We drove to Sioux Falls, SD to visit my mother last week. On the way home, despite two major repars this year, the oil light on our RAV4 came on. I quickly pulled over and shut off the car. The high that day was 25 degrees. I tuned to Daphne and said quietly, "We're screwed."
We called AAA, but the calling traffic was high, and we kept getting disconnected. Then we had to wait 15-20 minutes again to talk to someone. It also took awhile for the AAA operators to agree that we actually were where Daphne told them. Apparently AAA 's tech does not use Google Maps. The traffic outside the car was also busy. It's unnerving when your car rocks back and forth from the force of the semi trucks that blast past you.
Two vehicles from AAA arrived three hours later. One tow truck took the RAV to a Toyota dealership in Sioux City. Because of COVID, we were not allowed to ride in the tow truck with our car. The other truck drove us nine miles to a truck stop near Vermillion, SD. The young truck driver told us three times, "Boss says to drop you off here at the Coffee Cup. You'll have to arrange transportation for yourself." Then he drove off. It was 2:00 pm.
Walking around the inside of a truck stop without having a car on the outside is a very uncomfortable experience.
We downloaded the apps for Uber and Lyft, but nothing seemed to be available. Vermillion didn't have a car rental business, but Daphne discovered that they did have a taxi service. Daphne is a better thinker than I am in situations like this. She was able to get a hold of a taxi driver who was on a job 30 minutes away, and they agreed to come and get us. The car rental places in Sioux City were empty because of the holidays, but Daphne found a car that we could rent at the Sioux City airport. It was now 3:00 pm.
We had to get to the airport before they closed at 5:00. We also had to get to the dealership by 6:00 if we wanted to get our belongings out of the RAV. All we could do was wait for the taxi and pray that we could get home safely.
While Daphne was making phone calls, I asked Charlotte if she was getting hungry? She replied, "Yes! I'm starved!" My heart sank. Char hadn't complained once about being stuck in the car, and she didn't admit to being hungry until I asked. As we walked the isles looking for something for her to eat, Char wondered if I was also going to get something? I said, "I don't think so, honey. I'm just too nervous to eat right now."
That's when Charlotte looked up at me and said, "Dad, this is all going to work out in the end. We're just not at the end, yet." How's that for a zen moment? I smiled and gave her a side hug.
Char was right. With God's help, it did all work out. The dog-sitter could keep Ellie for one more night. The taxi brought us to the airport with time to spare. There was a car to rent. The the RAV was towed to the right place. We were on the road by 4:45. I parked the rental in our garage at 7:50.
We had not even been gone for 36 hours, but it felt so good to finally be home.
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