Got a long story about this car actually. This whole trip to Charleston was set up by our attorney so Jeremiah could be evaluated by a Child Psychologist for our case. Everything was supposed to be pre-paid. We flew from Albuquerque,NM to Phoenix, AZ to Las Vegas, NV to Charlotte, NC and finally ended up in Charleston, SC after traveling from 5am-9pm!We did that to save some money on airfare for our case, because we receive free airfare from John's airline retirement, after the March 14, 2005 accident. But USAirways doesn't fly out of NM, so we had to take the 'long way' to get there.
Anyway, when we got there, we went straight to Dollar Rent A Car where our car was to be waiting with the show of our confirmation and ID. Well, they refused to rent to us because we didn't have a viable credit card. We were stranded and wouldn't have enough money for a cab, if we were to be staying in Charleston for the week, with only the money that we received as a stipend from our attorney.
A beautiful, kind and generous Angel showed up from nowhere as we sat there pondering what we should do next. She handed us $100.00 and wished us the best. She wouldn't give me her address so we could repay her, and all she would tell us was her first name, but she touched our lives in such a deep and abiding way, one we will never forget. We hope to be an Angel to someone else one day, as she was to us.
Ok, so we took the cab to our hotel and settled in until the morning. But the next morning was Saturday and our attorney was not easily available, and John had no cell phone to help us out. And we were getting solid walls thrown our way when trying to find a car to rent.
Finally, when we were down to the wire, because all the rental car agencies closed at 2pm on Saturday, and it was the famous Spoleto Festival in Charleston, so all the cars were getting snatched up.......John called us and he was able to connect with our attorney, and he then went to an Enterprise car rental near our house in NM (that he had just happened to apply for a job with just a month prior!) and worked out a deal between them and the Enterprise in Charleston.
Somehow, someway, with God's Grace, and some very wonderful people who cared for us, we were picked up from our hotel and driven into town to rent this car. Enterprise treated us very well. Which is quite ironic, since I had worked for Dollar Enterprise for a year before I was married. The Dollar Enterprise in Charleston was the rudest, most unprofessionally ran rental car establishment we have ever experienced.
But what truly amazed me about that horrific 'beginning-of-our-trip' experience, was how it all turned out fine and even better than I thought it could be. I thought our trip was destined for hellishness, and I hadn't even wanted to come anyway.
The remaining part of our trip was positive and we enjoyed some fun times, too. We left the car rental place and drove into town to explore the SC Aquarium.
