And so it begins…

After months of anticipation, our trip around-the-World kicked off at a bleary-eyed 4AM this morning as I stepped in a warm pile of dog shit. Not quite the champagne and well wishers one would hope for as a Bon Voyage, but I suppose all trips must start somewhere.

Some twenty-seven hours later, we are still in transit to Papeete, Tahiti. Our first day of travel has been an amalgamation of laughter, waiting, whining, waiting, fighting, waiting, sleeping, waiting - and some more waiting thrown in for good measure.

As many of you know, I am not a patient person. We all have our character flaws and I would firmly stake a flag in mine. But my impatience was no more evident than during our rental car debacle at Los Angeles today. Typically when I rent a car, I logon to the Hertz website, select any particular vehicle, get off my plane, get in my car and drive away. I don’t worry if it’s $30 per day or $50 per day. I use the service for convenience and efficiency. However, in keeping with the spirit of having a travel budget, I instead checked prices at Hertz and Expedia and determined I could save $30 by going to Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

Fast-forward to the Enterprise rental car shuttle at Los Angeles. As Gina and I sat cramped like sardines between 6 golf bags and 12 passengers on a 10 passenger bus, we slowly watched the rental car agencies tick away. “There goes Hertz,” I mumbled at one point. Minutes continue to pass and we see LAX Second Hand Rental Car Agency, Rent-a-Wreck, Tres Hermonos Autos - still no Enterprise? After about another mile, we arrive at a non-descript warehouse that is the Enterprise facility. The passengers on the bus, clearly Enterprise regulars, jockey for position to exit the slave ship on wheels and immediately dart for the warehouse entrance. Gina laughs, “That isn’t a good sign.”

Inside the warehouse, we encounter a switchback of budget minded travelers waiting ever so patiently for assistance. Ten minutes into the experience, I begin thinking, “I did this to save $30?” Gina begins to jokingly prod me and I tell her to see if there’s a shuttle outside. “If so, ask the driver if he’ll drop us at Hertz on the way back to the airport.”

---

---