Home again

We returned Wednesday at midnight. Would have been 11:20 but 2 miles from the house we had a flat tire. Just a little exclamation point to the trip.
To tour the Southwest & West in early August is not the smartest thing due to the heat but our trip to Dallas and to Salt Lake were time sensitive due to events and circumstances.
We had an uneventful 2 day trip to Randy's (gotta get used to 'Randy & Pam's) where it was 100 degrees +. Friday eve, Saturday & Sunday morn were spent with some of my favorite folks. Randy & Pam were married at a botanical garden. It was a beautiful setting. Their matching outfits blended with the surroundings.
We left Grapevine Sunday after breakfast with the family and drove strait to Gallup NM. Jacci's cousin had called 30 minutes before we got to Randy & Pam's saying she didn't know if she'd be alive when we arrived. This, of course, Set Jacci on a new agenda and we were in Salt Lake by Monday night. We skipped Carlsbad.
Now Uncle Westy States that Grapevine challenged his navigation abilities due to inexperience. I'll admit that that's is some of it but some was also due to the unfamiliar road configurations. Those folks that built the hyways & byways of Grapevine took miles of on & off ramp just to change roads. You couldn't see where you were going to wind up in relation to were you'd been and weren't sure of what direction you were going after that 2 mile curve.
Well I got ole Unc beat in the navigational nightmare of Salt Lake. After driving for 13 hrs and following Map Quest directions to an address provided by Jacci's cousin we came to an intersection with no motel. Here's a city that the Mormons set up as a perfect grid and numbered every road, no names. Then the Lutherans or some such came to town and threw in the van Winkle express that cuts a meandering swath through a part of town. Then the Baptist & Methodist came and started using names instead of numbers. Then Ike threw a couple of interstates around and through town and folks I wandered that town for 3 hours before finding a roost. Now part of the problem was American Idol was holding auditions and the Inns were full. The first room we found that was 'non smoking' smelled like an ashtray so we moved on finally winding up out at the airport on the west side of the city (Jacci's cousin lived on the east side).
Jacci's cousin is dying but not that day nor the next and not so far. Jacci wound up staying at her cousins and I stayed at the motel. Jacci was trying to help Marylin (guess I should give her a name) settle into Hospice Care. Marylin was more interested in having someone around to manipulate and boss around. On Thursday morning I got a call. "Come get me we're leaving. I've had all I can Take". I thought I'd seen a vision of ole Brigham Young in a chariot of fire pass before me and I was willing to follow him where ever he led as long as it was out of that town. So I threw everything in the car and raced over only to find that I was to sit there till 6 pm waiting on a friend of Marylins to relieve Jacci.
To back up real quick somewhere in Arkansas on Friday it hit 98. It didn't get cooler than that until we were in Colorado the following Friday.
By Friday around 3pm we were visiting my friend from collage that I hadn't seen in 36 years. It was like no time had come between. We only stayed an hour & a half because we were trying to get home by Sunday night. By that night were were 30 some miles into Kansas. Ever been to Kansas? No? Well just skip it!
We got up early planning on driving to Cincinnati Saturday. 23 miles latter that plan was trashed. The Passat puked. Fuel Pump. Thank goodness for cell phones. It was 107 degrees with a 22 mile an hour steady wind. Like walking around in a convection oven. "Dry heat's not as bad as humid heat" my ass! You could have taken a frozen pizza outside and walked around (if you could stand it) for an hour and then eaten it. Brutal! After the two geniuses finally agreed with my diagnosis as to the Passat's problem (it only took them 6 hours) everything in Kansas was closed and wouldn't open til Monday. Towing us to Wichita where there was a VW dealership had been an option the mechanic had mentioned when he picked us up so I asked how much that would cost. " $782" without blinking. So I asked where he proposed to put us up. He really was a nice guy. He loaned us a car (and never charged us for the use) and sent us east on the interstate to the nearest exit with motels. 60 miles away! They talked like it was 'Just over yonder'. Quick word about the town we were in. Grainfield Kansas. One road, 10 buildings. Only 4 of them open for business. The Napa/ mechanic, a small 'Pizza Place', the Bank and a grocery store. The Bank was only open on weekdays and the grocery store closed at noon on Saturday.
So we spent the weekend in Hays Kansas. On Monday morning Jack, our mechanic, called to say there was no pump available in Hays and I'd have to go to Wichita to get one. I'd offered to do that rather than spend another day in Kansas waiting for the pump to be delivered on Tuesday morning. It was an 8 hour round trip. But by 6 pm Monday we were on the road again heading for Hays. By the way our bill for towing and repair was $782. Coincidence? Sometimes we're the answer to anothers prayers. I can hear our mechanic, Jack, praying "Dear lord I need $782 dollars by Tuesday" so he sent Jack us.
We left Hays and were an hour and a half out of Cincinnati by 11 pm. We drove into Cincinnati on Wednesday morning and spent another hour & a half with another friend then headed to Tafton.
Jacci has been saying for years that when we retire she'd like to rent an RV and tour the country. She just got over that.

Zipidee