preceeding my car by a couple of vehicles was a brand new mercedes coupe; it still had temp tags on it. a handy-j guy hopped in the benz and started it up to drive over to the dry line. i heard the benz start and then go straight to redline, it was a stange sound – kinda muffled by high pitch. i had just enough time to glance up and notice that the handy-j guy didn’t realize what was going on and put the car in drive. The benz too-off like a friggin rocket and embedded itself a couple of feet into the wall of the outdoor grill, almost directly under where that picture was taken. the force of the impact raised the rear of the car about a foot and deployed the airbag. the car was still redlining with the rear wheels doing a sweet burn-out when the guy opened the door and stumbled/crawled out. another handy-j guy came running over and managed to shut-off the motor. handy-j guy was ok – just understandably dazed.

the benz owner came out of the cashier area looking for his car – i’ll never forget the bewildered look on his face once he realized what the commotion was about.

Years later the stucco patch was still visible if you knew what to look for.

Across the street you have either Cal Chicken Cafe if you’re feeling healthy, or the Zweiburger at Snug Harbor if you’re not. I think from the counter at Snug Harbor you can see if your car is ready across the street!