Carey Family

Scott

Wherein we meet Karl Malone

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In general car shopping is not our favorite thing.   Root canals aren’t far behind.   Sue and I set out and our car shopping day didn’t start out so well.  Our travels took us to Karl Malone Toyota where we were helped by a nice salesman who was obviously uninformed.  Everything he told us about the car warranties seemed odd.  When we questioned him, he just dug a bigger hole for himself.  I don’t think he was intentionally misleading us, just didn’t really understand what was going on.

Eventually we decided to have him work up some numbers on one of the Toyota Corollas that we drove.  He had been telling us all along that Karl Malone was at the dealership that day and we could go in and have our picture taken with him.  Sue wasn’t interested in a picture, but I jokingly asked if he really wanted us to do that, because we’d need to tell him about the warranty confusion.  He said that was fine.  So we went inside and were introduced to Karl.

First off, I should say that he’s tall.  But you were expecting that.  He’s also still in good shape.  We didn’t really intend to lay our concerns on the table, but then Karl asked us if we had a good experience shopping for cars that day.  Wrong thing to ask!  Sue has no qualms about telling lots of important people what she thinks, usually in a kind manner, so she told Karl that she was frustrated about the information we were getting about the warranty.  Karl tried to help us, but it was quickly clear that he was in over his head and asked our salesman to get the manager.

When we started questioning the manager it became painfully obvious that our salesman was completely wrong about all the warranty details he was telling us (no, Toyotas don’t come with a 5 year, 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty; that warranty is 3 year, 36,000 miles).  I finally asked to speak with the manager privately and went off to express my frustration at the incorrect information we had been given.   The manager corrected everything and about that time Karl wandered over to see what was going on.

I told him he could get the details from the manager, but Karl insisted on hearing the issue in person.  After hearing everything, Karl apologized and said that he wanted people to have a good experience buying cars at his place.  If we weren’t having a good experience, he suggested that we not buy a car from him.  He didn’t want us walking away from the experience frustrated; that wasn’t what they were all about.  I thanked him, said we would finish getting numbers on the car and our trade-in, and then we would leave and look at some other cars, and if we decided we liked the Toyota, we would come back.

That was surprising to us.  So often we are pressured to buy at car dealers and to have the owner of the dealership tell us his first concern was a positive car buying experience was a fresh view of things.  To then have him back it up by telling us to walk away was completely unexpected.   He could easily have blown everything off or just let his manager handle it.  But he was personally involved to ensure we were happy and we really appreciated that.  He’s “The Mailman” and he wanted to deliver.

So did we eventually buy the car?  No.  That might have been a nice end to the story, but we weren’t in love with the Corolla, and eventually bought another car later that day.  But we appreciated Karl’s attitude and involvement.  When I told a salesman at another dealership that we had met Karl Malone, they were surprised that he was actually there.  “You mean, he actually goes to his dealership?” was one reaction.  Not only was he there, but he was interested in what was happening.  Karl’s manager told me that Karl expects things to go a certain way and for the customer’s experience to be a certain way and when it isn’t, the results are not pretty.

I know some of you are wondering why he didn’t just give us a screaming deal.  I mean, he can afford it, right?  I’ve thought about that and concluded that although maybe he personally can afford it, his dealership still needs to make money to support the employees and he can’t just go around taking thousands off for everyone who complains.  Otherwise, everybody would be in there griping.  Instead, he gave us a reason to return.

Karl, it was nice to meet you and thanks for your involvement and suggestion.  While we didn’t buy from you this time, we feel like we could return there for our next car and know what you expect.

Wherein we drive to Montana…and back

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Monday, May 1 was the big day for Brian to leave for his summer job at the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone, MT.  He packed up his stuff and said it felt like he was leaving for a mission again with all the packing up of suitcases.  We left at 5:30 am to hit the road north and when we got up near Yellowstone, this is what it looked like outside the windshield.  

Yes, it was snowing.  Scott and I did not bring winter coats because we were driving our sedan and space was at a premium so that Brian could get all his stuff in the car.  Hmm.  We got to town with a minimum of skidding and sliding and found it a quaint, little gateway town to Yellowstone National Park.  Most of the establishments aren’t open for the season yet, but we had a lovely lunch at the Red Lotus next door to the theater.  We found the guys’ apartment and got all his stuff carried up.  Here’s Home Sweet Home for the next 4 months.

Up the stairs and in the door is the kitchen and great room, then turn left and the long part facing the camera with the white double doors is the bunkhouse for the single guys in the cast.

