The Road Trip That Wasn't

Sweet Baby Boy

Packing for our trip - two adults, one 6 year old and a baby.  Oh and a dog.  

So we had 3 sets of pajamas, at least 3 changes of clothes (5 for the 6 year old and extras even for the baby), dog food enough for 4 days and tons of BABY FOOD... cereal, fruit, vegetables, dinners (like risotto with vegetables & cheese) AND meat.  Brogan is definitely a carnivore.  

Diapers, can't forget the collapsible bowls for dog water & food, chips to snack on, a brownie, and of course Audrey's MP3 player, portable DVD player and the handheld Leapster II game system.  

... and - that's not even the half of it.  All boxed and bagged and packed in the Blazer, away we went Thursday morning on the road by 10 o'clock.  That's pretty good considering all of the beings we had to get ready for this adventure to Grandpa and Grandma's house!

The morning journey went well.  Brogan slept (he had a full tummy from breakfast), Audrey watched a movie.  Dusty and I visited, and listened to music.  The Blazer has no radio, but at Audrey's request, we had brought along my iDog - and we had everyone's MP3 players - so I plugged in Dusty's and we got to listen to music.  NICE.

We stopped just a bit past Toledo, WA for lunch.  Brittney had her potty break and water.  Brogan had a big lunch and a cookie.  Audrey ate almost all of her huge cheeseburger and we all got a chance to use the restroom and generally took our time.  Dusty went over and gassed up the Blazer, let Brittney out again for a potty break and then we all loaded up to continue on.  We were all quite happy.

Then, just as Dusty was getting up to speed, merging on the Freeway - NOTHING!  No GEARS.  No transmission!  He steered us over to the side of the freeway safely where he tested the other gears.  No reverse.  Nothing in 4x4 mode.  Just nothing.  The engine was still running, and we both thought this was a nice thing, a bright note.  

The two of us (parents) were ready for tears.  WHAT DO WE DO NOW?  I don't know.  "Call the insurance company?", I said.  I thought we had some kind of roadside assistance or towing on the policy for the Blazer.  

We were both thinking, would a tow truck be able to take us all?  Is Dusty going to have to hitch hike home?  Will there be a seat for Audrey?  Will she have to get home somehow with Dusty?  What about the dog?  Then - what about our VISIT with grandpa and grandma?  They haven't seen Audrey in two years, and have never seen Brogan.  We were so disappointed and very very WORRIED for our little family.

At least we found out that in the state of Washington, you CAN ride in your vehicle that is being towed as long as you have your seat belt on.  I wouldn't feel too comfy, but I did know that Brittney was safe and OK.

Before Dusty called the insurance company, he called his Step Dad to find out if he was in Oregon or Seattle (like, can you come get us?).  Interesting enough I heard Don's voice through the phone raise a few octaves; "I thought you just had that fixed!".  Yes, so did we dad.  I just understood everything you've said without having speakerphone on!  Wow.  UG.  Well he was down in Oregon, way way south so no help there.

The insurance company - after fumbling around a bit and dropping the call during the transfer to the towing company -  did come through.  Only they would cover just hookup and towing to the nearest shop which was 22 miles away.  Oh and now there's a whole other bucket of worms - but at any rate, our warranty is only good at the shop it was fixed at in Issaquah.  Normally, our warranty would get us fixed in just about every state.  BUT - since the man that sold us the Blazer went and drove off with the Blazer using his extra set of keys, without paying Mike, and now Mike is trying to honor a warranty , but he never got paid the first time around.

To put everyone's mind at ease - I just signed us up for Triple AAA.  

So 457 dollars and change got us to Issaquah.  I have to say the tow truck driver was a really wonderful guy.  There was also a "back seat", thank goodness so we could all sit in the cab.  Brittney was fine in the Blazer.  The driver had six grown daughters and some grandchildren and really was sweet with our kids.  He didn't use any foul language either.  He was just so nice.  So the ROADTRIP back was pleasant.

HOW do we get home then?  I called my wonderful friend from work - Ritesh.  He has often told me if I need help, please call him.  I felt bad taking him away from his family, but was so kind when he rescued us and got us all home (even the dog).  We were tired, and the kids were hungry and he was so kind to come get us and take us all home.  If he ever needs help with anything, we will certainly be there.  We've always been there.  He has a beautiful 5 month old son and is the happiest dad ever (next to Dusty that is).  So his boy Daksh has inherited a few toys from Brogan.  

Well, the 457 dollars and change took our trip money away.  You know, we just don't have money laying around to waste so we will have to plan to make the trip again in a few months after saving up.  

I do have to say that the transmission shop's owner was very sad for us.  When he found out the whole story - the whole family stranded, he was very apologetic and he fixed the transmission for parts and didn't charge labor.  I picked it up today and am very glad to have my baby home.  He said it is mechanically sound and will be fine now.  I hope so.