Couple's Honeymoon Goes Up in Flames

Honeymoons are supposed to be a time of romance and moonlit walks, but not for Jeff and Rhonda West of Bessemer City, N.C.

Their honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, S.C., was downright criminal - stolen right out from under them, in fact - which is why they were recently awarded the grand prize in Thrifty Car Rental's "Honeymoon Disasters Contest."

Headed for the hotel in Jeff's mint-condition 1968 Camaro RS, they lost a hubcap. After chasing it down, they resumed their journey until they heard a loud "thud."

Jeff, still dressed in his tuxedo, got out of the car to survey a blown-out back tire when the car, along with his new wife, started rolling down the hill. He had forgotten to put the car in "park."

"I could hear my beautiful bride screaming at the top of her lungs," said Jeff. "Then I started chasing the car until it came to rest in a bunch of bushes. By now my wife is in tears, wondering what's going to happen next."

After changing the tire and double-checking the hubcap, the newlyweds were off again.

"We finally get to our hotel, only to find out that it had caught on fire the day before and was completely shut down," said Jeff. "This almost pushed my new wife completely over the edge - sitting in a parking lot at three o'clock in the morning on our wedding night without a place to bed down for the night."

So the couple started driving from hotel to hotel, trying to find one with rooms available.

"While we are stopped at this one little hotel/motel outside the city limits, my bride comes in with me," said Jeff. "When we find out they don't have any place to stay and head back out to our car - it's gone! Someone had just stolen our car."

Taking pity upon them, the hotel finally found room at the inn, and the newlyweds slept until 2 p.m. "Then we got up, got dressed and went back home," said Jeff.

Thrifty Car Rental is remedying the Wests' situation by awarding them a second honeymoon. They will receive roundtrip airfare to a destination of their choice in the continental U.S., hotel accommodations for three nights, a four-day car rental and $500 in spending money.

Where does the couple plan to go next?

"Rhonda would like to go to Vegas, if the trip is real," said Jeff jokingly, as his wife of 16 years still doesn't believe they have really won the contest. "Vegas would be the perfect place to renew our vows. So 'Viva Las Vegas' it will be!"