Alamo – Waite for it…

If I need a car when we travel, I prefer to rent from Alamo. They’re not always the cheapest, but I get great customer service and they usually have a good selection of cars ready to go.

After we landed in Dallas yesterday, we caught the shuttle bus to the rental car center. It’s been totally remodeled since we were last here six months ago. As we walked past all the rental company counters, I saw that the only company with a line was Alamo, with whom we had a reservation. Plenty of people were working the counter, but it looked like about a forty-five minute wait to get a car.

A small sign on a kiosk reminded me of a “skip the counter” option. I hadn’t had much luck doing that in the past, but I figured why not give it a try. This time, it worked. As I waited in the non-moving line, I added a little more info into the phone app, and in a few minutes had a ticket. I ducked out of line and headed out to get a car.

In the parking garage I showed the rental agent the bar code on my phone, which stated, “You click we pick.” When Preston saw that he said, “Ah, the mystery car.”

I said, “A batmobile?”

He chuckled and said, “I’ve been working here eight years and no one has ever come back with ‘batmobile’! Customers usually hope for a Jaguar or Ferrarri.”

I added, “Either that or Knight Rider.”

I assumed that I would get a compact car, midsize at best. But as we looked down the row of vehicles ready to go, Preston said, “Want a Jeep? I’ve got a Wrangler at the end of the row.”

My wife and I both said, “Sure!” If I had reserved a Jeep on the front end, it would have cost me twice as much. So this was a sweet upgrade and promised to be a fun way to tool around the Dallas area.

I think every time we’ve rented from Alamo at DFW, we’ve gotten some kind of upgrade, from a compact to a van or SUV. That’s why we always come back to them.

Our first activity for the day was an excursion to the Alamo. Just a short walk from the convention center, crowds were small in the morning for this famous Texas shrine. I hadn't realized it was considered a shrine until the men were asks to remove their hats upon entering. I also hadn't remembered the historical and societal significance of the battle and loss of life there. A very simple place, it contains familiar names, preserved artifacts and draws you into a great story of courage and commitment.

From there we walked some of the Riverwalk and decided on Fuddruckers for lunch. We just beat most of the noon crowd, and then headed back to the convention center. We spent about an hour browsing the exhibits, getting some cool free stuff, and then attempts to go to an interest center. I say attempted because they all filled up long before we arrived, up to 30 minutes early. It seems like the venues aren't quite big enough to handle the crowds. Liv and I just slipped into a session called, “Is there Jesus after high school?” It was well done, but I don't think most of the youth there really grasped how much life changes after you graduate.

Afterwards, Josh and Hayden bought some masks that wrestlers would wear, giving our group a distinctive look for the rest of the day.

Determined to get to the Alamodome a little earlier, we then bought some Subway to take with us, and then walked down to eat our supper there. We got to the dome about 6:00 pm, and found that thousands of people had a

Ready camped out at the doors which didn't open until 7:30. I gave the youth a couple of photo scavenger hunts to work on, and we just relaxed a little.

The evening event included some dramatizations of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. President Matt Harrison played a little banjo, and Evan's pic of his head stuck in a cannon made the big screen.