Episode 1. Timing belt in Texas

So this is where the story begins. My husband and I fly from Georgia to Texas to purchase him a 1979 VW Rabbit. As soon as we walk outside the airport, we notice a iridescent blackbird greeting us with a cackle. The seller picks us up at the airport in his new Toyota. He tells us that the Grackle birds (the same iridescent bird we saw earlier) were migrating through Texas, leaving bird doo all over his car. We laugh and strike up a friendship. As it turns out, all three of us were born in the same year and have the same last name. So when we get to finally arrive at his residence to see the car that we flew halfway across the country for. Nathan, my husband, who is the handsome guy in the photo with a hat and black socks- looks under the hood. He notices that the timing belt is totally frayed, and says that there is no way we can make it to Georgia with that timing belt. So the seller makes some calls, and finds a shop that can replace it that afternoon. Nathan and I drive the Toyota, following the seller in the Rabbit. We get to the repair shop ( see photos above), and the mechanic replaces the timing belt and belt tensioner pulley. There was a kid with a low rider at the mechanic shop who loved the low rider and said, "You need to raise the car if you are going to make it to Georgia on these roads. " In hindsight, we should have listened to his advise. In the mean time, the seller drives us to get some food. We decided to get some real Tex Mex food- right in our price range- Taco Bell's, Dorito taco. We arrive back and pick up the repaired VW and return to the sellers house. I am invited inside to meet his wife and kids and they fed me vegan cupcakes and OJ while Nathan got all the spare parts for the VW. We write out the bill of sale, purchase the car and drive away saying, "See you at the next family reunion!" We drive away (I am riding in the car for the first time) carefully. The oil pan was only 1 1/2 inches from the road, so we take every pothole very seriously. Despite the smell of old car and leaky gas cap- we are having fun. We scream over the loud exhaust, "Roadtrip!"