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After hitting the rack early last night, I was hoping today would bring great things. Best laid plans, right? After waking up on the hour throughout the night I was hardly refreshed. I woke up at 8:30 and after some brief planning, I finally sucked it up and got set to hit the road around 11:00 am. After loading up the car with all my gear, I started to leave the parking lot and noticed a shimmy in the left side of the rental car. I got out to inspect the cause and found the culprit - a flat left rear tire. So I called Avis’ roadside assistance number and they sent out a team to change the tire.
Before they arrived, I checked the spare. Of course the replacement was one of those small donut tires that have speed and distance caps. With 4,000 miles to go, that dog ain’t gonna hunt. I was smart and decided to check ahead of time on where to take the car to either get a real tire put on or get a new rental car. The people at Avis recommended the Raleigh Airport location and provided me with an address and phone
number for that location.
I entered the address into my TomTom GPS - not found. Great. So I tried calling the phone number to get a better address - a screeching ring - fax machine. Idiots gave me the fax number. I talk to roadside assistance again to get the correct number. This one keeps ringing non-stop. Idiots gave me another wrong number. Finally, I looked up the number online and the call volume is high at the facility and worldwide. Perfect. I call roadside assistance again and they finally give me the correct address.
The car is a four door Kia Optima, the South Korean version of an Accord or Camry. Now Kias aren’t known as the finest autos in the world but I didn’t think that would carry over into the comfort of the ride. Yesterday I had to remove the headrest of the driver’s seat because it pushed your head forward like a hunchback. I had to replace this before getting to the facility so they wouldn’t think I damaged the car. So I’m driving on the 65 mph interstate in the right lane at 50 mph looking like a 95 year old with my
body leaning forward over the steering wheel. Cars are whizzing by. I am the slow kid in the gifted class. I am miserable.
I finally arrived at the facility and they replaced my car with a white PT Cruiser. I am now the Breadman.
The day’s touring was cut a little short by the tire episode. At least I did get to tour UNC. The campus is gorgeous with trees, grass and historic buildings everywhere. I was surprised by how many students were there for summer sessions. Many were scattered across the lawns, taking in their reading for class in the warm afternoon sun.
The town itself revolves around the university. Vintage fraternity houses line one half of the main strip and retail shops, fast food joints and restaurants line the other. I ate a late lunch at one such fast food joint, a student favorite called Time Out Chicken.
Time Out is renowned for its Southern fried chicken and one sandwich in particular. In the South, there’s nothing finer than fried chicken and a biscuit. Now imagine taking this succulent breast of fried chicken, throwing it on the tastiest biscuit and adding a slice of cheddar cheese. Mmmmm mmmmm.
Tomorrow I’m going to tour Duke University. Fortunately I had some extra time built into my itinerary for the Carolinas so I’m still on schedule. Hopefully I get a better night’s sleep tonight and can get more out of the day.
UPDATE: The fun continues. To save a little and eat a bit healthier, I decided to boil some chicken breasts in my hotel room kitchen. The burner just blew out, creating a loud bang like a gun shot and some smoke. Off went the smoke detector. No harm so far. Excellent.
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