Trip to Michigan

I made it to Michigan... barely and with lots of help!

I headed out from Vermont the day before yesterday. I left about 2 hours later then I was thinking I'd leave thanks to last minute packing, a puppy that sat on my lap and wouldn't move and then got her nose into my bags, and a water main break on our road. I had a good trip from there to New York. I can't even remember if I stopped on my way to New York but I think I must have had to use the bathroom once. I was going to stop for a peppermint mocha but didn't. I got to Andrew and Kim's around 6 I think and Kim had supper almost ready. We ate, did chores, drained/hung cheese, then played a bunch of wii :) They got some new games for Christmas and let me play with them. We also exchanged presents. They got me an awesome pair of goat earrings which I LOVE! And I got them each a milking stool. I was up until midnight or so trying to get a book downloaded from the library so I could listen to it on the next leg of my trip. I found a 17 hour book and was afraid my computer would overheat and shut down in the middle and I'd be screwed but amazingly enough it worked!

I got my book transferred to my ipod in the morning and my computer didn't shut off then either (I was shocked!). I helped with chores and kinda sat around while Andrew and Kim got ready for work. We said our sad goodbyes and I finished packing up my stuff and loaded the car. The whole time Sam was following me around and sat in front of my bedroom door when I was in there or sat at the top of the stairs when I was up there. He cried whenever I took another load outside and I could hear him crying/barking from outside. It was SO sad!

I left Andrew and Kim's around 10:00, got gas, and then jumped on the thruway. I passed through NY and PA with no problems stopping once in PA for gas I think and was making good time. When I got into Ohio I decided I needed to stop to use the bathroom. I texted both sets of parents letting them know I had just crossed the boarder and was texting Mom back when I was getting out of the car. I locked the door and shut it... leaving my keys in the ignition and the spare in one of the bags in the back seat. NOT COOL! I went straight into the rest area to the desk (after calling my dad and texting the other parents). The people at the desk told me to talk to the janitor and he said someone had done the same thing the month before so he had a hanger. He tried for what seemed like 20-30 minutes and couldn't get it. I went inside with him and called AAA. Another 10 minutes later found me sitting on the bench waiting for the tow-truck. He finally got there, tried for a while with another hanger, gave up and used another pole thing which worked on the first try. I was soon on my way again with about an hour of wasted time.

I made it to Cleveland around 4:15 and missed rush hour. The traffic slowed a bit but wasn't bad at all. We only backed up a little around one corner where some guy was pulled part way off the road getting out of his car.

I made it through Ohio and into Indiana stopping at some point for another bathroom break, water, and gas. I got 27.2 miles from the end of the Indiana toll road and my car started acting funny. I pulled onto the shoulder and turned it off. When I tried to restart it, it wouldn't start just turn over. I called Dad, texted Andrew, and called AAA for the second time. I didn't know exactly where I was and it took a while for us to figure it out (thanks to the AAA lady's skills and my new GPS). The tow-truck got there about 9:40, he loaded it up, and we were on our way. The guy must have missed the turn and we went past the road we needed to get to the house, had to turn around, and called Kris for some directions. We passed the house once but quickly turned around and made it around 11.

I got the car towed to a place in town this afternoon and he called me about a half hour/hour later and told me my timing-belt had gone. Could be around $360 including labor and tow or up around $1000 if the valves have busted. I've got to call him back on Monday and let him know what we've decided. Oh the joys of having a car.

Bonus #1 of breaking down: I didn't have to pay the Indiana toll
Bonus #2 of breaking down: all scariness about having to call AAA & getting a tow are now gone
Bonus #3 of breaking down: ...yeah... I don't think there is one!