 |
| Ducks and other varieties of birds in one of the many ponds in Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. I visited the preserve on a cool, cloudy day, but the scenery was still beautiful. |
Over the next several days, we’ll be posting many photos from the awe-inspiring Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve located about 15 minutes from our current location in Green Valley Ranch.
In the interim, I had to share what turned out to be a solution for my unfortunate fender bender, which occurred on Monday while I was visiting a possible assisted living facility for my sister located in North Las Vegas, beyond the Summerlin area.
 |
| Visiting this venue provided me with an entirely different perspective of the Henderson area. |
As shared in Monday’s post (click here for details), I bumped into a square pillar in the parking lot of the facility, leaving a dreadful situation in the left front of the white rental car that could easily have cost us hundreds of dollars in expenses with Avis handling the repairs, after returning the vehicle on August 1st.
With considerable angst, I showed Tom what had transpired in the parking lot. With only a week remaining until we leave Nevada, we decided to wait and see how it would roll out when we return the vehicle next Tuesday before our flight to Costa Rica.
 |
| Two Mallards are sitting on rocks in one of the eight ponds in the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. |
Yesterday morning after visiting the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, which I’d done on a whim when on my way to the grocery store (more on that shortly), the most peculiar thing happened.
After buying the groceries to make last night’s dinner, loading the groceries into the trunk in the insulated bags I had with me, I was approached by two men who commented about the situation on the left front bumper. They explained they could fix it right there in the parking lot for $100 if I had 10 to 15 minutes to spare while they worked.
 |
| Car before we wiped off the residue this morning. |
 |
| Here’s the white rental car after repairs were made in Smith’s Market parking lot. A tiny spot remains but is barely visible. We’re satisfied with the work. Below is the before photo. |
At first, I hesitated. Was this some scam? The two men in their 30’s seemed OK. They had a nice pickup truck, were dressed in clean white tee shirts and jeans, and didn’t appear to be anything other than two guys trying to make some extra cash doing small bodywork jobs from Smith’s parking lot.
They assured me I didn’t have to pay until they completed the work to my satisfaction. They explained I’d need to let the paint dry overnight and could wipe off the residue in the morning with a damp towel. Another car owner was standing nearby, listening to the conversation. He, too, was considering that they work on his car also.
 |
| The little white rental car before the repairs were done in Smith’s parking lot. |
What did I have to lose? The only risk would be if they exacerbated the damage by working on it. For $100, it seemed worth taking the risk. I told them I’d walk over to Wells Fargo ATM across the parking lot to get the rest of the cash when I didn’t have $100 in cash on me.
I locked the car and walked to the ATM while they worked on the vehicle. The bystander watched with intense curiosity and decided that he, too, would go for their “deal” and could work on his car as soon as they were done with mine.
In no time at all, I was satisfied with the work they were doing and told them I’d give them a mention in today’s post for a reasonably priced job well done. How handy could this be?
 |
| As described here, this bird is a Grebe: “Grebes are a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter. This order contains only a single family, the Podicipedidae, containing 22 species in 6 extant genera.” |
This morning Tom and I wiped off the car to find it in considerably improved condition, most likely not detectable by the rental car company. The 2016 model with 30,000 miles on the odometer had several similar small spots when we took the car, typical for rental vehicles over a year old.
If you live in the Las Vegas/Henderson area, they’ll come to your home or place of business or any other designated location to repair dings such as mine. Of course, the price is subject to the extensive nature of your “dings” or dents. You can reach Sean at 702-972-2495.
Today, I’m off to see Susan. With today and Friday’s upcoming visit, this may be the last of the two times I see my dear sister. These past weeks I visited her every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. With this next upcoming Monday designated as packing day, I may not make the long drive that day and say goodbye on Friday.
In tomorrow’s post, I’ll share the details of my excellent visit to the breathtaking Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve with many more stunning and surprising photos.
Please check back then!
Photo from one year ago today, July 26, 2016:
 |
| The pouring rain in Phuket continued for many days during our six-week stay. For more photos, please click here. |