Then life happened.
The cabin was a three hour drive from his Aunt's house, so I fell asleep while David drove. After about two hours, I woke up as David pulled to a stop.
Me: Are we there?
David: Nope.
Me: Why did we stop?
David: Uhh..because the car stopped.
Me: (confused) Oh no! Is it something with the engine again? (We had already returned one rental car that had stopped working)
David: (silence for a moment) I think we are out of gas.
Me: Oh. Now what?
Now let me describe for you where we were. We are on a busy road, going up a steep mountain with a cliff just feet away from where the car stopped, and no cell phone coverage. Not good.
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| From What we learned... |
However, we were greatly blessed to have stopped just 250 feet away from a call box.
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| From What we learned... |
You know, I have always wanted to know what one of those looked like on the inside. Pretty high tech! We talked to the highway patrol. They put us in contact with Enterprise car rental, who put us in contact with AAA. They got lost.
During the two hours we waited to be found, we found great appreciation for Oil of Olay face lotion with sunscreen, the small amount of shade a bush can offer and the ease with which a man can go to the bathroom in the wilderness! We even had a great discussion about Jonah who felt more compassion for the gourd who gave him shade than for the people of Ninevah. We had similar feelings about the bush and AAA.
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| From What we learned... |
Now you may wonder if anyone stopped for us. A policeman (the same one) stopped by three times. The third time he came one car after AAA or we might have got a chance to ride in the back of a police car. Not good, but an adventure all the same! Anyway, one other car stopped to ask if I needed help, then they noticed David over at the call box and didn't seem so friendly after all. I was sorely tempted to flag down a truck with a lawn mower in it (they always carry gas with them, right?) but I have a phobia of standing in front of a large truck going down hill at 60 mph and hoping they can stop in time.
When the AAA man finally found us, 2.5 hours later, he told us we weren't out of gas at all, but because we were on a steep slope with less than 1/4 tank of gas, the gas had gone to the back of the tank and we were stuck. 7 gallons and $75 later, we were on the road again.
Thus, the moral of the story: Never drive up a steep mountain without a full tank of gas. If you do forget, be prepared to miss out on jet skiing!
2 comments:
Oh, poor Heather! That's a really lousy get away with the hubby!!
What an adventure -- Heather you always seem to have great ones :) or at least you re-tell them really well! At least you didn't have the kids ... and could enjoy being stranded togehter, without whinning and crying.
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