Figures the other shoe would drop, but it does pay to be kind.
So we had a bit of an adventure Sunday afternoon. We got everything packed into the car for a trip to stay with Ron for the week to close on our new house. Ron took the long way around so the drive would be easier on me, what with smoother highways and all. It was a gorgeous day – I think the highs were in the mid-20s. We even stopped for ice cream (and a couple burgers for the protein-low).
There was a noise coming from one of the tires, but after a quick look, Ron figured it was something to do with the studs wearing down. By the time we got back on a major highway through nothing but woods, the tire was wobbling. I could see it and figured it was heading for flat. Ron pulled over in a good spot, and had a look. The hubcap was HOT. After trying to figure out if it was the brake pads, he determined it was the bearings. Part of determining this was getting the jack out of the trunk – the trunk that was crammed FULL of stuff. We had to unload everything at the side of the road.
Emma thought it was great fun playing in the wide ditch and looking up at clouds while noisy trucks and gawking Sunday drivers went by. I bet we were quite a sight. One person stopped, but by then, we figured out what was wrong and what we were going to do.
We then limped a few miles further along, going slow and with hazard lights, until we got to the nearest gas station – the Petro Canada by King’s Landing. Ron tried to find a rental car that would come get us, but no go – especially on a Sunday. The manager overheard us and offered to take the me and the girls all the way up here for the price of the gas. They even knew who to call to tow. So, six and a half hours after we left our house, us girls got to the “hotel” where Ron stays all week. Randy is our new best friend too. 
We had loads of interesting stories to share.
As a side note, Randy was working airport security in Halifax on 9/11. He overheard some people trying to find a rental car to Yarmouth and offered them a lift. They hustled away from his fast and stared at him for the next half hour. They were from New york and Boston and told him people just don’t do that there. Well, they do here. They did wind up getting a list and Randy says they still keep in contact, good friends now. So say “hi” Randy, or Randy’s wife.
Ron stayed with our car, got it towed to the Ford dealership in Woodstock, and Leroy (my uncle, Aunt boo’s hubby) met him there. They went back to Boo’s to get their car so Ron could have something to drive while ours was in the shop.
It was good he left the car at the Fod dealership instead of the mechanics he’d been at a week or two earlier – ones who had worked on that same tire. >:-( And not only did the dealership mechanincs confirm that yes it was indeed the bearings, it was also in the realm of if we had just kept on driving it would have been a snapped axle.
The dealership was awesome – they had the car all fixed and the summer tires back on it (Ron took them down on his lunch hour) for us to pick up after supper, which we did. Then with both cars we headed back up to Aunt Boo’s to take her car back and visit for a bit. That was the first time I had driven a vehicle in three weeks. It was tiring, but the company’s great – even if Boo can hobble faster than I can at the moment.
One Response to “Figures the other shoe would drop, but it does pay to be kind.”
Yo – you were right up the road from us!!! I’d say something like why didn’t you call, but uh, we weren’t even home Sunday afternoon. Wish I’d known – I was killing time at the mall with the kids while Greg was canoeing. Glad it all worked out.