Serendipity

Yesterday I had just arranged myself on the bench outside Mono Market to write a letter when a woman came from across the street and asked if I lived in Lee Vining.
"Sort of," I replied.
"Do you have a car?"
"Yes, it's right there."
She then proceeded to explain that her car was in the shop and she needed to get herself and her stuff from the hotel and car to her rental house on the north side of Mono Lake, on Cottonwood Canyon Road. "The nearest cab is in Mammoth," she explained, "and he wanted to charge me $180. I will give you $100 if you taxi me."

Hard to say no to that. Turns out, Anne is a glacier researcher who rents this house with her friends for four months out of the year and does about two weeks of work and several weeks of fun. And which house is it? The one that was pointed out to me my very first time down the Cottonwood Canyon Road - the off-the-grid house belonging to the granddaughter of Ansel Adams. And I got to go inside. Not only that, but we exchanged phone numbers and she said she'd invite me down to a bbq there sometime.

Just goes to show: it pays to sit on public benches.

Of course, my oil change (which I got in town because I was 1500 miles overdue) ended up costing $65.15, so most of that $100 disappeared. But I still ended the day $35 richer than I started! Although, when you include my groceries and the Monorrito I bought for lunch, maybe it's more like $5. But either way: I spent a day on the town that didn't end up costing me a dime. How about that?

Until next time!