Understatement for the Car
Really… this car is Sah-WEET! I forgot to mention the auto stick has PADDLE SHIFTERS! For those that don’t follow cars, these are paddles right behind the steering wheel, one each for down and up shift (left and right). Formula 1 has paddle shifters if that gives a hint.
Though it still is auto with traing wheels and no clutch, it’s still super cool to drive. Becca will soon learn how to paddle shift.
The pickup on the thing is awesome and we hit 90 without even feeling it. But quickly dropped down to legal threshold (for the parental units reading this post).
Breakfast at Desert Deli with Dessert of a Car
Oh yeah! Thick French toast, bacon, coffee, OJ… loved it! Thought about the Lox, but wanted to play it safe seeing that we’ll soon be on a mountain.
Sherman’s Delicatessen is the breakfast place. They have tons of autographed head shots… and if any of those head shots are New York-bred, then this could be home. They DO have corned beef. We are thinking about submitting the place to Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Eating outside as well. Seriously, I REALLY want to retire and move here. Or at least move here and help these retirees with their Internets (added plural for some of the readers out there).
By the way… the final car on the trip is a 2013 BMW Z4 hardtop convertible… 2 seater with an autostick! We shall cruise a bit.
Indian Wells – Free
To keep it brief (because it’s bed time), today was the first day we got to see tennis. Free admission. It was the end of women’s qualifying (WTA) and almost the end of men’s qualifying (ATP) rounds.
We saw some good hard hitting, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and some cool practice sessions of the players.
Ten feet away, those 130 mph serves and topspin ground strokes are just sick!
We also got to watch the ATP draw picked (from a big open tennis ball). Interesting to see how they split up the top seeds so they don’t play each other in the early rounds.
Other than that, just hung out and enjoyed some free tennis. Thursday will be more official (and all day).
Cars – Rentals Can Be Fun
I love renting cars. Especially ones that are fun and you’ll probably never own.
You probably read about the Volvo C70 hard top convertible in a previous post. Well, due to timing and circumstances, we had to rent a day car before cashing in Becca’s card points for our Indian Wells car.
It was a Nissan Juke. Neat little car! Some may say “ugly as sin” or goofy, but FUN to drive! It also is a turbo and has a 6 speed auto stick! Becca found that by accident when picking it up. When the RPMs get stuck at 5000 and won’t change, something is awry.
For those who are unfamiliar, it is basically an automatic with the option to manually shift up or down without the hassle of a clutch… shifting with training wheels. I had lots of fun… and never came out of shift mode. And the turbo… yup, it got out of the way.
Becca just rolled her eyes.
🙂
Off tomorrow early to return this one for another potential toy!
A Scary Episode
We drove around 3.5 hrs from LA and before that there wasn’t much time to breathe, let alone “rest” in a restroom. But it was fine. I could manage. Our restroom travelled with us.
We got settled and mostly hooked up at the Shadow Hills RV Resort in Indio near Indian Wells. We sat for a light dinner and some breathing time. After eating, at one moment my stomach (lower) moved very painfully. It passed. Then all I remember was Becca yelling my name and getting up, shaking my shoulder.
I had passed out.
I have never before passed out. Came close a few times and have been knocked unconscious a time or two in soccer. And even came close to blacking out recently when ill, but never passed out.
Becca said she saw me just slump over with my eyes wide open, dilated and when I came to, said I grabbed my chest. Her first thoughts were “heart attack”. Okay, I am 9 years older but really?
It was freaky. I started profusely sweating after that and was very disoriented. I don’t remember feeling it come on and think back that my chest clutching could have been a security “what’s going on” physical reaction… like “am I here?”
Needless to say, it still bothers me some. Freaked Becca out. And made me put “resting” at a higher priority.
When I said to Becca earlier “you need to know how to drive it (RV)… in case I am unconscious”… I really hoped not to mean it.
But you never know!