The kitchen has 2 refrigerators and an awesome avocado stove.  Everything a guy needs.  We left him to get all moved in and unpacked and wished him good luck on his new experience as a paid actor.  (Love the sound of getting paid for his acting.  Yes!)

Since Scott loves an adventure, he said, “Should we just drive into the park a ways since we’re all the way up here?”  I’m ALWAYS up for adventure, so I said, “Sure!!”  When we went to Zion in February we bought an NPS year pass since we knew we’d be up in Yellowstone and maybe other places this year, so we just drove in and did not pay the $25 fee.  Awesome!

Did I mention it was cold and snowing?  Yeah.  The snowing had become intermittent by then but it was still dang cold when the wind blew, which seemed to be pretty constantly.  We walked the boardwalk in the Lower Geyser Basin and saw a hot spring and bubbling mud pots.  If you look carefully on the right of the picture below you’ll see some mud bubbling up.  I had to take lots of photos of Scott to get one that actually showed it because the cold made the steam pretty impenetrable.We continued along the boardwalk and found some warmth when we were between two fumaroles giving off steam, one on each side of the boardwalk.  It was like a lovely sauna in the freezing air.

That’s me in my sweater trying to pretend my ears and nose aren’t about to fall off from frostbite.  Then we drove and drove to Old Faithful.  Along the way we saw many elk and bison so that was fun, although seeing bison isn’t the thrill it used to be now that I can see them from my front window every day of the year.  Just sayin’.

By the time we got to Old Faithful, the sky had cleared and it was a beautiful day, but the temperature hadn’t gone up.  We sat there shivering waiting for the geyser to erupt and it was just as awesome as we remembered from when we were kids, which is the last time each of us have been to Yellowstone.  Then we headed for home.  It was a long drive back and poor Scott drove all of it except about 30 minutes because that was all I could do.  We got home late but we’re ready for our big trip back to see Brian and the park in July.

Fog+Beach=Freezing

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Our trip to So Cal had to include some time at the beach.  Of course!  But there was fog that just wouldn’t burn off and it was COLD.  I started out bravely in my swimsuit, but after a while I added my coverup, then Scott’s sweatshirt.  None of us were going in the freezing water, but Brian wandered the beach and found some cool tide pools.

After a couple of hours enjoying the pounding surf at Salt Creek and watching the surfers in wetsuits, we called it a day and headed back to the hotel.  

Mission San Juan Capistrano

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I have always wanted to visit the mission at San Juan Capistrano and see the swallows.  My mother assures me that I visited it several times when I was small, but I don’t remember and have thus grown up feeling deprived.  So no longer!  Brian was in San Juan Capistrano on his mission and was able to visit the mission on a Preparation Day, and he took us there on our trip.  The mission was very interesting with an audio tour explaining the history of the mission and the area.  It was so peaceful with an absolutely lovely garden in the center courtyard.

There was a beautiful rose garden that I just reveled in because the roses in my garden won’t be blooming until June.

The Great Stone Church was an architectural marvel that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812 that caused it to collapse during services.  It has been stabilized and is a very impressive sight.

The Story of San Juan Capistrano’s Mission Swallows

The miracle of the “Swallows” of Capistrano takes place each year at the Mission San Juan Capistrano, on March 19th, St. Joseph’s Day.  As the faithful little birds wing their way back to the most famous Mission in California, the village of San Juan Capistrano takes on a fiesta air and the visitors from all the parts of the world, and all walks of life, gather in great numbers to witness the “miracle” of the return of the swallows.
Each year the “Scout Swallows” precede the main flock by a few days and it seems to be their chief duty to clear the way for the main flock to arrive at the “Old Mission” of Capistrano.  With the arrival of early dawn on St. Joseph’s Day, the little birds begin to arrive and begin rebuilding their mud nests, which are clinging to the ruins of the old stone church of San Juan Capistrano.  The arches of the two story, high vaulted Chapel were left bare and exposed, as the roof collapsed during the earthquake of 1812.  This Chapel, said to be the largest and most ornate in any of the missions, now has a more humble destiny: ­­ that of housing the birds that St. Francis loved so well.  After the summer spent within the sheltered walls of the Old Mission in San Juan Capistrano, the swallows take flight again, and on the Day of San Juan, October 23, they leave after circling the Mission bidding farewell to the “Jewel of the Missions”.  (from http://www.missionsjc.com/)

Anniversary lunch

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Friday the 20th was our anniversary so we had a yummy lunch at Laguna Beach.  The fish eaters (Sue, Brian) had some tasty seafood at the restaurant on the beach, while the beef eater (Scott) had, what else?  A burger.  It was a little cool and foggy at the beach, but so nice to be at the coast!