In February of 2008 I took a friend, his wife, and kid down to the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, WI. He didn't have a car and since Marshfield is three or fours away I offered to give him a ride. We drove halfway there on Wednesday and finished the drive Thursday morning. In order to get there from here you can go a couple of ways. I can't remember what way we actually ended up going by I do know that we had to turn at some point. I didn't. We ended up in Silver City which was about 40 miles out of our way. This would be where the road ended. There is a sign that says “Road Closed”. I'm guessing that it turns into a logging road or something. There was a store in Silver City (I think it was the only one). I stopped there to get a map. His power was out and I didn't have any cash. I had was a credit card and (thankfully) a checkbook. I bought a map of the Upper Peninsula and the store owner gave me directions. When I got back in the car Merl (the guy I was taking down) took the map I'd bought and opened the glove compartment to put it in there. He pulled out a map of Michigan.
We arrived in Minoqua, WI that evening and spent the night there with Rachel Loukus and her boyfriend. The appointment was at 8am so I was up early. Wisconsin doesn't get as much snow as Upper Michigan but the temps can get well below zero. Such was the case Thursday morning. It was -18. My car didn't start. So we had to jump start it.
We left around six am and about halfway there my heater stopped working. It was still -18 degree and had to turn the heat off to get warmed up. Other than a couple wrong turns on the way to Marshfield the trip was cold, but uneventful.
The original plan was that we would drive down on Wednesday and back Thursday after the appointment.. So Thursday afternoon we started back. We got to Wausau and I my back right tire blew out.
I opened up the trunk and pulled out the spare. In all the other cars I'd owned the jack was always attached to the spare. All my other cars except this one. The only jack I owned was in my other car. I was about a mile from the next exit and the thought of just waking to the next exit crossed my mind. However, I thought about it, picked up my cell phone, and called Directory Assistance. I got the number for the Wausau Walmart and I was automatically connected. I briefly explained to the person that answered the phone my problem and asked for the number of a tow truck. I got the number, called them, and they sent a truck out. At this point I was expecting to see a cop show up at any time. Sure enough, about five minutes after I called the tow truck I saw a state trooper going the opposite direction. He swung around to find out what was going on. I explained to him the predicament and he told me he'd wait until the tow truck came which was nice. I wasn't really too wild about getting rear ended on the highway by another vehicle. Anyway, it cost me $38 to have the tire changed. I was grateful especially since all I had was $38 in cash. (A side note here: My front passenger side door would not shut. Before I had left Houghton I'd bought a bungee cord and tied the front door to the back door to keep it shut. Since Merl was sitting in the front seat and his wife was sitting behind him the police officer didn't see the door or the bungee cord. Had he seen that he most likely would have deemed the car not road worthy making my stay in WI longer and more expensive.)
When we blew the tire it was around 5pm. It's not the best time to a) blow a tire or b) need to get a tire changed as a lot of body shops shut down at 5pm. As I paid the tow truck guy (I think that's what they're called) he told me I could just follow him into town and he'd hook me up with an auto body repair shop. There was actually one just off the highway. However, he was really backed up with work and while he wished he could help he had too many other things already being worked on. He suggested Farm and Fleet. The tow truck guy then told me I could follow him and he'd show me where to turn to get to the Farm and Fleet. After a few minutes and several turn around and go back I was able to get into the parking lot. I have to say that they sure do make parking lots difficult to get into (at least of the highway). But then again it's probably just me. Anyway back to the story.
As I said, we went to Farm and Fleet. I hadn't been inside Farm and Fleet since I was 10 years old. I didn't realize how similar it was to Walmart. I found the automotive department and told the guy I needed a tire. He got the information from me (make, model, etc.) and said that according to the inventory they had five on hand. Now anyone who works in retail know that if the inventory is off it doesn't matter what the scanner says. Sure enough, they didn't have the size tire I needed.
At this point I'd run into a brick wall (figuratively of course). My original plan was to drive back to Houghton (which is about 200 miles) on the spare. However, after making a call or two it was recommended to me that I get the spare fixed simply for the fact that if that one blew I'd be in real trouble. Plus I had three other people in the car, one of which was a two-year old child and I was responsible for them and their safety as well. One of the calls I made was to Rachel. I called her at work and explained what happened. (I was hoping to stay an extra night because of weather that way I could call in and make a five-day weekend out it. I wasn't too wild about having to stay over because of car problems. But that's my life.) She was not surprised but recommended that I get the car fixed in Minoqua Friday morning. So I stayed an extra night.
A lot of times my vacations have turned into adventures (sometimes costly adventures but adventures nonetheless) so I've just established the thinking that when I go on trips and this kind of thing happens it becomes a “what will happen this time” mindset. This way it's more of an adventure and anyone who has traveled with me know that this is true.
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