It was fun convincing Memphis Mike to rent a scooter with me. I told him I would take care of everything and that he wouldn't have to put down a deposit or a credit card, just his good name and passport info.
It was harder than I thought. I guess if you're like me and you pay up front for the whole trip, they will take a risk on you. But for one day rental, it's tougher. Let's face it -- what a $100 deposit is really for is to MAKE SURE YOU RETURN THE SCOOTER, as opposed to leaving it at your hotel or wherever. I have never done this but a couple of times through the years, the Scooter guy forewarned me about please don't do it.
But we did find a great scooter for Memphis Mike, who is athletic but was very shaky at first. After a mile or two, he was keeping up, and soon we went to go get gas at Shell (cause his was empty) -- and that's a daunting task, going up the hill and trying to make a right against traffic. But we pulled it off.
We went to Westender Inn again -- no Leslie Chow sighting -- and drove all through the hills chasing each other full speed. It was fun. It is quite thrilling to speed through those back hills against the green scenery with the birds flying and cows trotting away and the goats and the vultures that remind you to be safe. All that stuff is fun stuff.
But the sad truth was I knew I was leaving in a few days, back to the real world, back to reality. I can't help it, I get in count-down mode. Four nights left. Three nights left. Two nights left. Oh my god.
