We had a very interesting day, which was so eventful that we feel like we were gone for a week! We decided to go back to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History so that Johann could see the third floor. Johann forgot his notebook, so we stopped at WalMart to buy another one, since that was closer than turning around and going back for it. We had to stop for gas. The pencils we bought at WalMart kept breaking. When we went through two of them trying to sharpen them for Johann, we decided to go back to WalMart and buy a mechanical pencil that would work. We got on the road later than we’d hoped, but, finally, we were on our way.
Then 500 feet before the exit for the museum our right rear tire blew out. Isn’t that funny? Twenty minutes later, Eric was able to get the spare tire off from the underside of the car. The mechanism that held the tire in place froze up and Eric couldn’t get the tire off. I didn’t expect anyone to stop and help us, but I did find it highly annoying that people kept honking at us and making wow–it–stinks–to–be–you faces as they drove by.
Eric got the old tire off by jumping on top of the lug wrench for each lug nut and got the spare on. The spare tire looked a little flat, but we thought we might at least make it to the museum on it. Wrong! The spare tire completely separated from the rim when we tried to drive away. Eric announced that we are getting cell phones as soon as we get home.
By this time we had been stranded on the side of the road at least 40 minutes. The only police car we saw on the road in that time passed us by. Wasn’t that nice? So we decided to hoof it. We walked down the slope of the exit behind us and found a tile company showroom. The ladies in there were extremely nice in letting us use the phone and the bathroom. They even offered us drinks and we took them up on a bottle of water. We called USAA roadside assistance. Thank goodness we had them to call!
We’ve never had to use the roadside assistance before. USAA is the best! They helped us find the nearest towing and tire places, called the towing company and told them where we were, and called a taxi for us. Eric went to the nearest ATM so we’d have cash for the taxi. Johann and I went to the museum. Eric waited with the car and met up with us at the museum later.
I’m so proud of Eric. The tow truck driver was smoking on the ride to the tire place. Pairing that with the stressful events of the day, Eric was the most tempted to bum a cigarette then than in any other moment since he quit smoking two and a half years ago and he didn’t. He waited nearly an hour for the tow truck and made the 15 minute ride to the tire place in heavy traffic. Once Eric paid for new tires and learned it would be a three hour wait, he got the mechanics to look up a taxi service, which they grudgingly did, and came to the museum.
Johann and I had already gone over everything we wanted to see and had done some shopping in the museum store. The third floor had a section on minerals and gems, an Egyptian exhibit with two mummies, dioramas with taxidermy animals native to Connecticut, and the Earth and Space section. We went back into the Darwin exhibit to make a few sketches of some of the skeletons there and watched the short film on Darwin, Dana, and Marsh again at the entrance of the exhibit. By 3:30 P.M., we were getting tired and hungry, so we decided to go sit in the Great Hall and wait for Eric. A few minutes later we saw him on the second floor looking down on us from the Discovery Room!
Johann and I pulled Eric in different directions to show and share with him everything he had missed while we were at the museum. Eric was a good sport, took some pictures, and walked around with us. Johann wasn’t truly excited or happy about our trip to the museum until Daddy was there. Except for the few times we got lost in what we saw and read about in the sections of the museum that were new to us, I was distracted with worry too.
Once we had made the rounds the second time with Eric, we walked to the nearest restaurant and got sandwiches and ice cream. The waitress kindly dialed the number of the cab service we’d used before. I was a little concerned when I noticed smoke from the engine coming out of the air vents. Somehow the taxi got us there. We got back to the tire place 10 minutes before they closed. The car was already repaired and waiting. The mechanic saw us come up and he met us at the door with Eric’s car keys. A day that could have been a total disaster turned out pretty well. So we took the scenic route to get to the museum. Thankfully, the rain stopped BEFORE the car broke down!
7 Comments
Do I guess right that the spare tire had not been off the car since y’all lived in Idaho years ago … ?
At least, all things considered, it was a happy ending. Could have been much worse with a blown tire ,.. thank goodness it wasn’t!
Close. Eric had a flat in the rain a few years ago, so we’ve only used the spare twice in the ten years we’ve had the caravan. Now we have the best of the old tires as our spare. I kept saying the same thing as it was happening. It could be worse! Let’s stay calm and think of a solution! Definitely, thank goodness it turned out the way it did!
You guys do have some interesting adventures! I’m glad it all turned out ok and no one was hurt. That’ll be one of the stories you tell for years to come. “You remember that one time on the way to the Peabody…”
Glad to hear the adventure turned out well. After owning my car for almost two years, I finally figured out where the spare was last week. Luckily, it wasn’t because I had to use it.
You’re right, Brad, like the time Eric got a concussion because he forgot he was too tall to run underneath the playground equipment. Kate, I hope you never have to use your spare tire!
Its a good thing you went on Saturday! Try finding a mechanic on a sunday! When I moved to NC, my uhaul broke down on sunday in rural Virginia. That is a whole story in itself…
Doh! I hate when that happens. I have to admit I’ve come up too soon from beneath playground stuff before, but not hard enough to get a concussion. It’s easy to get carried away playing with the kiddos. I feel for you buddy!
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