Chicago! Day 1

So Friday the 20th was the big day! We were off! Then we turned around because I forgot my sunglasses. And we were off again! The drive wasn't too eventful. I was shocked to see some fields in Wisconsin had standing water in them. We stopped for lunch in Janesville, WI about 1pm. When we started hitting traffic, and air planes started descending over the highway I knew we were getting close. Jay's cousin, Kevin, called to make sure we weren't lost! When we finally pulled up to the apartment, Kevin and his boyfriend Les, came out to greet us and help us with our bags. We got settled and talked for a little bit before we headed downtown to get authentic Chicago deep-dish stuffed pizza!
We took the bus downtown and Jay and I pretty much stared out the window the whole trip! We headed to Giordano's and found out the wait was one hour!

Well Kevin ran in and got our name on the list. He said we should come back in half an hour to put our order in. To kill time we ran up and down the "Miracle Mile." We saw places like the Wrigley Building, the new Trump Building, the Tribune Building, and the Apple store!
We headed back to Giordano's to put our order in. We ordered a large meat pizza, and we only had to wait another five or ten minutes to get a table. We ordered an appetizer, talked, and waited for the pizza to show up. I was a little amazed when the pizza arrived! It was about 16" in diameter and 2" thick! Each of us was full after one slice each!
Afterwords, we decided to try and walk off some of dinner, so we would up heading out by the lake front (I could see the ferris wheel out on Navy Pier). At that point it was getting dark so we headed back to the bus stop, then back to Kevin and Les' apartment to get ready for the next day!

New Shiny!

Well today was the day! I finally took ownership of my first new car!
Tuesday, the day after we got back from Chicago, (yes I'll write about Chicago sooner or later) I got a call from the sales guy at the Burnsville Toyota dealership asking if I had received his e-mail. I said I had just returned from vacation, and I was still catching up on stuff. So he told me my car had finally come in, and would I like to set up a time to come in and get it? I knew I wanted to finance through my bank, and not Toyota, at that point. I also knew I needed to finalize some things with the bank so I told the guy I'd call him back later and set up a time.
I was pre-approved for a new car loan by the bank in mid-April, but the approval was only good for 60 days. So I called the bank to see what it would take to get things going again. Well it was Tuesday afternoon when I called, and it turns out the lady I was working with was going to be out of the office Wednesday, and had already slipped out a bit early, so I left a message for her to call me back.
Wednesday I called the Toyota dealership back and said I was wrapping up the financing, and that I'd like to come in on Saturday to pick up the car.
Late Thursday morning the bank returned my call. After a couple quick questions the lady I was working with said she'd get things moving and give me a call back in a few minutes. Well, about 30 minutes later she called back saying everything was ready! All the dealership had to do was fax a copy of the purchase agreement and title application to the bank!
Usually I telecommute on Fridays but we had a big quarterly meeting at work and attendance was mandatory. It all worked out though because I car-pooled up that morning, and just stayed at Mom and Dad's place that night.
Saturday morning we all piled in Dad's vehicle and headed down to the dealership. We hit some heavy rain on the way there, but it slowed to a light sprinkle by the time we arrived. Sales people were loitering around the front of the dealership waiting to descend on the unwary. I told one of them I had an appointment, so we were ushered inside, and shown to the sales guys desk. The owner's manual and other literature for my car were sitting in an envelope on his desk, so I started pulling it out and looking it over while Mom took a few pictures. A couple minutes later the sales guy showed up and everyone made introductions. There were some quick questions, and after a few minutes we went down to a garage where they prep the new cars. I was introduced to the woman who would be taking me thought all the manuals and answering any questions about how the car worked. The sales guy left and everyone checked out the car, looking for anything out of place. Then I got a quick tutorial on how the car worked, and some of the manuals.
We were part way through when we were paged to the Finance Office where I would actually write the rather substantial check to pay for the car! I probably signed about a dozen different things along with the check! I also opted to get an extended warranty (don't hate me Grace). Hybrids are comparatively new in the grand scheme of automobile history, and if the wrong (or right depending how you look at it) part goes out, it will pretty much pay for itself with one trip to the repair shop.
Well after a small mountain of paperwork was signed I went back to the garage to finish going through everything. When we got to the final sign-off, there was a check box stating that the car was in an acceptable state. Mom said when I was in the Finance Office she noticed a slight scratch on the top left, near the back where the tailgate opened. Sure enough, there was a slight scratch about eight to ten inches long. The scratch was quickly buffed out, and I was about to drive off in a perfect Prius. Thanks Mom! (* hugs *)
We quickly finished going over everything else and I hopped behind the wheel and drove out while Mom snapped a couple more pictures!
Mom rode back to their place with me. Part of 35E was closed, and I must have missed a turn for the detour somewhere so we would up taking the scenic route.
After a light lunch, I was ready to head back home. Before I left, Mom blessed the car. I gave her a hug, jumped behind the wheel, waved to Mom and Dad, and I was on my way!
For anyone interested, I got 48 MPG on the way home!

