Seriously?!?! Yes, that is what I was thinking as I said, "Sure, we'd love a Saturn Vue".
Of course I have to post the latest Rental Car story. Such a joke. Ha ha. Just kidding. So we took the Vue back, thankful to get rid of it. This one was worse than last weeks. I miss the keyless entry! What 2007 car doesn't have keyless entry! Blah! Anyways. We took it back. We went inside to wait in line. It was a much faster wait this time and a much better experience. We got up to the counter where a somewhat crusty lady was helping us. Of course our friend Brad noticed us there. He said Hi and asked us how things were going. It was nice to feel like we have made amens with him. Brad and I have had a rough past 3 rentals (including the one from May). Brad and I are tight!
We were assigned a Pontiac Vibe. Yay! At least it wasn't a Saturn Vue! So we went out to pick up our car. When we got out there we saw a white Pontiac Vibe sitting there with a guy sitting in it. I was thinking, I wonder if that is ours? Then he drove off. But I was exciting because it looked really nice. So one by one they brought up car after car after car. And we sat there. Each one of them asking what we were waiting for. And again, nothing. After sitting there for quite sometime, one of the ladys came up and talked to us again. She suddenly realized that someone else had taken our car. Just as I had suspected. Oh no. What now? Not the Vue. No, they wouldn't give us the Vue. I mean we just returned it and they haven't had to time to clean it. It was like 30 cars back in line when we dropped it off, and the line had been fast. So we weren't too worried.
She had us come around to the desk in the lot. They decided to give us something different of course. So we walked up.... and what envelope was sitting next to the computer with another reservation? A Saturn Vue. Nah, that is for someone else. Wrong. "We have a Saturn Vue here that you can take". Blah! Seriously? Well at least maybe it is the first one we had... we could get the leather seats and keyless entry back. Better than the one we got. So we took the keys and noticed there was no keyless entry. No way. We walked up and confirmed our fears. The SAME stains! Dang! Man, they were FAST!
So once again, we have a Saturn Vue. I guess it could be worse. But I have seen TWO Saturn Vue's in the whole Rental Car garage and we have to get both? Grrr.... I LOVE Saturns! The funny thing is... everytime we have got a Vue, it has been for a different class of cars. At least this week it's cheaper. Sadly enough, it is still cheaper for us to drive to Pittsburgh and drop off and pick up the same car than it is to extend. I love rental companies. Come on... cut us a break!
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Adventures in Rental Cars it is.
So this afternoon we set out on our 24th of July Rental Car Adventure. We didn't have to turn the car in until 6:00PM. We got the Pittsburgh a lot earlier. We went to eat at the Quaker Steak and Lube. It was actually pretty good! Then we went and strolled around in IKEA to kill some time. After a few hours we decided to just cut our losses and take the car back early. The Saturn was starting to make noises and the seats were uncomfortable. We were glad to take it back and see what was next!
We get to the rental place and turn in the Saturn Vue. We wait in line for awhile. Get the the front and then they start the "you can't use a debit card if you don't have a return flight". Blah, blah, blah. We all know that we can use our debit card! It worked last week! Well I remembered I do have a credit card for Emergency purposes. That way we can put it on there and then pay for it with our debit card when we get back. Well.... it declined! WHAT? There is nothing on the card and it has a really high limit! He continued to say that we could not rent a car. So I told him we'd be back.
I stepped aside and called the Credit Card people. Of course I have used it so much.... it has never been activated. Duh! So we go get in line. This time a whole bunch of people have gathered in line. So we wait... and wait.... and wait! We finally get up there. I give him the card... he looks at me like you have got to be kidding me. He tried it! Much to his surprise it went through. It is amazing what you can do when you activate your credit cards! Blah! But he did charge us 17.94 for the extra time we had (since we picked it up at 5:22 and not 6:00).
