…It’s not what you’re thinking- whatever that is. Last weekend we went to New Mexico for Heather’s (my big sister) scuba lessons. She was taking a class to receive her “open water certification” which basically means she can scuba dive wherever she wants- so long as she has a partner and it’s not night time.
Anyhoozer- I didn’t even go to school on Friday so that I could help my parents get ready to go. Heather, Ashley, and William (the other sibs, in case you couldn’t guess) even got picked up early from school so that we could get out of here and on the road. We finally got all packed, with one bag and one backpack each (note: they had no limitations the the amount of pillows we could bring. However, we have decided that next time we go on a trip we should bring about 20 less than we did on this trip).
We were well on our way, already having eaten lunch and everything, when we blew a tire on the trailer. At this point in life we were driving along some highway or another in New Mexico. We (and when I say “we” here I mostly mean my dad) pulled over at a Big-O’s Tire shop and bought a new one. My dad’s logic being “I’m not driving without at least one spare,” which seemed like a good motto to go by. We ate at a Burger King while they prepared the tire and then we were back on the road.
Several hours later, after night had mostly fallen, a car behind us kept honking and flashing its lights before finally pulling over in front of us. We (again I mean my dad) got out of the car to talk to them. We’d blown another tire. This one was worse, it was totally shredded up, there was practically no tire left. And the best part: we had managed to snap the axel in half. Now this is going to need some explaining. The “axel” which I’m talking about is the bar-type-thing that holds the wheels to the trailer. Everyone which we talked to was totally amazed by this, they’d never heard of anyone doing that before. Summed up: we were in BIG t-r-o-u-b-l-e.
It took several hours (or at least if felt like several hours…I spent my time in the truck. Doing nothing.) but finally, after many phone calls and a lack of tow-trucks, we (meaning my dad) managed to find a semi-partial-solution. He wrapped the bar-type-thing in some sort of SuperWire! (meaning I have no idea what the heck it was) and we were on our merry way, never going over 45 thereinafter.
We eventually stopped in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in a town called Los Vegas (hint hint). By then it was well after eleven p.m. and we were all totally exhausted. We managed to drag ourselves out of the car to spend the night in the camper. When morning broke my mom woke Heather up around 6 a.m. (and in the process she woke us all up) to take her to her scuba lessons (which were a good hour away). By the time the rest of us rolled out of bed she was already there and back again. That morning my dad got up to check all the tires, just to find one swelling so badly that it was sure to blow. Luckily for us, another Big-O’s Tires (which I am convinced planned this all out, just so we would break down and have no choice but to turn to them) was right across the street, so we bought TWO new tires. So then we had four brand-spankin’ new tires, but still the problem of the broken axel. We managed to find a guy in New Mexico who worked on trailers and would be able to fix it. However, this guy was an hour away… in the opposite direction of Heather’s scuba lessons.
So we went to this guy. But, of course, on the way we ran out of gas. And I’m not saying we were low on gas, we RAN OUT of gas. About twelve inches from the pump. We (in case you haven’t figured it out “we” means “dad” and occasionally “Heather” though sometimes it could be “me and this random dude I met on the street”) had to go and add gas by hand, by pouring in in a gallon jug and adding it to the tank (which is apparently illegal sssshhhh don’t tell anyone). By the time we reached the trailer-fixing guy we were pretty much sick of New Mexico. He informed us that it would take about a week to fix the trailer. We got all of our belongings out of the trailer (except for some things which we may have forgotten and are now wishing we hadn’t) and left the trailer there.
After that, it was another two-hour drive to get to Santa Rosa, where Heather’s scuba lessons were being held. It was a tiny town with about five restaurants and tennis courts that looked like the zombie apocalypse had already come and gone. The beds of the hotel were stiff and the pillows flat. The room we stayed in was small, with only two beds (and since we have 6 people in the family you can imagine how much we love only two beds) and NO DVD PLAYER or dish. You can bet the room was soooo muuuuch fuuuun. We ended up coming home a day early. We ran inside, said “hi” to the cats then laid on our beds for about twenty hours. That was a super “fun” trip!!!
…But it’s not over yet- oh no, as you remember (and if you don’t scroll back up and reread it) the trailer-fixing dude said that it would take a week to fix the trailer. A WEEK. So, tomorrow, my mom and dad are going BACK to New Mexico to get the trailer. Leaving us here. Alone. The four of us. Here. Alone. That should be… interesting… I’ll let you know how it goes 😉
~Courtney