The 'new' car is purchased, now it's a race to Mexico

ELK GROVE, Calif. - After viewing several rolling wrecks to purchase, Camelia is the proud owner of a 1994 Isuzu Trooper, a very nicely maintained unit that was owned by a young family who were given a new van last year by some relatives and couldn't see keeping three cars and paying insurance. (They had the Trooper, a late-model pickup truck and the van.)

As an owner of three vehicles - two of which I washed yesterday - I can really relate.

Camelia and Dustin looked at several very used SUVs before we met up with the now-former owner of the Trooper in a parking lot south of Sacramento. The suburbs in the area where he lives are such a labyrinth that giving directions to your house - even with Mapquest - can be risky business indeed.

But the Safeway parking lot if a fine place to check out a car and after it was pronounced sound enough to get them to Mexico (where it will be used as Camelia's work car), the deal was struck and now it sits proudly in front of our Land Park casa.

Tomorrow the couple will be filling it up with things to take back to Mexico, including a large bag of our snorkeling gear and other supplies for our vacation in late March in Tenacatita Bay and Admiralty Beach.

Viva Mexico!


Camelia with her new car, which she has dubbed "Troopie."