So we get our car! Yay! A Jeep Cherokee! I was excited! We got the car and headed towards Pittsburgh again. Just about the time we get to the Fort Pitt Tunnel the car dings and shows a warning light. Of course they don't leave owners manuals in the cars... so we have no idea what it means. It blinks for awhile. (It looked like a horseshoe (with the legs in the air) sitting in dirt with a exclamation mark in the middle). Eventually it went off. So we figured we'd just watch it. I looked at the temp and everything seemed fine. Well we get into Pittsburgh and were going slow. We were actually coasting down a hill and the warning sign comes on that says check gages. I look at the Temp gage and it is all the way over to HOT! I was like... Oh great! So I watched it. All of a sudden it went down to about half in like 10 seconds. Then we drove a little father and it did it like 2 more times. The rest of the time it was going hotter and colder and couldn't make up it's mind. It was weird. So we called Roadside Assistance to see what they wanted us to do. We didn't want to drive it and ruin it... and end up in Johnstown and have it break down. They told us to go back to the airport. So we turned around. Of course on the way back when we were going 65 it cooled down and stopped getting hot. It was dumb. Anyways we took it back.
We went inside and there were about 10 people in line. I was so annoyed! We waited and waited... and waited! It was at least 45 minutes later when we finally got helped. He looked at me like... oh great! (This is the third time we have rented a car from him... he was just as annoyed with us when we came in May. We are like on a first name basis now. We LOVE Brad! Blah!!) So he asked if there was something wrong with our car. We said yes, it's overheating. He said, well... I can give you a Saturn Vue for the same rate! OH YES!! PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE US THE VUE AGAIN!! We said okay. He gives us the keys. I asked if since it was 7:22 if we could get the charge removed for the extra hour. Afterall... it was their car that wasted two hours of our lives! Of course he said no because our rental started at 5:22. But if we bring it back before 5:00... then they will take it off. That really annoyed me. Oh well.
So we walk out to pick up the Vue that we just returned. I mean we would have just kept it and extended our stay and saved everyone time and evergy... but they were going to add on like 22.00 a day. So driving to Pittsburgh saved us around $100.00 even with gas. So we get the keys... What? No keyless entry? We walked to the Vue. It was just like the other one. We get in... No leather seats? No heated seats? No power seats? Hello!! Did we just get down graded?!?! Ha ha. Oh well. So we are in a different Saturn Vue that looks just like the other Saturn Vue. Only not as fancy!
So that was our lame rental car experience. Stay tuned in for next weeks Rental car story!
We get to the rental place and turn in the Saturn Vue. We wait in line for awhile. Get the the front and then they start the "you can't use a debit card if you don't have a return flight". Blah, blah, blah. We all know that we can use our debit card! It worked last week! Well I remembered I do have a credit card for Emergency purposes. That way we can put it on there and then pay for it with our debit card when we get back. Well.... it declined! WHAT? There is nothing on the card and it has a really high limit! He continued to say that we could not rent a car. So I told him we'd be back.
I stepped aside and called the Credit Card people. Of course I have used it so much.... it has never been activated. Duh! So we go get in line. This time a whole bunch of people have gathered in line. So we wait... and wait.... and wait! We finally get up there. I give him the card... he looks at me like you have got to be kidding me. He tried it! Much to his surprise it went through. It is amazing what you can do when you activate your credit cards! Blah! But he did charge us 17.94 for the extra time we had (since we picked it up at 5:22 and not 6:00).
So we get our car! Yay! A Jeep Cherokee! I was excited! We got the car and headed towards Pittsburgh again. Just about the time we get to the Fort Pitt Tunnel the car dings and shows a warning light. Of course they don't leave owners manuals in the cars... so we have no idea what it means. It blinks for awhile. (It looked like a horseshoe (with the legs in the air) sitting in dirt with a exclamation mark in the middle). Eventually it went off. So we figured we'd just watch it. I looked at the temp and everything seemed fine. Well we get into Pittsburgh and were going slow. We were actually coasting down a hill and the warning sign comes on that says check gages. I look at the Temp gage and it is all the way over to HOT! I was like... Oh great! So I watched it. All of a sudden it went down to about half in like 10 seconds. Then we drove a little father and it did it like 2 more times. The rest of the time it was going hotter and colder and couldn't make up it's mind. It was weird. So we called Roadside Assistance to see what they wanted us to do. We didn't want to drive it and ruin it... and end up in Johnstown and have it break down. They told us to go back to the airport. So we turned around. Of course on the way back when we were going 65 it cooled down and stopped getting hot. It was dumb. Anyways we took it back.
