And so with our two nights at an end in that fabulous city it was time to head back to SFO and pick up the car! Now we all know when booking a car that the rental company does not guarantee a certain model, right, we as intrepid FlyerTalkers know that. However I had my heart set on doing this drive in a Mustang convertible, that is what I booked and paid for!
As we approached the desk my heart was beating a nervous rhythm and I had promised Mrs Noniron that if we were offered an 'or similar' that there wouldn't be any histrionics from me at the rental desk counter........
“Good morning Mr Noniron we have a Mitsubishi for you today” and with those words ringing in my ear it was time to remain calm and focused, deep breath, smile and lets get that Northern Irish charm working......
Now 'L' was a lovely lady and I'm sure she deals with this everyday, “have you got anything else? I'd really like to have the Mustang” and with some tapping on her keyboard came “I can let you have a Volvo for the same price”
“'L' do you know how many Volvo's there are at home, thousands, it has to be American”
“let me have a quick chat with our manager.......Mr. Noniron we can do you a Camaro discounted to an extra $20 per day, how does that sound?”
Well it was music to my ears, a proper all American muscle car, yum yum, and as I pictured myself cruising the Las Vegas strip in a V8 Camaro for an extra £150, I smiled over at Mrs Noniron and that was my first mistake, “not worth it”, “I think I'll go for it”, “not worth it” the second was to tell 'L' during a bout of small talk that we were going to LA, 'L' drops the bombshell that they couldn't do it because we intended to go to Los Angeles, something about emissions or smog but I'd stopped listening at that point, “Mr Noniron it's a pity you are set on a convertible because we have plenty of hard tops available”
“Now 'L' why didn't we have this conversation 30 mins ago.......”
She was brilliant and good fun to deal with, even offering us the chance of changing the car to a convertible at LAX if we wanted and the offer of a discount voucher for a future booking, but I was happy and with the keys in my pocket it was time to aim for Half Moon Bay and start heading south down the PCH towards Carmel for lunch and a nightstop in San Simeon.
Hotel: Best Western San Simeon $90
And that was the end of our first day on the road, Half Moon Bay, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel and ending with a night beside the seals in San Simeon, truly spectacular to drive.
Next up, heading to Los Angeles via Pismo, Santa Barbara and Malibu.