Four years ago today, Kristy and I started a trip to Frankfurt, Germany. We deliberately scheduled a long layover in San Diego, since we’ve visited (and loved) that city a lot in the last 15 years or so.
We rented a car for the layover. We drove to In-N-Out, picked up a sack of burgers and fries, and drove out to Point Loma on the coast.
It was a bit overcast, but it didn’t matter. The waves were crashing against beach and rocks. The gulls were swooping and cawing. The surfers straddled their surfboards out in the distance, bobbing just beyond the waves. We took in a moment of quiet calm and familiarity before the two of us set out on a trip to a new city far away in arguably our favorite country.
Today Kristy pointed out that this happened four years ago. It was a happy reminder of a scene I’ll always remember fondly. She said “We paid like $80 to rent a car and drive a few miles to the beach for a couple hours before the Frankfurt trip.” I laughed.
I’ve spent $80 on a lot of things I have no recollection of. At the time, renting that car and spending the layover at a beach probably made no sense. But damn if it’s not one of the best things I’ve ever spent money on. It’s a memory that seems like a pretty good value in retrospect. Always rent the car and go, I guess.
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