We went inside and there were about 10 people in line. I was so annoyed! We waited and waited... and waited! It was at least 45 minutes later when we finally got helped. He looked at me like... oh great! (This is the third time we have rented a car from him... he was just as annoyed with us when we came in May. We are like on a first name basis now. We LOVE Brad! Blah!!) So he asked if there was something wrong with our car. We said yes, it's overheating. He said, well... I can give you a Saturn Vue for the same rate! OH YES!! PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE US THE VUE AGAIN!! We said okay. He gives us the keys. I asked if since it was 7:22 if we could get the charge removed for the extra hour. Afterall... it was their car that wasted two hours of our lives! Of course he said no because our rental started at 5:22. But if we bring it back before 5:00... then they will take it off. That really annoyed me. Oh well.
So we walk out to pick up the Vue that we just returned. I mean we would have just kept it and extended our stay and saved everyone time and evergy... but they were going to add on like 22.00 a day. So driving to Pittsburgh saved us around $100.00 even with gas. So we get the keys... What? No keyless entry? We walked to the Vue. It was just like the other one. We get in... No leather seats? No heated seats? No power seats? Hello!! Did we just get down graded?!?! Ha ha. Oh well. So we are in a different Saturn Vue that looks just like the other Saturn Vue. Only not as fancy!
So that was our lame rental car experience. Stay tuned in for next weeks Rental car story!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Storm
Yesterday we drove into Pittburgh. We had to go get a new rental.. long story for a different post! :) While we were at the Airport it looked like there was a huge storm pass thru, but we didn't get to see it. But after we got the car we decided to go find a Wal-Mart. Apparently there was a major storm pass through right before we got there. There were braches all over the road. We turned down one street just to find out that a huge tree had fallen right into the middle of the road. We got closer to the Wal-Mart and suddenly we realized that all of the power was out. It was getting pretty dark at this point. No one was stopping at the stop lights. It was somewhat chaotic. Big city, no power... not a good idea.
Well the closer we got, there were trees laying all over, downed power lines all over and a huge puddle. There was a section of the road that had to have a good 8 inches of water or more. It was crazy. Of course we got to Wal-Mart and they were closed becuase there was no power. The whole city was dark. It was kinda weird. Across the street there was a strip of restaurants that still had power. So we went across the street and ate. I think they were getting ready to close down... and got a rush of customer because they were one of the few only ones that still had power.
It was kinda weird driving in the dark with no stop light, street lights or anything. You would be driving and then all of a sudden there would be a huge tree in the road. Here is one of the trees that we saw.
It was crazy. I have never seen anything like that before. I kinda felt like I was in the middle of a natural disaster. Of course we would never have that sort of disaster in Richfield. Although I did dream last night that most of Richfield burned up. Of course, out yard went up in flames in a matter of seconds! I bet it is super dry now!
Well the closer we got, there were trees laying all over, downed power lines all over and a huge puddle. There was a section of the road that had to have a good 8 inches of water or more. It was crazy. Of course we got to Wal-Mart and they were closed becuase there was no power. The whole city was dark. It was kinda weird. Across the street there was a strip of restaurants that still had power. So we went across the street and ate. I think they were getting ready to close down... and got a rush of customer because they were one of the few only ones that still had power.
It was kinda weird driving in the dark with no stop light, street lights or anything. You would be driving and then all of a sudden there would be a huge tree in the road. Here is one of the trees that we saw.
It was crazy. I have never seen anything like that before. I kinda felt like I was in the middle of a natural disaster. Of course we would never have that sort of disaster in Richfield. Although I did dream last night that most of Richfield burned up. Of course, out yard went up in flames in a matter of seconds! I bet it is super dry now!
Friday, July 6, 2007
iPhone
So today I finally caved and we went to Pittsburgh to go to the Apple Store! I finally got to play on an iPhone! It was so stinkin' cool! I love it! It was even better than I even imagined!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
What does this building look like to you?
Upon first appearance I automatically thought it looked like a Funeral Home or Mortuary. I guess maybe it reminds me of the one in Ogden. But I thought the big Yellow letters were a little much for a funeral home. And it got busy in the evenings. We were driving around and I say another one... turns out it is a Steak and Seafood restaurant. I thought it was funny.
I notice random things about new places. Here is a house on a pretty busy road... Let's hope who ever lives here isn't a sleep walker. Apparently they aren't fans of Front Yards! :)
Here is the boat that won the Regatta. They were going super fast so it was hard to get pictures, but this one seemed to work well. They were super cool.
