Driving Part 1

Now we are onto the driving portion of my blog catch up phase. The plan was that Tuf would fly into Boise on Monday, August 11 and drive with me to Dallas, Texas. Wait. What? Dallas is not on the way to DC. Well it is when your cousin and her husband are moving with you and your cousin is graduating from Chiropractic school. Okay, back to the plan. Tuf flies in on Monday night. Then we would leave Boise on Tuesday and drive to Fort Collins, Colorado and spend the night with her sister-in-law and then finish the drive to Dallas on Wednesday. I like plans. I am always prepared. Leading up to this drive I had Bumblebee serviced and oil changed - he was ready to roll (literally). Princess had gone to the vet and got all her shots, micro-chipped and she was even wearing a collar in case she got out of her kennel. I had gone to the dentist and the eye doctor. We were ready!

Tuf and I had breakfast at the Egg Factory, grabbed some Dutch Bro's and then it is on the road. Goodbye Boise, I will be back.

We got a late start, but that is okay we are night people. We enter the state of Wyoming around 5pm.

Around 10pm, while I was driving, Tuf notices the check engine light is on. I ask her if she screwed the gas cap on tight enough - you know you have to click it three times and she says no. Oh, that must be it. Then we notice that the temperature gag is all the way at H. And then I notice that Bumblebee is not accelerating...and we are going up a summit (9,000 feet above sea level). I start to panic, but thankfully there is a turn off and of course we are behind a semi that is going super slow. And than Bumblebee dies on the side of the road. We are in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and it is pitch black. Tuf calls the highway patrol and they send someone out who calls a tow truck driver. Laramie is only 9 miles away but Cheyenne is an hour. However, Cheyenne is bigger and would have the parts that would be needed for Bumblebee. So, I decide to pay the extra and have Bumblebee towed to Cheyenne. The tow truck driver said he has to take payment before he can drive all the way to Cheyenne and his office is in Laramie. Okay. While in Laramie, the tow truck driver looks at Bumblebee and says it looks like a head gasket is blown and that is expensive. And now let the meltdown begin. I don't actually remember all that happened, all I know was that I called my bestest friend Karen who happened to be in DC. I balled my eyes out, I shouted, I screamed, I cried, I couldn't breath, I was hunched over - I was probably having a panic attack. I doubted my decision to move. I was only 2 states from Idaho and this happens! My car was in perfect condition. I over maintained him! This was not suppose to happen!! This was not in the plan!!! Karen calmed me down and prayed with me and when we got off the phone she booked a hotel for us in Cheyenne.

The next morning I called the dealership as soon as they opened and explained to Geoff, the Service Adviser, what happened. He said he would call me back in a couple hours with an update. Then I started texting everyone asking for prayers. I also group texted my peeps at MAF asking for prayer and what I hadn't realized was that it was Wednesday morning. And on Wednesday mornings at MAF it is chapel. Mike announced my car issues in chapel. Then I got a text from Alexis (I have known Alexis and her husband, Aaron since my Lithia days when I worked with Aaron at Chevy of Caldwell). Anyways, Alexis said that her parents lived in Cheyenne and we could stay with them. Wow. God is amazing!

Around 11am, I got a call from Geoff and yep, a head gasket was blown and needed to be replaced. They had to order the part but my car should be fixed my Thursday afternoon. It would be expensive, but it was necessary. Okay. Let me talk this over with Casey (Lisa's husband). Casey became my crutch during this whole mess. I am pretty sure I cried more on the phone to Casey then anyone else. But Casey helped me make all the decisions and was so helpful. At times Casey even called dealerships around Boise to make sure that the Cheyenne dealership wasn't taking advantage of me. 

So, we were going to be in Cheyenne for a day. Again not in the plans. We got a rental car from the dealership and drove around Cheyenne and then went to Alexis's parents' (Dallon & Sarah) home.

Dallon & Sarah were so awesome! They made us feel at home. On Wednesday night we had dinner with Tuf's in-laws and then spent the evening with Dallon and Sarah.

Thursday. We are going to leave Wyoming! Yay! Oh...wait, no, Bumblebee is sicker than we thought. Apparently he way over heated and melted many things - including the engine! Yep, a new engine. Engines are not cheap. Time to replace Bumblebee. Umn. No, I don't have a job. What am I going to do? Let the tears roll. Casey recommends that I tell the Honda dealership to stop working on the car and Casey will come Cheyenne and get Bumblebee and take him back to Boise where Casey will replace the engine for me and then I can ship the Bumblebee to Virginia. Dallon & Sarah offer to tow Bumblebee to their home where he can stay until Casey arrives. I call Geoff and tell him to stop working on the car. Geoff says okay. He asked that I give him an hour to get everything together before we come and get him. Then Geoff calls and says he found a used engine and guess what the cost is cheaper than it was just to replace a head gasket. Yay! But it will take at least a week to get the new engine and put everything back together. Boo. Tuf needs to be in Dallas, she had already given up so much for me (see missed her banquet dinner and she had out of town guests already in Dallas). So, we get a rental car (rental car number 2) and start the drive to Dallas. We stop off at the dealership to empty everything out of Bumblebee. I may have worked at a dealership for 5 years, but I don't know anything about cars. But what I do know is that parts should not be on the ground, or on the mirror...

An hour into the drive the check engine light comes on in the rental car. Seriously! No. Not happening! So, we change cars at Denver International Airport. And yes I get upgraded for free - because I was in a nice term aggressive. We went from a Toyota Corolla to a Chevy Malibu (rental car #3).

God's promise to us - the rainbow.

We made it to middle of nowhere Kansas for the night and rolled in Dallas late afternoon on Friday. Exhausting!But also extremely blessed by so many. Everyone praying.  Karen for loving me like family and helping me in ways that I won't explain on this blog. Casey for talking me through all the car stuff and talking to other mechanics for me and helping me figure out the best solution in this awful circumstance. Tuf for being by my side. Alexis for telling her parents about us and to Dallon & Sarah for letting us stay at their home and offering help with whatever was needed. Dallon & Sarah will be back in a future blog post. And so will more Bumblebee issues and dealings with car dealerships and Casey right by my side. But to end this post I want to thank each and everyone one who was there for me in one way or another. Thank you. I love you all!