave, the Busy Bee cafe for late breakfast.

Time to head back to PDX. Stopped off in Salem to show Christian the new whip, he loves it. Then some slowww Oregon driving the rest of the way home. Probably a good thing considering I got a speeding ticket in NorCal on the way up ;)


And now for the pictures... (click to see the big version)

The Passat, I'll miss you.
0_byebyepassat

PDX on a Thursday afternoon.
1_airport_thusday

405 N traffic from the cab.
2_cali traffic

Booze at the train stop.
3_beerattrain

Best bus stop ever! Santa Barbara, CA.
4_busstop1

Sat right there for well over an hour.
5_busstop2

SB Audi/Mercedes across the street.
6_SBAudi

Healthy lunch?
7_SBlunch

Trash can grind ledge at the lunch spot.
8_skatespot

California math book with a BMXer on the cover.
9_Calimathbook

Lots of fields in central Cali.
10_drivehome1

Bug splat... and I ain't talkin Ruban Alcantara.
11_drivehome2

What it was all for :-D
S4_siderear

3 hollas:

123 said...

Dope ass rig Son! They see you rolling...

boogdawg said...

that's the whip son!!!!!

Bill Fed said...

So glad that it worked out and you had a fun trip out of it! My service advisor found this randomly while searching the internet. I feel bad that I was so sick when you were here, wish I could have treated you to a night on the town or at least shown you some bmx spots. The rest of the receipts for the car are in the mail along with a little surprise.. ;) Take care.

Post a Comment