After a long drive from Kansas, we fetched up in Colorado Springs at the home of Richard & Barbara Kohlhaas, who live in a Co-Housing community in the center of the city. Barbara and I were unfamiliar with the concept and we quickly learned about the ownership and governance of such a community. Richard and Barbara were kind enough to take us to their community dinner of the first evening that we were there, and we had a delightful meal, and were introduced to the community members in attendance.
On the next day, we were required to attend to the first crisis of the trip which began late in the afternoon as we drove across the Kansas-Colorado border and discovered that the A/C in the car had quit running. In addition, a small stone chip in the windshield, which had been there for some time, became a full scale crack, and it was obvious that it would have to be replaced promptly. Fortunately, we have full glass insurance coverage, and we had the windshield replaced quickly without out of pocket expenses for us.
After finding the nearest Infiniti dealer we had them diagnose the problem, and after some time sitting in their showrooms, we learned that we were facing a major expenditure to replace the A/C compressor, the seals, the condenser, and various other related parts. In addition we were told that we had other mechanical problems, and that when all was counted up, we needed to make repairs that would cost approximately $2300.We also were told that the repairs would take a full day, and so after securing a loaner car from the dealer, we retired to the Kohlhaas household to decide what to do next. We briefly considered trading the car, and buying a new one, but the overall costs of such a transaction were prohibitive for us and so we elected to go ahead a repair the faithful Q.
While we had the loaner car, we spent the day sightseeing; first at the Garden of the Gods, a city park of awesome rock formations, dimensions, with Pikes Peak as a background, and then later in the tiny community of Manitou Springs, a funky little place with small art galleries, restaurants, and shops that was a delight to wander through. In the evening we ate at Giuseppe's Restaurant in the old railroad station of the Denver & Rio Grand Railroad. A great treat, an excellent meal, and we managed to snaffle a menu to send to my Cornell Hotel School colleague, Giuseppe Pezzotti.
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