Sullivan, Clinton and Broadhead Trail 1779

Day 5: September 7th, 2000 Pittsburgh (Car Search)

As almost usual I have my breakfast at Bob Evans. After breakfast I still have plenty of time until noon. Originally I planned to buy a tripod before I left Germany, but I ran out of time. I take a look in the phone book and find a company in Conway which sells photo equipment. It’s a couple of miles driving, but I have enough time. After a brief search I find the shop in Conway. It is smaller than expected by the advertisement. But the salesman shows and discusses with me all the different tripods for more than an hour. Eventually I buy the tripod I already identified in Germany as my favourite. His advice confirmed me in having chosen the right tripod.

When I am back in the Motel I already have a missed call from Shawn. I call back immediately and he explains me that the leak is just the valve cover gasket. The repair is about $180. He suggests to reduce the price by $200. Then I can make the decision on my own if I want to repair it or not. I could also decide if I want to do the repair by myself or let a garage do the job. This sounds fair. We make another appointment to discuss all financial things and the insurance information. He does not know yet, that I will have to transfer the money from Germany. He is really shocked hearing about that, because it is usual here to have the money with you when buying a car. He also had to take a loan for the new car and every day costs him money. Transfering money from Gremany could take up a week. I suggest to ask my friends if I can borrow money from them that we can finalize things tomorrow. I will call him tomorrow morning to let him know if everything is fine.

I am driving back to my Motel on the Penna Turnpike to save time. I immediately call my friends to check if they can borrow me money. But they don’t have this much money available and taking a loan also takes a couple of days. It looks like loans are working different here than in Germany. Let’s see what Shawn has to say now. I try to call him but I only reach his answering machine. Ok, then I will first have dinner.

I arrive at Bob Evans around half past seven. Now they are open. A quarter past eight I drive back to the Motel. Shawn should be back around 10pm. But I only reach his answering machine again. I can only leave him a message for now and will try to call him tomorrow morning. I hope we can find a comfortable solution for both of us. I don’t want to wait until the end of next week to start my traveling. This would be too late to hit the road…