The Vacation Begins

Well today started off on a mixed note. Jay planned to take his car in to get the air conditioning looked at, and I was suppose to follow him to the garage and give him a ride home. Well I lost track of him after five or six blocks. Then I realize, I have no idea what garage he's going to! So I call him and I don't get an answer so I turn around and go home to wait for his call. That's when I noticed he left his phone at home... No problem, I'll wait for him to call from the garage and I'll go get him.
So I waited. And waited.
Ate breakfast, and waited.
Took a shower, and waited.
Got ready for work, and waited.
I didn't know what else to do, so I left a note for Jay to call me when he got home safe, and I went to work. I was almost there when he called and said he realized he never told me where the garage was, and he didn't know what my mobile number was, so he walked home...
Well it's a good thing the AC in his car is fixed, because the trains still aren't running. The tracks somewhere in Wisconsin are under 22" of water, so we'll be driving to Chicago. Actually the trains are suppose to be up and running by Saturday, so we could have taken a bus out, and the train back. Assuming of course that the train really started running again by Monday when we wanted to go home. The bus didn't sound appealing so that left us with driving. The upside of driving is we can stop in Madison on the way back and visit a friend of mine from college, Grace!
Chicago, here we come!

Father's Day

I drove up to my parents today for Father's day. My brother, his wife, and Roy also made it. Mom and Dad's creature is still a disobedient nuisance, and it only got worse once Amy (brother and sister-in-laws dog) showed up.
Dad smoked New York Strip steaks for dinner. Smoking gave them a really great flavor! Mom also made a great strawberry pie for desert! After dinner, Dad opened Father's Day cards and my sister-in-law opened her birthday gift, Norwex cleaning cloths. I have to remember to send her a birthday card too!

Only four more days until Chicago, but we may have to make alternate travel arrangements. Amtrack isn't running in parts of Wisconsin after some severe storms last week. At this point the cost of flying would be insane, so that would leave a 350 mile drive.

A Duuuuuuuuuuhh!

Do I really need to say anything more?

I'm Voting Republican

Thanks to my friend Paul for this one!

Prius Update

Sorry if it seems like I keep prattling on about getting a Prius, but it will be my first new car ever! Also I'm really looking forward to fewer trips to the gas station. Right now I'm paying almost $50 to fill up the tank, and that commute is a real killer!
So, I went back to the Toyota dealer yesterday afternoon. I found out my car has been allocated, which means Toyota is building it, and I should see it by the end of the month!
The guy that I took the test drive with in April had "moved on" but his replacement had agreed to honor the quote I was given by his predecessor. That is until Toyota decided to bump up the price of all the vehicles they manufacture. The explanation essentially boiled down to 'the price of doing business has gone up.' I was assured in a conspirational whisper that I was still getting a really good deal on the car. (* cough *) I'll have to do some checking to see if that's true or if the dealership is just trying to screw me over...
I feel like they kind of have me over a barrel, because if they are trying to screw me, and I just walk out they've got 85 more people waiting for a Prius, and the wait is as long as eight months! Does anyone else wish buying a car was a little less like psychological warfare?
We also discussed some financing options. I've already been pre-approved for a loan through my credit union. Right now it sounds like Toyota can meet, but not beat, the interest rate the credit union will give me. I'm suppose to get a call from Toyota Finance in the next week and I presume they'll have some firm numbers.

Eight days until vacation in Chicago!