Day 4 . . . West Palm Beach & surrounding area
Check Engine Soon - the three most terrifying words the wife of a mechanic can read. This can only mean one thing – Larry’s worst nightmare has come true. His wife & daughter are five states away with a problem car. Even more horrifying . . . someone else will have to look at the car.
We stopped at Linda’s clinic to check it out & have some lunch. The plan was for Rachel & I to bask in the sun & play in the surf while Linda spent the day healing sick animals. But alas, this was not our reality. The bitter pain of car ownership was our destiny. As I leave the clinic parking lot I notice those 3 horrid words glowing at me from the dash. Why, why Lord I think to myself. I decide to turn around & find out the name of Linda’s mechanic. As I do this I call Larry to share my tragic news. Surprisingly he takes it very well & is even rather encouraging. Go figure.
I call the mechanic to get directions. It’s at this time I realize that in order for me to get the car to the shop & go to the beach I’ll need a second driver. Enter Rachel Collinge. . . SUPER DRIVER!!! Everyone assures me it’s only 10 or so miles to the shop. I give Rachel a pep talk assuring her that I have the utmost confidence in her driving abilities. Then off we go. I understood that we would be driving on the highway, but what I failed to pick up on was that it was a 4-5 lane freeway that was currently under construction. If I had asked more questions & gotten more details about Hwy 95 I probably wouldn’t have let Rachel drive by herself. Please refer back to Day 3 for more info on my lack of getting the details. Long story short Rachel did a great job dodging cones & cars.
I instructed the repair guy to call Larry’s cell when he had any information. He got the numbers mixed up and called me first. . . . silly man. According to the mechanic there were several codes that came up when he hooked the car to the scanner. I don’t know much about cars, but I know that this does not sound good. I waited almost an hour before I called Larry to find out how bad it was for the little car. Good News! Larry reports none of the codes seem to be a problem that would affect us driving home. YEAH!!!
If truth be told I guess I wasn’t too worried, because Rachel & I still managed to find time to go to the beach. It’s awfully hard to get too stressed about anything @ the beach. The great thing about this beach is walking to it. The parking lot is on one side of a little hill & as you walk over the hill you suddenly see the ocean spread out forever before you. It’s just such a great surprise for a little Kansas gal to see.
Rachel loves the beach. More info about the beach later.
End of Day 4