The Saturday to which I referred previously

Ok. I'm going to finish this story. Or that's the plan. We'll just have to see.

So anyway, Bonnie called and I threw all my other responsibilities to the wind and decided to go to the mountains. I should have stayed home and cleaned. I did get to the office, but it was a "dark" weekend, (meaning we had no intranet access) and I was working off my own hard drive. But, something happened, I think I got locked out of my laptop, and I had to stop after two hours. We'
re actually required to work at least four, but when stuff happens, it happens. So, I blew doors.

Raindrop (the name DD gave the POS her father and I bought her) and I were just tooling down the road, having a great time. At one point, something weird happened and she seemed to lose acceleration, but that got fixed. I talked to the DD on the phone, told her how well things were going. She informed me that they were well on their way home from the beach, and had stopped at Andy's, my absolutely all time favorite sandwich shop in Columbia, SC, and gotten me a double treat--my all time favorite sandwich. So things were good. I hung up. And so did Rainbow. No acceleration. She just stopped all forward motion, other than momentum. Thankfully, momentum got us off the road. I had made it 46.2 miles. I know that precisely. It is not important. I was on the side of the road, dead in the weeds.

Since I had had to rejoin AAA the previous weekend to get back into the van, I was all set to call my handy dandy automotive friends. I did, they said they'd send somebody out right away. It was a very nice day. Not too hot, which was a nice change. So I sat. I chatted on my cell phone to a bunch of people. I called in prescriptions I'd been meaning to do for a week. I read. I had Diet Rite and a cooler of ice, so things were just peachy.

But then, the Diet Rite decided enough was enough. And things got dire. I was right there on the side of the highway. There wasn't any cover. But after about an hour, I climbed the big hill and just took care of business. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So I'm bored. Very bored. AAA had called back and they couldn't find anybody who could come get me and tow the car back to Greensboro without a wait (ended up being 4.5 hours). So I read. I chatted some more. I was in constant contact with Bonnie and they decided to just blow off the mountains and come to Greensboro; but it would be a while.

After about three hours, a very nice looking gentleman pulled over to make sure everything was okay. I told him that it was, that I was waiting for AAA and that I had drinks. I also told him that he was the only person to have stopped in over three hours. He gallantly said, "Well, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner" and then he took off. It was such a very kind thing for him to have done. I felt like I'd been visited by an angel driving a yellow Miata convertible. With the top down. But he didn't take me with him when it left. It was sad.

I continued with boredom, and finally broke down and did something I had sworn I wouldn't do. I cleaned out the DD's car. I'm pretty sure she gets the nasty car gene from STBX. My car gets groddy, but I'll clean it up. When their cars reach critical mass, they just think it's time for the second layer. Luckily, there were multiple plastic bags, so I was able to sort the stuff that needed to go into the house (mostly one shoe of various pairs. how the child manages to do stuff like that, I don't know). I packed up the garbage. And, I found a bunch of 4th of July decorations.

I'd been in the mountains with the DS, and DD had spent the day celebrating with her posse of friends. So I decorated the car. It looked kinda cute. So, being a child of Pioneer Woman, I decided to take a picture. But by now, the sun was definitely shining too brightly through the windshied. So I did something I absolutely would not have done, had it not been for the amount of time I spend reading every single post on Pioneer Woman's blog. I adjusted the flippin' exposure on my cell phone camera. I couldn't believe it even occurred to me. But the picture came out pretty cute:

It worked! I was amazed. So, just about then, the friendly tow truck arrived. They scooped up Raindrop (the license plate is disguised by Photo tubes in paint shop pro--I don't have Photoshop, snif):


And then, since the wrecker guy had brought a friend, and I really didn't relish the idea of riding in the middle of the tow truck's front seat, and since I knew Bonnie and her gang were wending their way towards me, I talked the wrecker guy into taking me to the next exit, where he dropped me off at a Barbeque Restaurant.

This was good for a variety of reasons, some of which are depicted in pictures, but also because I was STARVING. But anyway, I got there, and used an actual bathroom (oh, the luxury) and quickly decided I was very happy to be there. Even though, this had been my first sight upon entering the establishment:



That was kind of how I felt. But still, a little off putting, don't you think?

So I looked to my right, and saw:



That looked pretty good. And I looked to my left:



And I knew I was home free. So I ordered a large chopped plate and proceeded to eat and read. It was only as I sat there that I realized I'd been through a harrowing event. Anything could have happened to me on that highway, but it didn't so I didn't go too crazy.

Just about as I finished, Bonnie, et. al., arrived. So they ate and we chatted and then we all drove back to my house. Which, you may remember, was not looking it's best.

This is what happens when I abandon my duties for my 'druthers. Every single time.

And as God is my witness, I'll never loan my Prius to anyone again.