In March I flew up to Seattle. I’ve heard all about the maritime culture up that way, and decided to see for myself. I was also interested in the two fellas who got the idea for the Race To Alaska, known as the R2AK. They agreed to be interviewed for the Forum of the Singlehanded Sailing Society, this venerable digest of boatish things.
As a premise for my entre into the good graces of Ashlyn Brown of PT Watercraft I carried a Pelagic autopilot in a separately checked suitcase, mentioned here a bit earlier.
The adventure started when I walked to the car rental facility which is just a short bus shuttle away from the airport.
At Enterprise Car Rental I had reserved – what else? – the least expensive car. At the Seattle airport car rental place there are young people everywhere you turn dressed nicely, ready to serve. Clipboards in hand, they are very professional. Very pleasant.
They all have business cards with their names on them. Unfortunately I lost his business card, but let’s call him Justin. When I arrived Justin told me mournfully that Enterprise was unable to provide me with the small, cheap car that I was willing to pay for. However, with a magnanimous sweep of his arm he led me to an enormous Dodge Charger. The Enterprise policy is to meet the customer’s every expectation, or absent that, to exceed the customer’s expectation, for the price of the reserved car. Or something to that effect.
I forget because I was flummoxed. Should I wait a mere ten minutes for the next measly prius-type car or should I leap into this turbo-charged beast and pay for all the gas its engine would surely guzzle? Should I wait to listen to classical music in a small car with tinny speakers or take advantage of the Charger’s serious bass-enhanced sound and listen to Tom Petty on my iphone via Bluetooth technology?
“Well, let me see if my feet can reach the pedals,” I said to Justin. I climbed in, rolled down the window and said, “I’ll take it. Could you put my suitcase in the trunk, please? And be gentle. There’s a Pelagic in there.”