911 / Nascar to Tallahassee

What a day! Not only a day full of events on this trip, but also in my entire USA history. But maybe one thing at a time.

We were looking forward to the day, especially to leave this hotel experience at Red Roof Inn in Griffin behind us. But there was an added bonus. We had planned to have breakfast at a Waffle House right across the street. So no shower, quickly packed up and just gone. Turned on the engine and full speed ahead... in theory.

In practice, it looked a bit different or sounded different. I started the Outlander and a dreadful roar resounded. We looked at each other in shock. Second attempt... same thing. Oh my God, where does that come from? Sounds like the car exhaust! Everything seems fine there, where is it coming from? From the engine compartment! Nadine asked me if I had any idea - of course not! My dad is the technical genius in the family. (Best regards) In short, we can't drive like this. Never.

So I quickly called the ADAC, because I'm a premium member! Okay, they couldn't help me, but I can call AAA, give them a code, and they will help. Hmmmm. Pondering. We have a rental car from AVIS, there's a number on the key, why not call them. Done. The call quality to the USA was significantly worse than to Germany on the other side of the world. Melissa was very nice and competent. I described that the car sounds like a NASCAR racing car, which is very absurd for such a compact car. Melissa asked determinedly if there was a loose cable under the car. We denied it, because Nadine had already checked that, of course. Melissa persisted, we should check again, and behold, a long cable coming from the engine compartment hung down to the ground, cleanly severed. Melissa explained that we were probably the victims of a catalyst converter theft overnight. This is currently very common. Apparently, these parts are very lucrative and sold as scrap metal...

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

No, but Melissa had a plan. We should call the sheriff, he would write a report, as it is vandalism. Then we should calmly drive to the airport in Tallahassee, which wouldn't be a problem, it's just unbearably loud and a 4-hour drive... but okay.

The sheriff from Spalding County arrived a few minutes after I called 911 for the first time in my life. He was very friendly and naturally super relaxed. Apparently, it was immediately obvious to everyone, except us, what had happened. He noted down my personal details, gave us a case number for the car rental, and watched the surveillance videos from the hotel, unfortunately without success. The thieves apparently knew where to strike.

I called AVIS again, gave them the case number from the officer, and we agreed to exchange the car in Tallahassee...

But we didn't want to miss out on the planned breakfast. My second visit to a Waffle House suggests that there must always be at least one employee over 80 years old, proudly displaying "Granny" on her name tag. She was very cute, Nadine wanted to take her with us. This time I insisted, she stayed there!

We were on the road, more poorly than well. It was an infernal noise, Melissa compared it to a speedboat, we could only imagine how loud it was outside. The car didn't want to go very fast either, and Nadine always accuses me of driving too slowly, but today it wasn't my fault. It was a "special" ride to the Sunshine State of Florida. Nadine got a headache, and my shoulders are starting to hurt because the constant vibrations for 4 hours felt like a workout.

At some point, when the palm trees became more and more abundant, we arrived at the International Airport of the capital of Florida in Tallahassee. Imagine this building as something like Laage Airport, for us it gave us hope that we would soon have a smooth process with short distances.

Beeeeeep... a little too optimistic, again.

Already at the rental car return, an apparently employed person said that we would have to exchange the car in Atlanta because we picked it up there as well. With confidence, I told him that everything was arranged and we would clarify it at the AVIS counter in the building. A very young man, I hope he could or wanted to understand me despite his AirPods, said he couldn't exchange the car, such damage was not insured. I should call my German insurance and come back with a case number. Which insurance exactly? My private car is insured at home, but not a rental car. Last chance, I booked the car through TUI, let's ask them. German hotline, German language, although English might have been easier here. The lady and the following ones spoke German very poorly and incomprehensibly and I would rather classify it as Spanish... but what else could shock us today. I was transferred twice to supposed superiors, with the result that they had great understanding and sympathy for our situation, but couldn't do anything, I had to call AVIS in the USA again. Done, we didn't have anything better to do anyway. Here, communication worked again in English. The friendly lady and later her superior didn't quite understand why the car couldn't be exchanged. Well, I couldn't say that either. But in the end, they couldn't do anything either, we should explain the situation again at the counter, that we ended up in this situation through no fault of our own.

Oh, by the way, it was interesting that the AVIS hotline could have helped us if we were in an acute emergency somewhere, but since we were at AVIS on site, they were the ones responsible. Funny thing is that we were only here because the AVIS hotline support at noon sent us here. Aaaarrrggghhh... oh well. An hour of telephone odyssey flew by, without any real result.

The AirPod boy at the AVIS counter smiled friendly but still insisted that he couldn't do anything. We showed him the TUI voucher, which is my booking confirmation. It states that all material damages, no matter who caused them, are covered. That wasn't stated on his documents. I asked for his superior, he called him. Unfortunately, he didn't answer - or luckily, because all of a sudden he had an idea and said: okay, let's do it! I was surprised and relieved at the same time, and Nadine was at least equally relieved.

We got another Mitsubishi Outlander, this time not the Sport version, which immediately proved to be an upgrade. The trunk was twice as big, there was space for luggage next to the wheelchair, electrically adjustable leather seats, better equipment, just right for cruising in style...

It was approaching 8 pm and we just wanted to get to the hotel. There was still a certain uneasiness after yesterday's and today's experiences. But now we also deserved a little compensation. Seven Hills Suites is an absolute recommendation. Very modern, a room with a couch, table, and two chairs. Lamps, air conditioning, ceiling fan, everything works. A bathroom with two sinks, a shower, a clean toilet. We're satisfied with little, and this room exceeds all our expectations. Breakfast is included, all of this for the exact same price of $77 as the horror dive from yesterday. Fate intends well for us, or still had something to make up for.

By now, it's almost 9 pm and we're enjoying a pleasant 83 degrees Fahrenheit. And here's your homework to make you envious. How many degrees Celsius is that in February here in the Sunshine State?

Warm greetings from Florida

Nadine & Daniel