So my nine day, three Florida city vacation begins Saturday. Stage one sees me flying to Orlando to hang with one of my adult nieces and her boyfriend, drink beer, go to. Universal for the rides, go to the Space Center at the Cape, and perhaps drink some beer.
For getting around Orlando I have two options:
1. Rental car. Positives are I'm not imposing on or inconveniencing my niece by using her car, and I'm not beholden to getting her to her job on days she works. Negative is mainly cost. While several rental car companies out of the Orlando airport have what I consider great rates, every one of those companies with those great rates has not just bad, but horrible reviews, including multiple claims that their low rates are a sham, and they end up charging you a lot more. Which leaves me with the usual suspects in the major rental car companies, the cheapest of which will still set me back $125 for my four day rental for a compact. (I hate the economy class, as they are tiny little roller skates, and if I'm paying that much, I might as well pay a little more, in the case that little more being $6 for the compact class.) Also the pain in the ass of returning it with a full tank, since their other gas options are a ripoff.
2. Niece's car. Niece has said she would gladly let me use her car. The positive is obvious: it's free! One negative is that I would then have to get her to work and pick he up from work on her work days. Which could be a major crimp in my style if I decide to hit the bars. (For those of you wondering why a rental car would be better for such activity, no, I would not be driving if I drank too much, but rather, would hang out at the bar and have my niece or her boyfriend pick me up when I was done, and retrieve the rental car the next day.) The other major negative is that her car is a Smart Car. Which is even smaller than those roller skates in the economy class at rental car companies. Driving a Smart Car in a compact city like NYC or Boston, I could see. Even a small town like Key West. But driving around a major metropolis like Orlando in one of those things sounds like utter insanity to me.
So, what are your thoughts, folks?
For getting around Orlando I have two options:
1. Rental car. Positives are I'm not imposing on or inconveniencing my niece by using her car, and I'm not beholden to getting her to her job on days she works. Negative is mainly cost. While several rental car companies out of the Orlando airport have what I consider great rates, every one of those companies with those great rates has not just bad, but horrible reviews, including multiple claims that their low rates are a sham, and they end up charging you a lot more. Which leaves me with the usual suspects in the major rental car companies, the cheapest of which will still set me back $125 for my four day rental for a compact. (I hate the economy class, as they are tiny little roller skates, and if I'm paying that much, I might as well pay a little more, in the case that little more being $6 for the compact class.) Also the pain in the ass of returning it with a full tank, since their other gas options are a ripoff.
2. Niece's car. Niece has said she would gladly let me use her car. The positive is obvious: it's free! One negative is that I would then have to get her to work and pick he up from work on her work days. Which could be a major crimp in my style if I decide to hit the bars. (For those of you wondering why a rental car would be better for such activity, no, I would not be driving if I drank too much, but rather, would hang out at the bar and have my niece or her boyfriend pick me up when I was done, and retrieve the rental car the next day.) The other major negative is that her car is a Smart Car. Which is even smaller than those roller skates in the economy class at rental car companies. Driving a Smart Car in a compact city like NYC or Boston, I could see. Even a small town like Key West. But driving around a major metropolis like Orlando in one of those things sounds like utter insanity to me.
So, what are your thoughts, folks?
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