Saying Goodbye Isn't Always To Other People

Kara and Suzanne at Lunch

     Part of the preparation for becoming an ex-pat is saying goodbye.  The odd thing is, it’s sometimes more about saying goodbye to customs, habits and things than it is about saying goodbye to people.  That was one of the subjects of discussion the other day when Suzanne had lunch with her good friend Kara.  Kara and her husband Kent have been close friends since they moved to Phoenix and became co-workers with Suzanne a few years back.  We refer to their two Samoyeds, Klondike and Kodiak as our “granddogs”

Suzanne's "Baby": Her 98 BMW  Z3 roadster

   Suzanne had already discussed with Kara the fact that we’ll be able to stay in touch.  We haven’t even made our first trip down and there are already plans afoot for visits and maybe a joint rendezvous in either the Caribbean or Mexico.   Nope, the “goodbye” discussion here centered on the fact that Suzanne’s pride and joy, her “98” BMW Z3 roadster, had been sold in preparation for moving out of the country.  She was going to miss it and wanted to something special before "turning loose".

Before taking the final top down drive
with Boo-Boo,  her faithful "car bear".

   We had actually bought this car from Kara and Kent about 6 years ago.  Kent is a car buff who has owned nearly as many cars as I have hairs in my beard.  He finds fabulous, mint-condition, used cars, buys them, enjoys them for a while and then sells them so he can try something else.  Well The Z3 was one of his best finds and once we bought it from him, it quickly became Suzanne’s “baby”.

   It was in superb condition and the fact that it still had less 60,000 miles on it meant we got a good price.  so Suzanne spent a little extra to have it spotless for its send off.   (Patience, we’re finally getting back to the “saying goodbye” part!).   Suzanne and Kara decided that in addition to the final top down drive, she and Suzanne should have some photos taken “Thelma and Louise” style to commemorate Suzanne’s last day as owner.   

Here are some of the shots of Suzanne saying “goodbye” to her BMW:

Suzanne and Kara alias "Thelma and Louise"

The ladies sharing Suzanne's last moments as the car's owner.

  

For safety's sake, never hit the road without your car bear on board!

       The car is now gone.  Hopefully, it will bring as much enjoyment to someone else as it did to Suzanne.  As she said after signing over the title:  "I've taken care of that car for the past few years, now it's going to help take care of getting me to Ecuador!"   And that, dear readers, is how Roger and Suzanne say goodbye to a car before they head on down the road.

Juntos en el camino de la vida!