San Diego / California part II

My trip consisted of three parts.

Part 1: Mom & Dad's house for 1.5 days
Part 2: San Diego with Emily and Toni
Part 3: Back to Mom & Dad's for 1.5 days

So there's a couple experiences I wanted to blog about while they were fresh in my head. Like today for example. I just got home a half hour ago and I'm already blogging!

I left California at 10:00 AM. 'You just got home at 6:00??' you're no doubt shouting. Why, yes. I did. Here's why.

I forgot to put gas in the tank. Duh. That was the least of my problems, and it may have saved my life. It so happens that I also threw the tread on one tire and was just miles away from a major blowout. I thought I had just hit someone else's tread left in the road, but it was mine ripping away from the passenger side rear tire. I had no idea, and I drove on it like that for probably 20 or 30 miles. If my fuel light hadn't come on forcing me to pull over in a ghost town with three residents, I would have had a blowout going 80 miles per hour.

There was a guy living there who delivered five gallons of gas for $60, just enough to get you to the next major town. There's a special place in hell for people who take advantage of the desperate, especially a mom traveling alone with three young kids. BUT... he also put the donut on my van so I could safely drive to the Goodyear in Blythe and get replacements. He was also extremely polite and helped me out of a bind, so I hold no grudges about the cost of gas.

At this same ghost town there was a diner with one employee and one customer. (That brings us to a grand total of THREE people in this town... and I guess one guy was on vacation). I asked the nice waitress / owner if my kids could use the bathroom and she said no.

Why not? I asked.
We have no water.
Is there another one nearby?
No.
Well, where do you go to the bathroom when you have to?
I don't go.
Ever?
Not until I get home.
So what do I tell my five year old?
Tell her life is hard.

I rescind my previous comments... there's a special place reserved in hell for THIS PARTICULAR WOMAN. She couldn't have been more rude, while Grace was desperately doing the potty dance. I said a little prayer and Grace was able to hold it for another hour. Miracles do happen, people.

And prayers are answered. Before we left Mom & Dad's Ember said a prayer that we'd drive safely, the other drivers on the road would drive safely, and we would all get to where we're going safely. Her prayer was answered.

When the fuel light came on I prayed that we'd find a safe place to stop, and I wouldn't panic so I'd be able to take care of my kids no matter what. My prayer was answered.

After I discovered the bald and barely hanging on tire, I prayed that I'd be able to find someone to change the tire (I didn't want to do it with 3 kids in the car and 101 degrees outside, especially when I don't really know how to do it all that well). My prayer was answered.

I prayed that I'd be able to drive 50 more miles on a major interstate on a spare tire and get to the closest Goodyear without any additional problems. My prayer was answered.

So the drive home took 8 hours instead of 5, but we're all home safely (minus a little bit of sanity on my part). My prayers were ALL answered. I took the opportunity to tell the kids to say a prayer of thanksgiving, because when our prayers are answered, we need to acknowledge the higher power that answered them.

*whew*

In the words of Grace, I HATE this day. On a side note, I was in San Diego for the earthquake and I DIDN'T FEEL A THING. I'm slightly disappointed, I missed all the excitement. We were driving home from a restaurant and missed the whole thing! Feeling a little earth shake would have been exciting in a scary kind of way.

Even though I didn't feel the earthquake, I guess I got a scary adventure after all. Be careful what you wish for.