Adventures with Bri: The Lil Nugget

L and I were the first of the five to leave for our Grecian adventure. I left hell i mean work at 12 on Thursday and headed back to San Diego to grab our car and bags. You see, being the economical (cheap) individuals we are we booked a flight out of LAX but didn't get a connecting flight there. Rather, we opted to rent a car and drive to LAX because that was cheaper; even cheaper than driving our own car and leaving it in long term parking.

I arrived at Alamo at the same time as a plane must have arrived from the Philippines. Think somewhere between the line for the cups and the line for the Matterhorn at Disneyland. I stood aimlessly until I realized there was a self help kiosk. Now typically, I like to avoid such devices because I think part of what I am paying for is customer service, high maintenance? maybe. But my ride to the rental car place aka my dad (solidifying his place for father of the year) was patiently waiting to make sure his daughter was taken care of and not as lost as she appeared to be. So I hopped on the kiosk, did a little swipy here and lil swipey there and bam had my contract and I was good to go pick my car. Outside, I waved to my dad and Lafawnduh to let them no their watch was over and they could go. The representative directed me to the area to pick out my "economy" car.

"It's the left row all the way at the back"

I look down the beautifully paved early 1990's car garage and see tons of empty spaces, the sign economy, and then one little white car. I looked at the rep.

"So you're saying that white one is mine"

She looks at the car, then at me, and laughs

"Yup"

I meander down to the little white sheep of a car that closely resembled a salvaged clown car. Turned the key in the door and climbed it to the little Chevy. I turned her over and she purred like an overweight cat with asthma. I patted her dashboard and said;

"well it's you and me lil nugget. I just need you to get us to LAX"

With that, I pulled out scanned my contract and headed home to pick up the luggage. I ate a few string cheeses while killing time and then headed to pick up L. I arrived to provide curbside pick up service and L climbed.

"Man B you really have a thing for small cars"

I assured her, it was our economical decision that sealed our fate with the lil nugget. We took of up the 5 hitting batches of traffic and long clear straight a ways were I was really able to push the Nugget. Being the aggressive driver that I am, I would attempt to gain and pass people not realizing the delicate nature of the Nugget. She would groan and clear her throat at the stomp of my right foot throwing the gas pedal to the floor. Putting all her might into it, we maximized her strength only to accelerate a few mph. The little nugget is no Lafawnduh and definitely no Silver Lady.

We arrived in LA with great timing and decided to run a few errands before assigning ourselves to the airport. We drove one exit past LAX and got off and turned right to find a liquor store, cvs, and gas station. We cruised down the street and several blocks in I noticed a liquor store on the right.

"There we go, liquor first"

We pull closer and I start to break to pull in.

B - "ummm"
L - "UU this place looks a little rough"
B - "Umm yeah, I dunno should I stop?"
L - "No keep going"

I drive past.

"B where are we?"

We looked for signage.

L - "Oh my goes we're in Inglewood"

B - "Haha, opps! Gosh I have never felt so white. Everything about us is white, including our little nugget of a clown car."

L - "Let's get out of here."

B - "Yeah I 'll U turn up here. Wait there's another liquor store, that one looks less threatening. Should we try it?"

L - "Yeah it doesn't look to bad, why not."

We pull in, get out, and have to hand lock each door. Paying special attention to the back seats because our bags were in there, not the truck because the trunk was to small. We enter the store to find the counter completely enclosed by a clear plastic wall. In order to assist, we have to point at times in the container and say this one, I would like one of... blah blah blah. Now, this seems very simple. But our 65 year old counter man had a hard understand on English, i think was hard of hearing, definitely, going blind, and I think he was stoned out of his mind. Our conversations went mostly like this:

L/B "I would like xyz"

Blank stare.

L/B - "You know, xyz..."

Clerk - "lmnop"

L/B - "no, xyz"

Clerk - "x?"

l/B "uh, xyz."

Clerk - "XYZ?"

L/B - "Yes"

Clarke "Where?"

We'd walk over to the counter and point at it.

L/B - "Here"

clerk goes for an item 3 shelves up.

"This?"

L/B - "No, xyz, right here"

clerk- "This, abc?"

it went on and on and on. I mean 10 minutes in a liquor store is 8 minutes to many. Regardless, we got our items and then decided to bust out of Inglewood for the rest of our errands. We headed back across the freeway into a fancy pants neighborhood where our whiteness blended better. It's amazing the difference a right or left turn can make. Finally, we head off to the rental car center and had to part ways with our nugget. We dropped her off and they inputted the Nugget's license plate and said:

Dude - "Ok Leslie Berry, that is it"

B -"Leslie Berry, no that's not my name you have the wrong contract"

Dude - "No see, Leslie Berry? You no know Leslie?" turns to L "You Leslie"

L - "No"

B - "No it's under my name"

Dude - "No it's under Leslie Berry, you write her name?"

B - "Dude no, here's my contract. See B. D."

Dude - "oh no, no. This is Leslie Berry"

Finally they call the manager who figures out they put Leslie's ressie under my name and vise versa. How that actually happens is beyond me since they scan barcodes on the contract and cars upon departure and arrival. But, cest le vie! We got it sorted and jumped on our transportation to the terminal. From then on it was smooth sailing, checked in, went through security, got my honorary pat down, and headed to the Star Alliance executive lounge. [Side note for the parentals - while checking in I filled out an emergency contact form. Mom - you're mine, no offense dad ;) Since we were traveling together they assumed L had the same emergency contacts, lol. so if a tragic event occurs mom and dad, you are also l's emergency contacts. In which case please refer to the emergency contact list I provided you and address accordingly. also fyi, l's dad is the first point of contact:)]

Courtesy of all my work miles, I am a gold star alliance member and can get access to the lounge with a guest. So naturally, L and I went in to explore the freebies. It was heaven sent, since we were 3 hours early. We gorged ourselves on free beverages and food, including olives [#poundingolives] in out sauna-esq environment. Yes, somehow despite being an executive lounge they didn't have a functioning A/C. Sweltering. Flushed faces and slight perspiration were a staple amongst all guest. But clearly if it means free drinks and food, most people are willing to suffer the discomfort.

We eventually boarded and slept through the majority of our 10 and a half hour flight to Munich. In Munich, we lapped the airport to get the blood circulating and reduce the cankles. We also filmed my highly desired (by me) video of being a super hero. I saw Stromae do it in a video awhile back and I have had it on my bucket list. Thanks to L's patience and camera skills, I can now check that one off the list.

And now, we are on the flight to Athens. We've consumed all our stashed snacks from the executive lounge in LAX and are anxiously awaiting planting our feet on solid ground. Less than an hour we will be a stones throw from the Parthenon =)

We are here, awesome little digs:)

Our Little White Nugget