Wheel Play.(Column)(misadventures on car trip)(Brief Article)

Byline: Matt Davis

We were through U.S. customs in Detroit, having flown from Milan via Amsterdam. With baby strapped to my midsection and facing forward, we made quite the animated totem pole of bald, fair-skinned idols at the baggage carousel. Then came whining time. The airline of the Dutch royal family-or so their company name would lead one to believe-given only two hours in Holland to move our bags from plane A to plane B, had neglected to do so. Outside at the curb of the new Detroit terminal we could see our Mazda MPV welcome wagon in all its comfort and beauty taunting us to come join it. Which we finally got to do almost two hours later, after notifying all the right people that we had no clothes.

Mazda's MPV is everything a minivan should be without bloating out too large in the process. Apart from a suspension set just a bit too sporty for off-road sections like Michigan's cratered Interstate 94, the MPV is one of my favorite cruisers. But there isn't a new car made that can keep me from losing the keys. I'm very good at it.

Having eaten lunch one day at a deli we decided to take a long walk toward downtown Petoskey, Michigan, leaving the MPV parked deli-side. It was a lovely day. After the long walk back to the deli, we even got a call that our bags had finally arrived after three days. Right at that moment I checked all my pockets and found no keys therein. This was evil, for it was the only set of keys handy. Luckily I'd been shrewd enough to leave the MPV unlocked all day, so mother and child had a place to sit and wait while the gracious lady deli proprietor drove me back downtown in her Buick LeSabre to check ...