On my way from Eureka, CA to Lakeport, CA today I drove the 101 South. The drive took me through some beautiful scenes with some giant Redwoods. This got me thinking of that HUGE Redwood that I've seen pictures of (which at this point I can't remember if it was real or not) that apparently had a two lane highway running through the trunk.
Naturally, then, I was intrigued by an exit that proffered "Drive Thru Tree Street." I had some time, so I pulled off the road, searching for the Tree I'd seen in pictures. After following the signs I was directed to a park (a forest park) that promised to hold the "Drive Thru Tree." After driving in, and foolishly thinking I could see the tree for free, I pulled up to a booth where the attendant demanded $5.00 before I could see the tree.
I wasn't happy about the $5.00, but I'd come too far in now not to see the tree, so I handed the money over. "He's just about a 1/4 mile in" the attendant said. I drove forward cautiously--especially since I'm using a rental car. My anticipation grew with each turn around the bend.
Imagine my disappointment then when, while envisioning the huge tree that fit a two lane highway through it, I found that the "Drive Thru Tree" only had a 6 x 6'9" hole. It looked big enough to fit a Mini-Cooper through it, but not much else. I still thought about testing the rental car on it, but realized but kept envisioning the side mirrors getting clipped off. It was the biggest tree I'd ever seen to be sure, but still nothing compared to the mammoth I'd envisioned.
Once I realized I'd been had, I hardly stopped the car. This despite the gift shop only yards from the tree. The gift shop is always the red flag.
I left the "park" feeling dirty, cursing the tree, and feeling almost as embarrassed as I did when I realized a British thief had taken my $400 on eBay after dangling a laptop she would never ship.
Perhaps the worst part was realizing that I can't imagine any situation where I wouldn't have paid the $5. Surely they call them "traps" for a reason.
1 comment:
So sorry your time away from home isn't filled with more excitement. As I read your post, I thought I remembered that the two-lane drive-thru tree had fallen or otherwise ceased to be. I can't find any evidence of that from a quick Google search, but it is easy to learn that there are more than one drive-thru trees.
Post a Comment