We had a blast in Santa Barbara. Had great connections with some old friends, accidentally ran into a really old friend who was running n the beach, saw an old friend we hadn't planned on seeing, and enjoyed spending time with an adopted Grandma for my kiddos.
We parked at my college friend's mom's house in Montecito. Michele's mom is Grandma age, but doesn't have grand kids yet (she obviously wants to though...and she's really good at being a Grandma!). My kids often chose hanging out with her in her house over being with mom or dad. Maybe it was the little hide-and-hunt games she played with them, or all the fun toys she was giving them, or the yummy food that she'd feed them. I'm sure it was a combination of all of it. Let's just say, I didn't mind taking a break from holding the baby, or having a peaceful moment while The Princess and Little Brother played in her house. Oh, and she also did all our laundry one day, and even folded it while we were out playing at the zoo. Charlotte, if you're reading this, you're totally adopted!
One fun thing that happened was when I saw my friend Jamie, who lives in LA, running with her husband on the beach. The Hot Contractor had gone into the little beach restaurant to ask for some veggie oil, while I stayed in the truck with the kids. Here comes Jamie and John running through the parking lot! We ended up talking about how we're embarking on a cross-country adventure, and running on veggie oil. Then Jamie says, "You know Dan runs his car on veggie oil? You should talk to him about it!" (Dan is a mutual friend of ours whom I've known since 1995). I happened to still have Dan's cell phone number in my phone, and gave him a call. Turns out his shop was about five minutes away from where we were, and he invited us over. While we were there, we told him about our leaking truck (The Hot Contractor had welded something before we left, but missed one tiny spot, and oil was dripping the whole way). So Dan welded it for us. Thanks, Dan!
While we were talking to Dan, he told us that he used to get his WVO (waste vegetable oil) at Westmont College (my Alma Matter). A couple days later, as we were having a horribly difficult time finding fuel for our truck, the thought crossed my mind to see if I could get some from Westmont. So, we drove up there, and visited the dining commons (DC). I think the lady working there was skeptical of me, and she told me to go to the administration building to ask for permission. (I couldn't figure out why I'd have to ask them, other than she maybe wanted them to verify that I actually was an alum?). So, I went straight to the Alumni Office, and told them my story. They were all OVER helping out an alum! Woo-hoo! They made phone calls for like ten minutes, trying to reach someone to tell them to give me as much oil as possible. Ha! We went back to the DC and filled up our tank with somewhere between 80 and 90 gallons. And that lady who told me to go to the alumi office? She was so sweet, she gave us all free lunch in the DC. I felt like a college student again. Except that I had three kids and a husband.
We're still running on that oil. What a LOOT! Thank you Westmont Sodexo, and thank you, Dan, for the idea!
Showing posts with label Santa Barbara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Barbara. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
"This Deserves a Blog Post!"
*Note: I started this post three weeks ago, and am now just finishing it, so the dates may be confusing. Sorry.
About a week ago, we left Oroville, and made our way to Santa Barbara. We anticipated we'd make the seven hour drive in one or two days. We planned on pulling out sometime between 10 am and 12 noon the first day. At 5:00 pm, we finally pulled out (we've since discovered a pattern of grossly underestimating our time needed for departure. At this point, we plan on never being ready to leave before noon).
As we were cruising down the 5 freeway, we mapped out a Rest Stop where we could stop to sleep for the night. At about midnight, we knew we were just 20 miles away. We could make it! Keep those eyelids peeled!!
Then we lost a wheel.
No, not got a flat, like you're thinking. LOST A WHEEL!
Literally.
Yep.
Rolled right off the trailer, into the center of the freeway. The sparks The Hot Contractor saw in the side mirror told him something was wrong. He pulled over quickly.
He went to assess the situation, while I stayed in the truck with our three sleeping cherubs. He realized that the wheel was entirely gone (it was pitch black out, and we had no idea where it had gone). He then discovered that the bolts holding the hub on had completely broken. All five of them.
So, we called AAA for some "Roadside Assistance". We learned that our RV was not covered under our plan (which was not the story I got from the lady at the AAA office just weeks before, but I won't go into that here...). They told us they could recommend a mechanic that could help us. Mark was trying to fix it, but we were on the skinny little shoulder of this major highway, with semi trucks barreling by us. And the missing wheel was on the driver's side, so not so safe.
We called the recommended mechanic, and asked him to come help us. He later told me that the only reason he agreed to getting out of bed at O'-Dark-Thirty, was that he could hear The Hot Contractor talking to me while on the phone with him, so he knew there was a woman, and possibly children, who also needed to be rescued. If it were a single male, he would have left him to fend for himself. Thank goodness The Hot Contractor asked me a question while he was on the phone!
So, this nice man, Kevin came to rescue us. Oh, and the CHP came too. We called 9-1-1 at some point between realizing that AAA wouldn't help us, and hearing about Kevin. They came out to help us get to safety.
Kevin tried to find replacement bolts (we had an extra wheel) for our trailer. He spent until 2:30 am trying figure out something, and hunt for the bolts. But we were out of luck. We had to wait until the morning, when the auto parts store opened.
