on our way back from New York, we went to Concord, Mass. to visit Walden Pond (which, incidentally, is a lovely pond to swim in). on our way to our campsite in New York State, we got a flat tire. i theoretically know how to change the tires on Deb's car (and she has a full-size spare) so other than it being a nuisance (her tire jack is horrible), it was manageable. a Mass. state cop pulled up shortly after we stopped, asked if we needed help, and within 15 minutes someone (with much better equipment) came and helped us change the tire. the spare tire we put on there didn't look that great but we figured it would get us back to Grand Rapids where Deb made a tire appointment early Wednesday morning.
the next day, we got another flat. this was not so manageable. who, after all, has two spare tires?!? and we were hot and sticky and tired and ready to go home (the previous night had been hot and mosquito-filled so none of us got a great night sleep). the only bright side of the situation was that we were close to Hamilton, Ontario where i have friends and a few relatives. and my dad often drives his semi along that route. so quite a number of phone calls on Deb's cell phone later, we'd found one of my friends who would have been willing to drive down with a spare so we could get to the next town, and figured out that my dad was only an hour away coming in our direction. eventually a cop showed up (definitely not as quick as in Mass. but definitely faster than for my brother-in-law who'd spent a night on the 401/3 highway with car trouble). he let us know we were much closer to the next city than we thought. Deb remembered that she might have towing insurance on her car (one of the precautions she'd taken when we'd driven to Alaska - like the full-size spare), so she called her insurance company (we did have it!) and we called a tow-truck. when the tow-truck arrived, he looked at the three of us and said he'd have to call another truck cause no one told us that it was more than one person. it being 4:30 (almost closing time), my dad being only 15 minutes away in his truck, we told the tow truck driver to take Deb and the car, tell us exactly where they were going, and we'd come with my dad in his truck. so Deb and the tow truck guys left Kristin and I along the side of the road. my dad showed up fairly quickly (i've been hitching rides with my dad in his truck for years so this really wasn't that unusual), and we went off to find Deb and tire place.
by the time we showed up, it was almost closing time. the tow truck driver was demanding cash (Canadian - which Deb had little of), the tire place was trying to get her decide what to do immediately (and she wasn't sure exactly what to do since she had a tire appointment in Grand Rapids the next morning as well - and the tires weren't very old). when we showed up, my dad helped Deb out with the tire guys, and I had enough cash to pay the tow truck guys. my dad helped Deb make a good decision (he's got a lot more experience with tires and cars than she does), and it felt so nice to have somebody around who knew what he was talking about - and could take away some of the pressure the tire guys were putting on Deb. they couldn't tell what was wrong with our first flat tire - so they inflated it and put it back on the car. the second one might have been due to low air pressure. but maybe that damage happened when it was flat (and as a my dad graciously said, even he (who drives truck for a living) doesn't check the air pressure as often as he probably should)).
and by 5:30 we were off again. with an extra tire in the car (some of my stuff went to my dad's truck to go to my parents' so we'd have room). feeling somewhat better although still a little nervous about the tires. (Kristin and I both decided that if we had got a third flat before we got home we'd both have had a meltdown. (thankfully, we didn't. and Deb got her tires fixed up on Wednesday morning and made it safe back to Saskatoon this past weekend.))
by that time we were definitely ready to be home. and we were all thankful to have had my dad come rescue us - to give us a helping hand and have somebody around who knew what he was talking about and we could trust completely. having him around made us feel so much better. and as much as it was not an experience i'd wish on anyone else, it reminded me how glad i am for the practical, down-to-earth (and definitely helpful) family that i have.
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