The house, the location, the friendly, considerate swap family: our Napa, California exchange was shaping up to be the best one yet. Compounding the already-perfect parameters of this home exchange were the wonderful extras our swap partners threw in to the deal: use of their new-ish car for the week and a week of summer camp for our kids at the swappers' state-licensed child care center.
For our part, we arranged special VIP seats for their family at the Broadway theater my father founded. The special "house seats" included passes to enjoy wine and snacks at the VIP lounge where the many celebrities who want to see the shows relax before curtain time.
The home exchangers loved the show and had a great visit in our home. We even got to meet them just before they left for the airport. What a kind, friendly family!
When it came time for us to use their place, the exchangers welcomed us with one caveat: their daughter's County Fair talent contest was scheduled for the week of our visit. They had friends they could stay with to make sure their home was still available to them. But did we still need to use their car?
This is where reality intersects with home exchange. Yes, we had a contract that stipulated we had the right to use their car. But their plans had changed. They were going out of their way, clearing out of their own home and staying with friends. Home exchange is about flexibility. Circumstances change. If we were going to inconvenience them by using their car, we would just rent one.
Then I checked the car rental rates.
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