Before I begin our story, I want to apologize for our recent lack of posts on LandingStanding. The past month has been incredibly insane and wonderful all at the same time as we drove our Camry (aka Little Blue) across the US visiting friends and family along the way. Between all of the dinners out and jumping from one friend’s couch to the next, we have been BUSY.
But life became a little more chaotic this past Saturday when this happened:
Yes, that is duct tape holding the back of our car together.
Our car stayed strong and we made it all the way across the country with no issues…. But the hills of San Francisco changed all that.
Here’s our car crash story:
We were moving from our friend, Noah’s, in the Haight over to Nob Hill to stay with our friend Peyton for a few days. Peyton was helping us find a parking spot… and in SF this is no easy task. We finally came across a parking spot but it was on a road with an 89.99 degree incline. Up for the challenge Tony began working his parallel parking magic into the tight spot… Contrary to your current judgments based off of the picture above, he actually is a good driver and is a master at parking.
As he was backing into the spot, the car started giving into gravity and began rolling backwards down the hill. Panicking, Tony meant to slam on the brake… but whoops, he accidentally hit his foot on the gas while the car was in reverse.
CRUNCH.
The most god awful sound was made as we collided with the vehicle parked behind us. Peyton was in the car with us and all three of us just sat there in silence for a moment reflecting on what just happened. After hearing the noise I was scared of even going outside to check the damage.
But we did.
This was the other car.
Phew!
Buuut this was ours…
FRACK!!!
Needless to say, the Lexus SUV won this battle.
Long story short, our car insurance will be covering all the damage to both vehicles and Little Blue will be back on the road in a couple weeks. But you now know why we have been a little MIA on our blog.
But more so than anything, this parking fiasco was a lesson learned that ANYTHING can happen when you travel. You can drive safely all the way across the US only to get to your final destination and crash your vehicle when doing something as minor as parking. My lesson for you is to plan for the worst. Plan for the unexpected. Get insurance. And…
Write and schedule your blog posts in advance.
Your Turn: What was one unexpected accident you experienced during your travels? How did you recover from the incident? Please share below in the Comments section!
Exhausted from traveling every week as a Business Management Consultant early in my career, I took a year off in 2012 to travel at my own pace. I am a high-energy girl that loves being active, eating food, drinking wine, and exploring the world with my partner-in-crime (and husband), Tony! I now reside in Portland, Oregon and continue to write about travel, food, wine, and the awesome adventures we have in the Pacific NW!
More proof that duck tape is good for just about anything 😉
Seriously. It patched up my RTW backpack when it got ripped and now my car!!!
Glad we were in the same state to come rescue you
Happy to have you in GV for awhile!
You two are the best and we owe you BIG TIME. Until the day comes where we can rescue you, we will repay you in S’mores!
Love your story! Glad no one got hurt, but I could imagine the look on your faces when you hit the other car.
I remember being in Italy, with my husband and two young children, when I was nagging him about directions. Finally, he pulled off to the side of the road, got his bearings, and decided to make a u-turn. He looked in his rear view mirror and didn’t see the oncoming car, but thanks to his quick thinking, the car only caught our rear quarter panel (as opposed to broadside). Luckily, no one was hurt.
So there we were, in the middle of nowhere, with few people in sight. It was quite interesting trying to converse when no one could understand each other. A bystander opened their home to us and gave us something to drink.
The tow truck came eventually, but one of the things I remember most clearly is that only two of us could fit in the tow truck cab. My son and I rode in our disabled car while it was on the flatbed! That would never happen in the U.S. Let me tell you, it was a very scary ride.
I learned to keep my mouth shut when I really don’t know where I am going!
What a story Cindy! And yes, I am glad no one got hurt. It is always though trying to converse in another language during emergency situations… I find that charades works best. That is horrible that you had to drive your car after the accident – that DEFINITELY would not happen in the US.
Thanks for sharing your tale with our readers!
While in Barcelona, a man jumped into the back seat of our rental car while we were at a stop light. He grabbed our small carry on and took off like an Olympic runner. The bag was only valuable to us because it had my brand new $700 eye glasses, Dana’s new contact lenses, all of our meds, camera, and other items – our total loss exceeded $1,600 but more important we were inconvenienced. A local pharmacist did his best to find the Spanish equivalent to the American brand drugs we were taking. We were mad and decided to file a police report just to “be heard.” Back in the states a friend advised us to submit the police report to our insurance company. We thought would be a waste of time… but it wasn’t. Turns out that our homeowner’s policy covered everything minus the $500 deductible. Taking the time to file the police report and insurance claim was worth it in the end.
Oh I remember that story just like it was yesterday… Thanks for sharing your tips with our readers!
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