i love returning rental cars
I do not like rental cars.
I guess I don’t really like driving. I love when I travel, either for a work trip or an actual vacation, and the burden of transportation is completely out of my hands. A Lyft or an Uber? A thirty minute uphill walk? I’m down. Just don’t make me drive.
But I live in LA and before that Orange County and walkable cities are apparently bad for business or something and those electric scooters scare the hell out of me.
This year, with the amount of US travel I have been doing, going to towns and venues just inside the middle of nowhere, a rental is a necessary evil on my anxiety.
I knew I had to get at least one rental car this year, way down the way in September when I will have to cross state lines for an event thats free to attend but all surrounding boarding options sell out months in advance. I consider myself lucky that I found a room at a motel just 45 mins and a state line away.
Chevy Trax I rented in Atlanta, GA in April
I always take a photo of the car before I leave it for the first time so I don’t forget which one is mine
When my friend’s wedding in April required a two hour drive from the airport to my hotel, I figured it would be a good trial run for my first solo rental car experience.
Honestly I was in such a rush and so exhausted that trip I really can’t recall the experience in detail except for my hands cramped from gripping the steering wheel too hard for two hours. This month, I had to do another rental car for Pennhurst Paracon, and I realized my new favorite thing.
I love returning a rental car.
Nissan Altima I rented in Philadelphia, PA
Not pictured is the panic attack I nearly had trying to find parking on PennState campus
I didn’t have time to appreciate it the first time. I was barely gonna make my flight even with a TSA Precheck approved speedrun. This time I was fleeing a roadside motel that skeeved me out so I pulled an all nighter before I left for the airport arguably too early at three in the morning, fleeing into the night. But this meant I got to take my time finding the rental return line, park the car, get my luggage, then toss the keys back in.
My god, what a complete feeling of relief to close that door on those keys! No longer my problem! No longer my responsibility! Send me the bill, I’m already on the shuttle to the terminal!
Now when I head out in September, I am so excited to return my future rental car.
It’s a toss up on how the actual trip will go.