wordsimageslife
an exploration of life as a parent & designer

At Least We Got Across the Bridge

The week, so far, has been wonderful. The getting here proved an exercise in auto frustration management, cell phone coordination, rental car research and a great deal of patience for Izzy and Liam.

Bottom line, after twenty or so minutes of driving, the supposedly 'fixed' car began overheating. Karen was driving and was determined to get over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Well, after one stall out at the ticket booth, we made it over the bridge and pulled over at the first gas station we came too. Our friends, who we kept in contact via cell phone, were several miles ahead (about twenty) but we told them to keep going until we figured out what to do. The man at the station said there was a mechanic about a block away but when I got there, turns out they were closed on the weekends. After about fifteen minutes of calls—it certainly seemed longer—we ascertained that Enterprise was our only option, and fortunately, just a mile down the road. Even better, our friends — whom at this point had come back to rescue us — noticed a Shell station with a service bay, right next door to Enterprise. (Cozy relationship they must have). So, we arranged to rent a Santa Fe from Enterprise and left our five-year old, 100K mile workhorse at the hands of these mechanics in Stevensville, Maryland. The called later that day, Saturday, after we had reached the beach with news that the problem seemed to be a leaky water pump. FIxable and only around $300 for the repair, at the time seemed quite reasonable and reassuring. The car would be done on Monday or Tuesday.

And then came Monday...

Well, the first call, saying all was fine and the car was ready was merely an unintended tease. The second call telling me that the car, despite the new water heater was still overheating, So, while we had been enjoying our time, and the weather, at the beach. Our car had other plans for our week. At this point, now Wednesday, I'm still waiting to hear our options on replacing the head gasket. The price tag seems around $2k and the decision now, is put the money into a car that has run beautifully it's first 100k miles or don't fix it, buy something used and take on a car payment? And the said vacation was relaxing. Oh well, decisions will be made. Money will be found and now, I just hope one of the job leads I have comes through. With Karen working less, beginning in September, extra $$ will be needed and it'll have to come from me.

But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the rest of my vacation and save the car discussion for after the kids go to bed. Now, off to dinner and then, Funland. (Where they still have the rides I rode with my late Dad, especially our favorite, the helicopters. )

Posted by robdesign at August 25, 2004 05:40 PM