The Drive

The number one rule of traveling: Nothing ever goes as planned!

After working with my mom all week and saying goodbye to friends and family, my car was packed up on Sunday night. I left Kalamazoo about 11:00 AM on Monday. It was a rather peaceful drive to Cleveland where I met Marc and Gina for dinner. Our timing was a little off as I was 30 minutes early and they were 1.5 hours late since Marc's work kept him over. Since I had time to kill, I looked up the nearest health food store (gotta love smartphones!). On the way there, I drove past Moosehead where Ciara and I met Alex and Angel for dinner a few years ago. Strange coincidence! Hobart Health Foods was smaller than expected but I did manage to find some Dr. Bronner's citrus soap and hibiscus tea. Although I was hoping for the tea tree oil soap, the orange scent did manage to get the funk out of my Vibram FiveFingers. The hibiscus tea wasn't quite as delicious as the version Justin made for me earlier this week but it'll do.

We ate dinner at Treehugger's Cafe. I had the protein wrap with various beans, sprouts, avocado, and rice on a whole wheat tortilla and dill coleslaw with a "power" muffin to go for the next day's breakfast. The food was really great, especially Marc's black bean burger which was perfectly crisp and had a yummy mango salsa. Forgot to take pictures, sorry!

I drove a few more hours into Brookville, Pennsylvania where I stayed the night. The morning started well enough as I checked out at 8:30 and headed for Shrub Oak, NY. There were some magnificent views that weren't quite captured on video but I tried. This first one was taken a few miles after an overlook with a valley farm on one side, a lake on the other, and mountains in between.

Things got interesting after I stopped for gas 3 hours in...

So even though my parents always told me not to let my gas tank get less than 1/4 full, I've been doing just that lately in order to go longer in between fill ups and maximize the savings on my gas reward card. The low fuel warning light came on so I figured I could make it another 15 miles to the next exit (bad decision #1). I filled up, washed my windshield, and got ready to pull my car into a parking spot so I could get some Subway for lunch. The engine started, I went forward a few inches, then my car shuddered to a halt! After checking all of the ID10T errors like having it in the wrong gear, I tried again with similar results. Oh crap. So now I'm stuck in the middle of the two pump lanes in a very narrow lot. After about 5 repeated efforts and very nasty looks from fellow travelers (Even though I have my flashers on... like I'm doing it on purpose!), I manage to get my car into an actual spot, out of the way.

The gas station employees are no help whatsoever despite being located just off of a major highway. You've really never had someone break down before? No numbers for towing or repair services? Luckily, I notice an advertisement for a towing company and call the number listed. They specialize in semi-trucks but are willing to tow me to a garage. A man missing all but his two front teeth shows up about 40 minutes later. Of course, getting my car onto the tow truck takes some special maneuvering and more dirty looks from patrons who refuse to pay 5 cents more per gallon at the station next door whose driveway is clear of tow trucks.

This is actually at the repair shop but it made more sense to put it here

So back we go to the exit that I passed just after my gas light went on. If you've never been towed, you probably don't realize how costly it is to go roughly 15 miles. I definitely learned my lesson at this point, hoping that I can get away with a new fuel filter and be on my way in an hour or so. Apparently life did not feel this was punishment enough as I spent the next 8 hours sitting in a truck repair shop which doesn't have any of the car parts I need in stock. The fuel filter, which was full of sediment, is easy enough to come by but doesn't fix the problem. They suspect I need a mass air flow sensor and send an employee to the town 30 minutes away. Easy right?

Well, around the same time I get to the repair shop, there is an accident on I-80 east involving a tractor trailer that catches on fire which spreads to the surrounding brush. And then the air sensor ends up being the wrong one so yet another trip to the parts store. Long story short(er), I wait about 8 hours at the repair shop until my car is functional again. In the meantime, I go to town on their vending machine since I never got that Subway for lunch (bad decision #2). Around 5 PM I order a delicious veggie pizza which is delivered surprisingly quickly considering the traffic is creeping by outside the shop due to everyone being rerouted from the highway.

I finally get the good news at 8:30 PM that my car is ready to go. However, it would take me 3 hours to get to New York with normal traffic and more like 5 by having to take the backed up alternative route. I call Nancy to say that I will be there tomorrow and apologize for seeming like a flake with a completely unreliable car. What a great first impression! Luckily the shop had wifi (no data service here in Smalltown, Pennsylvania!) so I look up hotels and brave the traffic to the other side of the river to the Super 8 (bad decision #3). Of course they're all booked, being right off the highway, but the lovely front desk clerk makes me a tentative reservation at another hotel just down the road from the repair place so back I go. Twenty minutes later, I'm back where I started but have gained a bed, shower, and mini-fridge which are highly underrated!

I plan on sleeping in, eating leftover pizza for breakfast, and being lazy tomorrow since check out isn't until noon and Nancy won't be home until 4 PM anyway. Okay, Life, I get that you didn't want me to go to New York today. Hopefully tomorrow is a different story.

tl;dr
My car broke down so I had to extend my trip by a day.