It’s rare that I talk (blog) about real life on here, but a story is a story, and I do talk about stories. So, here it goes…
Working from home is great, but sometimes you need to get away. Luckily, Michelle just scheduled herself for a 9 day vacation (which isn’t what happened at all…her boss, the doctor, went on vacation, so…). After circling around doing a few things, we settled on going to her parents house in PA. I love going there, and my work is mobile, so, I’m cool with being anywhere.
Packed up the car, the dogs, and got a house sitter. On the road by 3:10 pm. I wanted to leave earlier, but things happen. Better to leave with all that you need than forget something. Now, for the first time in…a while, I got really proactive about the car. Checked all the fluids and the tires. The one tire looked a little low, but it was doable. We set off after topping the gas.
Traffic was horrendous once we got into Jersey, but towards the Delaware Water Gap, things opened up. Due to the long stretches, though, we all had to make a stop. Few minutes later, and we were back on the road. It’s now around 6:30 pm.
And the there was an explosion.
My first thought was, “That damn tire that I said was ok.” I had planned to check it again at our first planned stop, which was around an hour away, but then it bit me in the ass. But as I quickly pulled over (in a cloud of white smoke I couldn’t see through), I realized the tire was fine. What’s more, the windshield was getting wet. Tires don’t usually retain water.
Can you see that? That is a hose that runs from the radiator to the engine. I’m no gear head (Michelle is) so I don’t quite know what this is called, but I know we couldn’t drive like this any further.
Thank goodness for Roadside Assistance. Long story short, tow truck driver was incredibly nice, as were the mechanics. The car is just about ready, and we’re due to check out of our hotel in about an hour. And the dogs were extremely well behaved.
Michelle, once again, proved that in a zombie apocalypse, she’s the one that’s going to keep us alive.
Me? I’m content with being the getaway driver.
UPDATE: Everything is lookin’ good! We’ll be on our way shortly!
I lost a car like that once. On a road trip through Florida in the middle of the night and suddenly there’s an explosion and so much smoke filling the highway behind us we look like a shuttle launch.
We open the hood and the engine’s on fire! Had to put it out with a case of Arizona iced tea in the back seat. Good thing Christal’s mom made her bring it. We had thrown a rod through the engine block (that’s a thing, right?) and I sold the car for a couple hundred in scrap mettle. We crashed in Daytona with a friend going to school there, waited until his exams were over, then he drove us all the way back to school in Tennessee.
Said friend lives in PA now, hmmm…
Glad you’re all okay!