The story line for this road trip episode comes from the fertile imagination of Arel1, author of the Sir Christopher epistles that frequently grace the comment section on a Friday night.
The last time we met with the road trip gang, they had journeyed to Monterey for some fine dining. By the time the Aquarium had forcibly ejected the last of them, it was well past sunset, and so they had to make the two-hour drive back to San Francisco in the dark.
Their bellies were full and their spirits were high, so they cranked up the radio and sang along as they drove. They were about halfway home…
...when the car suddenly died. Completely and utterly. It looked like its soul was escaping through the grille.
They pushed it off the road. Those who knew (or thought they knew) anything about mechanics popped the hood and had a look. Others milled about or stretched or cleaned. Andy’s attention was captured by a strange mist that had started to encroach.
In the mist, he thought he saw a distant light, so he wandered into the woods to find the source and perhaps get help. Soon he came upon a house. Well… more like a mansion.
He found the door ajar, and cautiously looked in. There didn’t seem to be anyone there.
He wandered through room after room repeatedly calling out a greeting, but nobody ever responded. He was about to give up, when he turned into a hallway and saw a cat.
The cat was silvery, like Mimi, so he thought perhaps she’d followed him there. But when he called out to her, she seemed not to hear, and when she suddenly took off running, the chase was on!
They ran all over the strange, cavernous mansion...
...until finally they came to a staircase that dead-ended into the ceiling – Whaaaa? Anyway, he thought he had her cornered at last.
Until she walked right through the wall !!!
Well didn’t that beat all? He wandered away in confusion, eventually coming to a large paneled room.
There was an organ on one wall, so he sat down on the bench and began pondering the strange events of the night, wondering what it all meant.
But not being much of a philosopher, the cat quickly ditched this effort in favor of noodling around on the organ…
He wheeled around. “You must be the lost traveler,” she said. “The impish spirits of this house have waylaid you and your friends — they’re full of pranks. No matter, we’ll fix it. My name is Mrs. Sarah Winchester.”
She extended her hand, and Andy had to consult his inner Sir Andrew for advice about the proper etiquette.
“It was very kind of you to play with my cat,” she said. “Though how you knew that her name was Mimi is a mystery to me. Oh, well… all very appropriate for the Winchester Mystery House! Now let me escort you back to your companions.”
They traveled the short distance in style, and Andy was set down near the car.
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