I am leaving Tejas for a bit and heading to see my family and friends in South Dakota. Not sure what is in store for me or how long I plan on staying there. I feel like it is a good time in my life to go home and get grounded again. Seeing my family always makes me happy and appreciate where I'm from and where I've gone.
I bought a plane ticket and get into Sioux Falls on Thursday.
Someday, I need to plant myself to let new roots grow, but for now I'm going to visit my old roots and appreciate them.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Trials and tribulations...Dead van.
On a warm, sunny Texas day I decided that I was going to quit my job (housekeeping at a senior living place) and pack my stuff in the van and head to South Dakota for a bit to see my family. Said some tearful goodbyes and the van and I headed down I-35.
I got to Austin and hit grid lock traffic, this being completly normal, I thought once I got past there the van and I would be okay. I didn't think about spring break being just over and everyone heading home and South by Southwest music festival that was just ending.
I was seriously driving so slow that people were talking to me in traffic, even had a guy show me a notebook with, "show us your boobs" scribbled in it. I then said, "no, show me yours" to which he told the girl in the back seat to show me hers. She then did. I kept passing and then seeing the same people ten minutes later. No air conditioning and the sun beating down on the non-moving van and me.
I had to stop for gas, so pulled off and at the stop sign the van started to act up. There was a nice couple behind me who must have felt my pain and asked if I needed a push up the hill. Finally the van got some gumption and took off for the pumps.
I asked the man in the gas station what was going on and he said there was an oil spill up the road and he had never seen traffic this slow or bad. Great!
The van is air cooled, meaning it needs to move more than 10-20 mph to keep the engine cool. I had no radio so only my head to listen to. It was a very zen kind of drive, thinking, contemplating, dreaming and falling in love with my boyfriend all over again.
I got a little speed after Austin but that was short lived and putted along almost all the way to Fort Worth. I stopped outside of Fort Worth and got some gas at Kroger's and added a little oil.
As I got back on the interstate a semi passed me slowly and the lady in the passenger window had a sweet sort of smile at me, just as they passed the van lost some power and a plume of smoke puffed out the back. I pulled over to the side of the road with the little power that Gertie had to offer. I tried to restart her. Nothing. I got out and looked at all the hoses, I did learn a few things from my boyfriend and the trip but still not a professional, everything seemed fine, then again if something didn't jump out and slap me in the face, I wouldn't have known.
And yes, I called my boyfriend, with a sinking feeling in my stomach and tears in my eyes explained to him what happend. I think he felt my pain. As I had my headlamp in place, I noticed that under the license plate where you put the oil in had blown out and there was oil EVERYWHERE! I attached the hose again and tried to start the van again, nothing. Nothing went on for a long time, when it finally made some noise and turned over, it sounded so sick that I was disheartened.
After mulitple calls back and forth with Freddy, tears shed and the thought that the van had been on it last trip, Freddy said that he was on his way to get me and see if he could fix the van.
So there I was in the dark, on the side of the road somewhere outside of Fort Worth curled in a ball in the back of the van that was letting me down. I was so close to the road that every semi and car that went by shook the van and I kept freaking myself out. Again, a medative time. Not so zen. I may have slept for a few minutes but not really that I can remember being very restful.
At somewhere around 5 AM I saw headlights behind me and there in a shiney silver Honda Civic was my knight in shining armor. I have never felt so much magic. I love him. My arms wrapped around him, eyes filled with tears and enough "I'm sorrys" to annoy someone, he got out his tools and started trying to diagnose the problem.
He tried everything, took things apart, reassembled them, put new things on and did whatever he could do. He put so much time and energy into it, as he had done multiple times before. I had a vomiting feeling the whole time, I think I knew the time had come to tell Gertie goodbye. I'm pretty sure that she had blown up.
We went to Starbucks so I could use the internet and find a junk yard, I called a bunch of people and the most anyone would give me if they picked it up was $300. I was bummed. The one guy said that they didn't pick cars up from the side of the road, I apoligized to him for not breaking down my van at a business, very sarcastically of course. The other guy, Big Ron, said that he would be there in an hour to see about taking it.
We had an hour, one hour, I said that I wanted to take a license plate. This got the gears turning. We took what we could and filled the Civic. We figured for $300 we might as well take what we could.
Freddy found a plate that I bought somewhere in Washington that said, "Smile...The world is a wonderful place" I did not find this amusing at the time. We did laugh a little. I had a ring on that one of my friends made, I love this friend, but this ring brought me nothing but bad luck, Freddy said why don't you just leave it with the van? I did. Good Luck Big Ron, maybe it will bring him better luck.
Big Ron showed up and I could see the dollar signs in his eyes, anyone who knows Volkswagens knows they are worth way more than that. And my van had a good body and was almost all original. And it was sweet. He asked for the title and as I signed it the tears started flowing. I had to just walk away.
I got in the car as they hooked it up and started crying like a baby. I have never had sentimenal attachment to a car before, this one I did. Freddy reassured me that it was for the best, I wouldn't have to sink anymore money into it. I was sad about the van but I was sad more because of the memories, I was assured later that we still have the memories just not the van. This is true, I know that, it was a stressful couple days. I watched the stickers that we had bought from all over our trip disappear as we passed them.
I, by this time looked homeless, oil all over my pants and in my hair. My hair was stuck in a ball of tangled mess that was covered in oil and somehow mounted atop my big defeated head.
We stopped to eat and went in, I think people didn't quite know what to think of us. We ate and then headed back to San Antonio. It was a pretty somber drive back, no sleep, no van and no bed to rest our weary heads.
