Friday, October 12, 2007

Middle-O-Nowhere Adventures

Or, Reason #162 Why We Need A Cell Phone, or It Could Have Been Worse, or Sure Glad We Have AAA!


Our trip back home from FarmMed proved to be far longer and more interesting than the usual 6 hour drive back to the Springs. More than two hours into the journey we heard an awful banging noise coming from the front of our van. Within a mile or two we were on the side of the road where we spent about the next three hours on a 90 degree day with three young children. Actually, this really could have been worse as the place we pulled off had huge shade trees and one functioning swing for the kids. It was one of those small-town pull-offs that are intended for tourists that have a few picnic tables but still no bathrooms. This is when our cell phone, which we got just two weeks earlier, came in very handy. We've been holding out on getting one for years, but this van with over 190,000 miles is one of the biggest reasons we finally caved. The AAA membership that offers 100 miles of towing was also a big plus in this somewhat remote location. We ended up calling my mom to come and get us (somehow tow trucks can't accommodate 5 people, 3 of whom have car seats), towing the van back to the town nearest FarmMed (using 94 of our towing miles) and spending another night there before having the car fixed by a trusted shop the next day. Thankfully we were able to get home the next day without event, but somehow it seems this type of adventure may become more frequent until that fine day when we have saved enough for a van without so many miles on the odometer. Ah, the memories!

Still smiling!

Thanks Mom and Dad for another night of lodging and for coming to help us. We really hope we won't need you to do this again.

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