We watched the Sun go down while waiting for the fireworks. It was very very Pretty!
Upon first appearance I automatically thought it looked like a Funeral Home or Mortuary. I guess maybe it reminds me of the one in Ogden. But I thought the big Yellow letters were a little much for a funeral home. And it got busy in the evenings. We were driving around and I say another one... turns out it is a Steak and Seafood restaurant. I thought it was funny.
I notice random things about new places. Here is a house on a pretty busy road... Let's hope who ever lives here isn't a sleep walker. Apparently they aren't fans of Front Yards! :)
Here is the boat that won the Regatta. They were going super fast so it was hard to get pictures, but this one seemed to work well. They were super cool.
We watched the Sun go down while waiting for the fireworks. It was very very Pretty!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Pittsburgh Three River Regatta
We had a great time at the Three River Regatta today! The boat races were lots of fun and the weather was great!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A cool building.
We were sitting along the river, just relaxing... and there was this cool building. It was quite a ways over there, but I tried to take a picture anyways... worked pretty well.
Some pictures of Us.
So this was a tricky picture... we hung the camera in the tree and used the timer. We had no idea where it was facing or what... and it was swinging in the tree... but hey, the result wasn't too bad. aye?
It was a warm day today... one of the billboard things said it was 94 degrees... who knows if that was correct, but it felt warm. Not as warm as Utah though.
It was a warm day today... one of the billboard things said it was 94 degrees... who knows if that was correct, but it felt warm. Not as warm as Utah though.
Pictures of Pittsburgh, PA
This is a picture of the Fort Pitt Tunnel. You don't see many of these in Utah, so it was kinda fun!
There are large bridges to get around in Pittsburgh. There is a large or rather two large rivers that run through downtown. It is very beautiful.
Some pictures of the city.
There are large bridges to get around in Pittsburgh. There is a large or rather two large rivers that run through downtown. It is very beautiful.
Some pictures of the city.
Merging?
So today we drove around Pittsburgh again... There was one thing that I forgot to talk about yesterday and was reiterated to me today. It seems like Pittsburgh loves to merge... it so crazy. You'ld have 3 two lane highways merge into one 2 lane highway and then it'd fork before you even knew it. There is no time to get over... I mean you just barely merged all together into a small spot anyways... so you take whatever road you can. It seems so funny to me. Instead of a stop light and a turn, they merge. I am just a dumb Utah driver that doesn't get it I guess. But I a sure once you got use to it, it would be really easy to get around.
Another thing that I forgot to write about yesterday was about when we went to get the Rental Car... the guy there was so crusty. He just was not a happy camper. So we were trying to convince him that we wanted a car. I had already made reservations online, thankgoodness... because I guess they were out. When we were waiting he asked what kind of car and of course we replied "Economy, please". He looked at us and said, "That means you don't care if it has Power Steering or anything, right?" And of course we replied, "No" while thinking to ourselves... Do they make cars now days that DON'T have power steering... I thought it was a standard feature... I mean sure the Civic doesn't have it, but it's a '89. Thats understandable, but a 2006 or 2007? Most rental car companies only keep cars for a year, then get new ones... so we were sure it was a newer one... and sure enough... they give us a 2007 Saturn Ion 2. I mean not my ideal car, but it does however have power steering.
Another thing that I forgot to write about yesterday was about when we went to get the Rental Car... the guy there was so crusty. He just was not a happy camper. So we were trying to convince him that we wanted a car. I had already made reservations online, thankgoodness... because I guess they were out. When we were waiting he asked what kind of car and of course we replied "Economy, please". He looked at us and said, "That means you don't care if it has Power Steering or anything, right?" And of course we replied, "No" while thinking to ourselves... Do they make cars now days that DON'T have power steering... I thought it was a standard feature... I mean sure the Civic doesn't have it, but it's a '89. Thats understandable, but a 2006 or 2007? Most rental car companies only keep cars for a year, then get new ones... so we were sure it was a newer one... and sure enough... they give us a 2007 Saturn Ion 2. I mean not my ideal car, but it does however have power steering.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Utah is a place for slow thinkers!!
Here is a really dorky picture Dustyn decided to take... blah!!
So today has been a good day! We slept in and spent the morning doing a little research to figure out where we were going to go. We went back to the airport and and picked up a rental car. We are now the temporoary owners of a maroon Saturn Ion! Wooohooo!
