Not So Typical Sunday

Z and I were craving for some good breakfast and considered going to some good local places but I kinda wanted to go to Hometown Buffet instead. As we were leaving, his coworker called to tell him about a big accident that happened on the McArthur Maze, a major interchange in the East Bay. I immediately grabbed my camera since the accident was on our way. We drove down to the Ikea parking lot where we thought we are gonna get a good view of the accident. And yes, we sure did.

Apparently, a truck with gasoline tank took a turn too fast and hit the guardrail and all of a sudden it exploded. Temperatures reached more than 200 degrees and melted the steel supporting the ramp and next thing you know the structure fell into another ramp. The fire destroyed the whole truck and tank. It's a good thing it happened at around 3 am and miraculously, there were no other cars around. Even the truck driver escaped the accident although her walked away with second-degree burn.

While we were taking photos, a reported from the Tribune came and asked if she could interview us. I declined as I don't use that route and I take the train to commute to San Francisco. Z obliged and a few minutes ago we saw his name on the Tribune and of course, misquoted. Oh, well. I guess that's how media operate. According to CalTrans, around 75,000 cars go through that interchange everyday. So I'm sure tomorrow will be a big mess. Glad to know that BART are adding more trains and public transportation from the East Bay will be free including AC Transit and Ferry Service.

We also went shopping for a new car for Z. We test drove a Toyota Prius, a Hybrid Toyota Camry and a Hybrid Honda Civic. Z was looking for something that could help save gas and at the same time save the environment. And guess what, I loved the Prius the best. I fell in love with it and wanted to take it home tonight. Hehehe. But of course that's not the way it works. The Camry was so comfortable, beautifully engineered. And I would pick it over the Prius if not for the $30,000 sticker price. Who needs a leather seat?! The manager quoted us 25 grand on the Prius which is a really great deal with all the extras like Navigation and Smart Key System. It doesn't have the torque that the Camry had but man, I absolutely loved it. We went down to Honda immediately after after Toyota warned us that nothing could beat the Prius. And yes, they were right. The Hybrid civic sucked. We test drove it and it felt cramped. And for the price you pay for it, I think it's a rip off. The salesperson said price depends on the demand and could range from $24,995 to $28,995. I don't quite understand that kind of pricing but I think it's BS. And it didn't matter because we didn't like it at all. With that price, it doesn't even have a smart key system! Anyway, we were just shopping around. We'll see what happens next.