Shelly
Well, it was inevitable. Take a nine-year-old car on a 4000+ mile road trip and something’s going to happen. We thought we were in the clear in the morning when the car started up 100% normally. And I thought my guess that the issue was just the sensor was correct. Nope. We got about 150 miles or so down the road and got off the interstate to get gas. When we stopped at a traffic light, the whole thing just died. With the help of a couple good Samaritans we were able to quickly get it off the road and E was able to flag down a state trooper to come help while I called AAA.
I’ve got to say, the two state troopers we met there in Clinton, Oklahoma we’re just amazing. They were able to get the Highlander started again enough to escort us to a NAPA auto parts store. There we learned we needed a new alternator. So the state troopers helped us find a reputable mechanic a little bit outside of town to help install a new alternator. One of the troopers then escorted me and Sam to the mechanic, while the other trooper took the boys in his car to McDonald’s to pick up lunch. Hopefully this will be their one and only time in the back of a police car!!
After waiting around for about four hours in the mechanics parking lot and office, we finally got back on the road and made it to Oklahoma City. After the night we had last night (see below) and the day we’ve had today, we treated ourselves to a couple rooms at the downtown Sheraton and some good food along the OKC Riverwalk. Tomorrow we are just going to try to push all the way through and get home. It will be a long day, but I think we are all ready to sleep in our own beds. Patty, on the other hand, looks perfectly comfortable to just stay in the hotel a while longer.
As for last night, we learned why there are so many windmills around. Around midnight we woke up to 30MPH winds with stronger gusts. The tent up top held up well but it worried me. So I got up and had the boys move into the car for the rest of the night. The result was that none of us got a good night’s sleep.
Wish us luck as we finish the long haul back home!
States Today (not enough):
- Texas
- Oklahoma
What We're Eating:
Breakfast - Dunkin’ Donuts
Lunch - McDonalds in the mechanic’s parking lot
Dinner: outside at the Yucatán Cafe on the OKC Rivrwalk.
Temperatures:
60’s in Amarillo, 89 In Clinton, OK. And who cares what the temp is in OKC, we have air conditioning!
Drive Time: not enough
Delay from alternator: 6hrs
Total Miles to Date: 4,970