We got back and showered the defeat, oil and funk off and went to bed. It was only 4 P.M. but I wasn't caring at that point. I didn't have a care in my big head for almost 17 hours. I love a good sleep. And my van must have needed a good rest too. RIP Dirty Gertie. You drove us on a beautiful trip and through so many wonderful adventures.
1980-2011
I got to Austin and hit grid lock traffic, this being completly normal, I thought once I got past there the van and I would be okay. I didn't think about spring break being just over and everyone heading home and South by Southwest music festival that was just ending.
I was seriously driving so slow that people were talking to me in traffic, even had a guy show me a notebook with, "show us your boobs" scribbled in it. I then said, "no, show me yours" to which he told the girl in the back seat to show me hers. She then did. I kept passing and then seeing the same people ten minutes later. No air conditioning and the sun beating down on the non-moving van and me.
I had to stop for gas, so pulled off and at the stop sign the van started to act up. There was a nice couple behind me who must have felt my pain and asked if I needed a push up the hill. Finally the van got some gumption and took off for the pumps.
I asked the man in the gas station what was going on and he said there was an oil spill up the road and he had never seen traffic this slow or bad. Great!
The van is air cooled, meaning it needs to move more than 10-20 mph to keep the engine cool. I had no radio so only my head to listen to. It was a very zen kind of drive, thinking, contemplating, dreaming and falling in love with my boyfriend all over again.
I got a little speed after Austin but that was short lived and putted along almost all the way to Fort Worth. I stopped outside of Fort Worth and got some gas at Kroger's and added a little oil.
As I got back on the interstate a semi passed me slowly and the lady in the passenger window had a sweet sort of smile at me, just as they passed the van lost some power and a plume of smoke puffed out the back. I pulled over to the side of the road with the little power that Gertie had to offer. I tried to restart her. Nothing. I got out and looked at all the hoses, I did learn a few things from my boyfriend and the trip but still not a professional, everything seemed fine, then again if something didn't jump out and slap me in the face, I wouldn't have known.
And yes, I called my boyfriend, with a sinking feeling in my stomach and tears in my eyes explained to him what happend. I think he felt my pain. As I had my headlamp in place, I noticed that under the license plate where you put the oil in had blown out and there was oil EVERYWHERE! I attached the hose again and tried to start the van again, nothing. Nothing went on for a long time, when it finally made some noise and turned over, it sounded so sick that I was disheartened.
After mulitple calls back and forth with Freddy, tears shed and the thought that the van had been on it last trip, Freddy said that he was on his way to get me and see if he could fix the van.
So there I was in the dark, on the side of the road somewhere outside of Fort Worth curled in a ball in the back of the van that was letting me down. I was so close to the road that every semi and car that went by shook the van and I kept freaking myself out. Again, a medative time. Not so zen. I may have slept for a few minutes but not really that I can remember being very restful.
At somewhere around 5 AM I saw headlights behind me and there in a shiney silver Honda Civic was my knight in shining armor. I have never felt so much magic. I love him. My arms wrapped around him, eyes filled with tears and enough "I'm sorrys" to annoy someone, he got out his tools and started trying to diagnose the problem.
He tried everything, took things apart, reassembled them, put new things on and did whatever he could do. He put so much time and energy into it, as he had done multiple times before. I had a vomiting feeling the whole time, I think I knew the time had come to tell Gertie goodbye. I'm pretty sure that she had blown up.
We went to Starbucks so I could use the internet and find a junk yard, I called a bunch of people and the most anyone would give me if they picked it up was $300. I was bummed. The one guy said that they didn't pick cars up from the side of the road, I apoligized to him for not breaking down my van at a business, very sarcastically of course. The other guy, Big Ron, said that he would be there in an hour to see about taking it.
We had an hour, one hour, I said that I wanted to take a license plate. This got the gears turning. We took what we could and filled the Civic. We figured for $300 we might as well take what we could.
Freddy found a plate that I bought somewhere in Washington that said, "Smile...The world is a wonderful place" I did not find this amusing at the time. We did laugh a little. I had a ring on that one of my friends made, I love this friend, but this ring brought me nothing but bad luck, Freddy said why don't you just leave it with the van? I did. Good Luck Big Ron, maybe it will bring him better luck.
Big Ron showed up and I could see the dollar signs in his eyes, anyone who knows Volkswagens knows they are worth way more than that. And my van had a good body and was almost all original. And it was sweet. He asked for the title and as I signed it the tears started flowing. I had to just walk away.
I got in the car as they hooked it up and started crying like a baby. I have never had sentimenal attachment to a car before, this one I did. Freddy reassured me that it was for the best, I wouldn't have to sink anymore money into it. I was sad about the van but I was sad more because of the memories, I was assured later that we still have the memories just not the van. This is true, I know that, it was a stressful couple days. I watched the stickers that we had bought from all over our trip disappear as we passed them.
I, by this time looked homeless, oil all over my pants and in my hair. My hair was stuck in a ball of tangled mess that was covered in oil and somehow mounted atop my big defeated head.
We stopped to eat and went in, I think people didn't quite know what to think of us. We ate and then headed back to San Antonio. It was a pretty somber drive back, no sleep, no van and no bed to rest our weary heads.
We got back and showered the defeat, oil and funk off and went to bed. It was only 4 P.M. but I wasn't caring at that point. I didn't have a care in my big head for almost 17 hours. I love a good sleep. And my van must have needed a good rest too. RIP Dirty Gertie. You drove us on a beautiful trip and through so many wonderful adventures.
1980-2011
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