It is beautiful out here. I would move here in a second just for the green trees and the beautiful hills. But on the otherhand, I would be lost on a daily basis. It was fun to drive around and tour Pittsburgh... but it seems the roads are crazy!! Not the drivers, just the roads. We would be going somewhere get lost and end up in the exact same spot 5 minutes later... no idea how we got there... but at least it's easy to back track. We went to downtown and drove around. There are a lot of neat buildings and bridges! It was super fun! On the way to Pittsburgh... we saw a Primanti Brothers. On the flight over, the kid in front of us told us about the best place to eat in Pittsburgh and that was it... so we went. It was.... nothin' great. I don't know if I ordered the wrong thing or I don't like fries on my sandwich. But it was bland and just tasted like I was eating a potato. Maybe I just chose the wrong one to go to, I have no idea. But not to great! Oh well. Maybe we will try again. Maybe not.
We also went to Costco and bought some food to eat until Sunday. It was so EMPTY. Seems like you go to Costco in Utah and you are concerned about being trampled. Here.... it was so quiet and peaceful. So nice!
We have seen numerous road signs that cracked me up. One said something about "Don't get a DUI, you can't afford it!" (it was a road sign like a mileage sign) and the other one was a catering service called Nappies. And the logo was "You'll be happy with Nappie". I have no idea why, but I got a kick out of it.
So we decided here you have to be quick thinkers to drive and get around. It seems like most of the signs are right above the turn off and of course there are three choices... by the time you read the first sign, you have to choose. Crazy. I mean I am sure once you lived here, it wouldn't be big deal. But it is not a city that is easy to get around in. The other problem is that there are random stop lights all over, but here is the kicker... they are tucked back in the trees or on the opposite corner. You have to actively look for the lights. Otherwise you run them!
Here is a random Cemetery. We thought it was funny that it was on a hill. Pretty cool.
This is the shopping center that we can see from our Hotel. But getting over there is another story... and getting back... well it took us a loop but we finally figured it out! YA!! GO US!!
So today has been a good day! We slept in and spent the morning doing a little research to figure out where we were going to go. We went back to the airport and and picked up a rental car. We are now the temporoary owners of a maroon Saturn Ion! Wooohooo!
It is beautiful out here. I would move here in a second just for the green trees and the beautiful hills. But on the otherhand, I would be lost on a daily basis. It was fun to drive around and tour Pittsburgh... but it seems the roads are crazy!! Not the drivers, just the roads. We would be going somewhere get lost and end up in the exact same spot 5 minutes later... no idea how we got there... but at least it's easy to back track. We went to downtown and drove around. There are a lot of neat buildings and bridges! It was super fun! On the way to Pittsburgh... we saw a Primanti Brothers. On the flight over, the kid in front of us told us about the best place to eat in Pittsburgh and that was it... so we went. It was.... nothin' great. I don't know if I ordered the wrong thing or I don't like fries on my sandwich. But it was bland and just tasted like I was eating a potato. Maybe I just chose the wrong one to go to, I have no idea. But not to great! Oh well. Maybe we will try again. Maybe not.
We also went to Costco and bought some food to eat until Sunday. It was so EMPTY. Seems like you go to Costco in Utah and you are concerned about being trampled. Here.... it was so quiet and peaceful. So nice!
We have seen numerous road signs that cracked me up. One said something about "Don't get a DUI, you can't afford it!" (it was a road sign like a mileage sign) and the other one was a catering service called Nappies. And the logo was "You'll be happy with Nappie". I have no idea why, but I got a kick out of it.
So we decided here you have to be quick thinkers to drive and get around. It seems like most of the signs are right above the turn off and of course there are three choices... by the time you read the first sign, you have to choose. Crazy. I mean I am sure once you lived here, it wouldn't be big deal. But it is not a city that is easy to get around in. The other problem is that there are random stop lights all over, but here is the kicker... they are tucked back in the trees or on the opposite corner. You have to actively look for the lights. Otherwise you run them!
Here is a random Cemetery. We thought it was funny that it was on a hill. Pretty cool.
This is the shopping center that we can see from our Hotel. But getting over there is another story... and getting back... well it took us a loop but we finally figured it out! YA!! GO US!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)