Death of the Puta

We know it's been a while since our last update but there has been a lot to do as of late. So after spending the fourth with our new friend Annie, we wasted another half a day at the customs office in San Diego. But Officer Calvin was kind enough to give us a hard time and to make it readily apparent that he didn't want to help us. After finally giving up on Calvin and the US customs personel, we decided to try the DMV, which is where we ended up having much better luck. As we stand now we have both insurance and temporary registration until September. We're really only waiting for a new VIN number from California Highway Patrol before we can finish the process. Basically we're just hoping the lack of communication between the inept staff at the Customs office and the DMV is weak enough that customs will never really find out what we're trying to do. So with the temporary registration we decided to move along on up to Napa and San Fransisco. Of course is was right about then that we hit another snag, this one by far being the biggest yet. We had just passed LA when out water pump finally decided to completely give up. Fortunately we were near enough to an exit that we were able to pull off onto a local road. After a quick look under the hood Darren pronounced her dead, and we new her being as old as she is that it would be a while before we could find a replacement pump. Brendan, again, put to use his extensive network of contacts that he has set up around the country and got a hold of his friend AJ in LA, who came out to pick us up. Realizing that the car wasn't gonna be ready before Brendan and I had to be on the east coast, we had champagne and cigars that we'd brought from mexico there on the curb next to our broke down vehicle. We were planning on having them at the final destination of our little journey, that probably being Colin's house in NJ, but this was most likely the last place we all drove in that car together so we decided to do it there. Thanks a lot to AJ for letting us crash at his place and not minding all the phone calls early the next morning. Oddly enough AJ was the first stop we made when we finally got out of Honduras, as we met up with him in Leon, Nicaragua. So he was with us both the first place and last place we went in the Puta. He also kicks ass so we hope we get to run into him again. The next day, we called around and figured the best way to get it up to Darren's house in Napa was to rent a Budget moving truck as well as a car trailer and drag it up there. It only took us about 6-7 hours but with the truck and trailer having an overall length of close to 40 feet needless to say it was a hectic trip. So as it stands right now, Darren is home in Napa, Brendan, too, is back at home preparing for his friends wedding, and Colin is still hanging around in California, half with Darren and his parents in Napa and half with his bother Nathan and sister-in-law Michelle who are graciously putting him up in San Fransisco. As for the Puta Madre, she made her way to Darren's driveway (surely making his parents extremely happy), and received her new water pump a few days ago. So she's back in working order, probably better than she's ever been. Unfortunately it doesn't look like she's ever gonna make it over to the east coast so she most likely will make a home out of Darrens driveway until we find someone to buy her.

View from Mount Saddleback

View form Mount Saddleback
Originally uploaded by Road Trip.

B with his cousins Matt and Gen

B with his cousins Matt and Gen
Originally uploaded by Road Trip.

Back in the States

On the morning of July 1st of 2005, Brendan Mayer, Colin Able and Darren Cormack crossed into San Diego, California. The guy (later to be referred to as just "Guy") they had the luck of encountering at their entrance window had very little clue as to what to do with their car situation and decided it best to let them enter the US without ever really acknowledging that their car was entering with them. Although at first thinking this to be extreme good luck the crew was soon to learn that if Guy had any clue as to what he was doing he could have saved them an upcoming wait of nearly 4 hours at the next Customs office they were to visit. Noone really had a clue their either but they were much more interested and proactive in helping the three out. While waiting, really wating (like talking about the best counterpart for peanutbutter on a sandwich, while sitting in the car and staring at your hands kinda waiting) the only thing they learned for sure is that it would have been better handled at the frist place the three tried to cross. Meaning Guy was a jackass. At this point they all decided to dislike him immensely. The one piece of shortlived entertainment they had while there was to watch a guy get walked a way in handcuffs and the cops start tearing into his car looking for whatever it was that made the dogs go so crazy. Fortunatley, the three's current state has been slightly improved. The car is insured although not necessarily imported (to be done on the 5th). They were able to stay the night of the first with one of Brendan's friends in San Diego. Annie, luckily, turning out to be so nice that they are currently planning on returning to spend the 4th of July with her as well. They are now staying with the family of Brendan's Aunt Betsy in Mission Viejo, who (with another great stroke of luck) have all been extremely cool, and deemed fit of the Puta Madre's presence. So tommorrow it's back to San Diego for the 4th, importation on the 5th and a long drive late into the night on their way up to San Fransisco, to visit some of both Colin's and Darren's respective families. Fortunately while visiting Brendan's family Colin had the opportunity to purchase a replacement for the camera cable lost so long ago, so all the pictures are, or soon will be, posted on this blog. As for the all important question: It's decided, Peanutbutter goes best on a sandwich with Jam/Jelly which only barely beat out Nutella, which came in a very close second. (I believe the final count was 174 to 168)