How New Mexico went from THE WORST to THE BEST

By now, assuming you are on facebook/twitter/instagram, you have most likely seen the new official car of The Great Lung Run. If you haven't, take a look:

To confirm: yes, that is a gold Chrysler 300. With 22 inch rims. And a diamond "22" logo on the side of the car signifying the rim size. 

Now you're probably wondering how 2 chicks in the middle of New Mexico ended up with a sweet ride like that, so allow us to explain. 

Back at the end of August, we were generously gifted Ollie, the red Ford Explorer, by the amazing Bergstrom family. In Kansas, Ollie's power steering went out (which you can read about here) and things have kind of gone downhill since. Yesterday, Sydney had a feeling that something wasn't right again and took Ollie to the Ford dealership in Grants, New Mexico. Sure enough, the mechanic listed a few things wrong with him and said we could keep pouring money into the car to fix it but since it was older, we likely would have to do just that--keep pouring money into it.

So, we set about figuring out other options and the best way to get a new car ASAP. We eventually decided selling Ollie for whatever we could get and renting a car until we could get a new one was the best option. After a frustrating morning for both of us (Kelcey because New Mexico elements--dryness, wind, heat--were getting the best of her and Sydney because the car was about to break down at any minute), we were both kind of over the entire state as of early this afternoon. 

That's where Oscar's Auto Salvage comes into the picture. Oscar's is owned by Henry, the friendly guy (wearing a 49ers sweatshirt) who greeted us when we walked in. After chatting for a while about our adventure, the 49ers, etc., he said he could offer us a bit over $1k for the car, plus a ride to Albuquerque where we could pick up a rental. We agreed and went outside to pack up Ollie. As we were doing so, Henry came outside with a "better idea" (his words, not ours).

     "Why don't you give me the explorer, and you can take my 300. I'll come pick it up in San  Francisco in a few months," said Henry.

     "Um. What?" we said.

     "You take my car and I'll come get it from you in a few months," he replied.

     [trying to remove jaws from floor] "Are you serious? Like, are you serious? ARE YOU SEROUS?" we said. 

     "Yes," he said with a straight face.

At this point, we hadn't seen the car so Sydney said quietly to Kelcey, "what's a 300?" and Kelcey replied, "I think it's a truck?" We were WRONG. Henry and his 2 brothers set about getting the car ready for us to take, while we giddily/speechlessly packed up Ollie.

To further demonstrate how snazzy this car is, we give you another snippet of conversation. Henry cleaning out car, holds up 2 pairs of headphones and says to us, "do you think you'll want these headphones for the entertainment system in the back?"

     Us: ".................................................".

Needless to say, the car has bells and whistles left and right. 

Kelcey, Sydney & Henry

On a more serious note, there are no words to express our gratitude to Henry, his brothers, and everyone who has pitched in to help us navigate this adventure. There have been frustrating days sure, but days like today and more importantly, people like Henry, are what not only make this trip possible but also so wonderful. 

We cannot wait to get to San Francisco (6 weeks from tomorrow!) and now we will arrive in more style than we ever thought possible. We are pretty certain Jilly would approve. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.