Could you call it an "adventure"?
8/30/2008 07:11:00 PM 0 Comments »
Have you ever had one of those days where everything goes wrong, really wrong, and yet you see that throughout it all Heavenly Father is watching over you, taking care of the little things while you deal with the big thing? Well, yesterday was one of those days for our family. We had a trip planned to Kenedy for Grandpa Hunt's birthday party. The day started off great. Then a big, bad thunderstorm hit and our electricity was out for most of the afternoon, but the rain cooled the day off enough for us to head towards Kenedy. The ride was uneventful until we reached to toll plaza on Beltway 8 in Houston, as we pull in to pay the toll, 20 cars deep with no where to go, steam starts billowing out from underneath the hood. Then we hear a snapping sound and Josh's realized the main serpentine belt just broke. So we end up pulled over on a little 500 ft. stretch of shoulder on the toll road, waiting for help, as hundreds of cars are flying by, in the fading light of sunset. It was scary. The cool part was that there is free roadside assistance to get anyone that is stranded on the toll road off, because it is so dangerous. Any tollorad in Texas, as a matter of fact. So we were towed to a gas station off the beltway in a very bad part of Houston. The constable that transported Josh and our dog, Asia, said her couldn't in his right mind leave a young family stranded, especially in the bad neighborhood we were in. So even though he wasn't supposed to, he took Josh to the auto parts store to get the belt. Josh had it changed in record time and we were off again, everything well, or so we thought.
Just driving along, pulled out of Schulenburg, catching the highway that leads off I-10, to head to Kenedy, when low and behold, the belt snaps AGAIN!!! At this point, we know that there is something wrong with the ride and not just worn-out belt. So for the second time that night we were stranded on the side of the road. This time with no roadside assistance, in the middle of nowhere, with touch-and-go cell phone signal. This is around 11:30 PM, I call Mr. Hunt, my bonus dad, who graciously drives the long highway to pick us up.
Have you ever been stuck on the side of the road? Not just for a little while but a couple of hours, with no one and nothing in site, but the barking of dogs in the distance and faint rustles of grass in the pasture next to you, which you pray are cows. It was hot and humid, hardly a breeze. Josh got out and laid on the hood for a while and saw two shooting stars, one bright blue with a big streaking tail that disappeared in a bright flash of light. When I took my turn outside the car, I spread one of Bella's baby blankets she uses to wrap her baby dolls in the roadside weeds, careful to avoid the many mounds of fire ants. There I practiced something I haven't done in many years, whistling with a piece of grass through your thumbs and also cupping my hands, placed just so to blow through them that mournful dove-like sound. Took me a few minutes to get it just right, but I celebrated when I finally perfected the sound.
Needless to say we made it to The 505 at 3 AM, leaving the car right where is was on the side of the road, left to be dealt with at a later time in the daylight. Saturday afternoon, Josh and I journey back with proper part to fix it in hand (the onlypart in town). Took a total of ten minutes to replace the tension pulley and another 5 to put the belt on. She runs fine now. Quite a weekend adventure...or was it?
Just driving along, pulled out of Schulenburg, catching the highway that leads off I-10, to head to Kenedy, when low and behold, the belt snaps AGAIN!!! At this point, we know that there is something wrong with the ride and not just worn-out belt. So for the second time that night we were stranded on the side of the road. This time with no roadside assistance, in the middle of nowhere, with touch-and-go cell phone signal. This is around 11:30 PM, I call Mr. Hunt, my bonus dad, who graciously drives the long highway to pick us up.
Have you ever been stuck on the side of the road? Not just for a little while but a couple of hours, with no one and nothing in site, but the barking of dogs in the distance and faint rustles of grass in the pasture next to you, which you pray are cows. It was hot and humid, hardly a breeze. Josh got out and laid on the hood for a while and saw two shooting stars, one bright blue with a big streaking tail that disappeared in a bright flash of light. When I took my turn outside the car, I spread one of Bella's baby blankets she uses to wrap her baby dolls in the roadside weeds, careful to avoid the many mounds of fire ants. There I practiced something I haven't done in many years, whistling with a piece of grass through your thumbs and also cupping my hands, placed just so to blow through them that mournful dove-like sound. Took me a few minutes to get it just right, but I celebrated when I finally perfected the sound.
Needless to say we made it to The 505 at 3 AM, leaving the car right where is was on the side of the road, left to be dealt with at a later time in the daylight. Saturday afternoon, Josh and I journey back with proper part to fix it in hand (the onlypart in town). Took a total of ten minutes to replace the tension pulley and another 5 to put the belt on. She runs fine now. Quite a weekend adventure...or was it?
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