Kevin did, however, require payment for his services. One of us had to get in his tow truck with him, and drive about 20 minutes to his shop to pay with a credit card. I didn't want to sit on the side of the freeway alone with three kids at 2 am, so I told The Hot Contractor I'd rather he stay, and I go. Let's just say, I had the scariest ride of my life! Kevin drives an average speed of about 95mph. He smokes while he does it, and is obviously gluten intolerant, if you know what I mean. If you don't, then I won't go there right now, but it's gross.
So, we unhitched from the trailer, and left it on the side of I-5. We called the CHP, and told them we had no other option but to leave it there, and to please not tow it away. They told us "they couldn't guarantee anything", but they would make a note of it.
We then called all three motels that were at the nearest exit. The first two were completely booked up. The third one had only smoking rooms available, and one room with a king size mattress. I told them I'd take it!
At 3:00 am, we all snuggled into a big bed together. We even smuggled Sugar in with us. (Shhhhh....)
The next morning, Kevin fixed our wheel, and told us to come back to his shop so he could check a few other things. Thank God for Kevin!! He discovered that one of the brakes on the trailer was not working properly, and one of the wheels was not rotating like it should. It could have been bad if we would have tried to drive it that way! He showed The Hot Contractor how to check the wheels, which he has done diligently since then.
We finally made it to Santa Barbara (only two days behind schedule) the next day. The Hot Contractor kept saying along the way, "This deserves a blog post!". So, there you have it.
About a week ago, we left Oroville, and made our way to Santa Barbara. We anticipated we'd make the seven hour drive in one or two days. We planned on pulling out sometime between 10 am and 12 noon the first day. At 5:00 pm, we finally pulled out (we've since discovered a pattern of grossly underestimating our time needed for departure. At this point, we plan on never being ready to leave before noon).
As we were cruising down the 5 freeway, we mapped out a Rest Stop where we could stop to sleep for the night. At about midnight, we knew we were just 20 miles away. We could make it! Keep those eyelids peeled!!
Then we lost a wheel.
No, not got a flat, like you're thinking. LOST A WHEEL!
Literally.
Yep.
Rolled right off the trailer, into the center of the freeway. The sparks The Hot Contractor saw in the side mirror told him something was wrong. He pulled over quickly.
He went to assess the situation, while I stayed in the truck with our three sleeping cherubs. He realized that the wheel was entirely gone (it was pitch black out, and we had no idea where it had gone). He then discovered that the bolts holding the hub on had completely broken. All five of them.
So, we called AAA for some "Roadside Assistance". We learned that our RV was not covered under our plan (which was not the story I got from the lady at the AAA office just weeks before, but I won't go into that here...). They told us they could recommend a mechanic that could help us. Mark was trying to fix it, but we were on the skinny little shoulder of this major highway, with semi trucks barreling by us. And the missing wheel was on the driver's side, so not so safe.
We called the recommended mechanic, and asked him to come help us. He later told me that the only reason he agreed to getting out of bed at O'-Dark-Thirty, was that he could hear The Hot Contractor talking to me while on the phone with him, so he knew there was a woman, and possibly children, who also needed to be rescued. If it were a single male, he would have left him to fend for himself. Thank goodness The Hot Contractor asked me a question while he was on the phone!
So, this nice man, Kevin came to rescue us. Oh, and the CHP came too. We called 9-1-1 at some point between realizing that AAA wouldn't help us, and hearing about Kevin. They came out to help us get to safety.
Kevin tried to find replacement bolts (we had an extra wheel) for our trailer. He spent until 2:30 am trying figure out something, and hunt for the bolts. But we were out of luck. We had to wait until the morning, when the auto parts store opened.
Kevin did, however, require payment for his services. One of us had to get in his tow truck with him, and drive about 20 minutes to his shop to pay with a credit card. I didn't want to sit on the side of the freeway alone with three kids at 2 am, so I told The Hot Contractor I'd rather he stay, and I go. Let's just say, I had the scariest ride of my life! Kevin drives an average speed of about 95mph. He smokes while he does it, and is obviously gluten intolerant, if you know what I mean. If you don't, then I won't go there right now, but it's gross.
So, we unhitched from the trailer, and left it on the side of I-5. We called the CHP, and told them we had no other option but to leave it there, and to please not tow it away. They told us "they couldn't guarantee anything", but they would make a note of it.
We then called all three motels that were at the nearest exit. The first two were completely booked up. The third one had only smoking rooms available, and one room with a king size mattress. I told them I'd take it!
At 3:00 am, we all snuggled into a big bed together. We even smuggled Sugar in with us. (Shhhhh....)
The next morning, Kevin fixed our wheel, and told us to come back to his shop so he could check a few other things. Thank God for Kevin!! He discovered that one of the brakes on the trailer was not working properly, and one of the wheels was not rotating like it should. It could have been bad if we would have tried to drive it that way! He showed The Hot Contractor how to check the wheels, which he has done diligently since then.
We finally made it to Santa Barbara (only two days behind schedule) the next day. The Hot Contractor kept saying along the way, "This deserves a blog post!". So, there you have it.
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