Part two of our day

We all enjoyed the first part of our day. After we left the CBC studios, we headed off for some lunch and a bit of shopping before my Dr.'s appt. We had planned our day well, everything was spaced nicely so we wouldn't be too rushed.

Usually, when the kids and I head out (which isn't that often) we take the van. Today was different though, as Tyler wanted to drive. The fact he has never driven the van and we were going into some heavier traffic areas, we opted to take the car and let Larry take the van to work.

Everything went well, until we got on the road heading for the appt. Just after we went through an intersection, the car started to slow down. I thought Tyler was slowing the vehicle down but when asked, he said the car was stopping. I suggested he pull over as close to the curb as he could get (there were no shoulders...just the sidewalk), which he did....just before the car died completely. As this was only the second time he's been out since getting his licence, I was really proud of the way he handled the situation. He did not panic (gets that from me...wink wink)...and immediately put the hazard lights on.

Things just went down hill from there.

We tried and tried but to no avail...the car was not going to re start. Of course, we are out on a busy four lane road to boot.

Great.

That's ok....we have CAA for such emergencies, I'll just call them. After digging through my wallet to find the number (we hardly ever call), phoning directory assistance at $1.50 plus airtime, calling them and giving her my info, she advised me Larry must be there to sign for the tow truck. (Grrrr...we're entitled to 5 calls per year.....we're lucky if we put in one per year....and now she is telling me I will have to pay outright for a tow truck unless Larry is there to sign.)

Meanwhile....we are *still* sitting in the middle of busy traffic, blocking a lane.

What to do. I did not have enough cash to pay for a tow truck ('cuz...we have CAA....and that's what it's for....right?)

It's almost 1:00, Larry is working until 2:30, we're *still* blocking traffic with a dead car (my fear was another car would not see us/get stopped in time and smash into the back of us), I have a Dr.'s appt at 1:00, Jake is in the back upset and crying.....sooo...I had no choice but to call Larry, get him out of class and eventually out of school. Thankfully, they let him leave (now they will need a substitute for the substitute). Had we been sitting on a side street or a parking lot....we would have just waited until his classes were done for the day....but being in the middle of a busy road....I felt we had no choice.

I was surprised at how quickly Larry was able to get there, but very glad to see him. He called CAA and they dispatched a tow truck. We waited for what seemed liked forever and after about 30 minutes....he called back again to see where said tow truck was....after all.....we're *still* blocking traffic.

Her response? "Well....you're in Newfoundland.....waiting time is one hour there." Ummmm....excuse me???? You're in Newfoundland???? I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean (well .... actually, I do know....grrr...she was located in some other area of Canada...has no idea what it's like here...yet talks away as if she does.....probably thought the tow truck driver would need that much time to get through those year-round 15 feet deep snow banks we have ...lol)

Within five minutes though the tow truck arrived, hitched us up and towed the car to the service centre.

It ended up being the fuel pump and the battery...both needed to be replaced. It turned into a rather costly day for us, but at least we were not hurt. A couple of positive things though about this.....I am thankful it was a beautiful day (rain and or fog would have made it worse). Also, because the car died on the other side of the intersection, meant others had to either slow down or stop for the lights. They were not up to speed by the time they got up to us, which aided us in not being hit from behind.

I did feel bad about pulling Larry out of school. The vice principal of that school called Larry the other night...she wanted to book him for another day. Before she asked about that though, she asked him how we all made out and if we were all ok. After Larry made arrangements with her, I asked to speak to her. I also apologized for calling...to which she told me not to give it a second thought...she totally understood and would have done the same thing. She went on to say... she knew we had no family or anyone else here to call and was just glad we were all ok....our safety was her first priority. How nice was that?