It's a blessing that she even had cell service and was able to call. She said she had one bar on her phone. She was an hour and a half from the ranch and 40 minutes from her grandparents. She called a friend who happened to be in that town for Thanksgiving and she picked her up and took her and Harvey halfway to my in-laws and Grandpa picked her up from there. She had a safe place to stay the night and Granny's cooking to fill her tummy and we could rest easy until morning.
When she first described her trouble, I told her that it sounded like the alternator. I don't know a whole lot about the mechanical aspects of vehicles, but I know a little bit. When she talked to her Daddy, he came to the same conclusion, but we couldn't be completely sure until we looked at it. This was a Saturday night, but thankfully, auto parts stores are open fairly early on Sunday mornings.
We left early and drove 100 miles where we met her and Grandpa at her truck.
The wind was absolutely howling through those mountain canyons, but grandpa and DH assessed the situation
DH jumped her truck and we all drove into town. The auto parts people said they had to charge the battery an that it would take about an hour and that we should go to McDonald's and eat breakfast. Grandpa said that he had eaten breakfast at 4 a.m. and we had grabbed a banana before we left the house, but we all sat and visited over coffee and DH and I splurged on egg mcmuffins. We all knew it didn't take that long to charge the battery, but we tried to be amicable with the auto parts employees. When we returned they said the battery was good, but they couldn't get a good reading on the alternator. We could tell the fella doing the testing wasn't very knowledgeable. He told us to just drive it and come back if we had trouble. Ummm...not helping.
So we went to a second auto parts store and bought an alternator. Merry Christmas kiddo! :)
The employee there was much more helpful although when DD took the old alternator back a few hours later, they wouldn't credit her the $10 because they had to put it back on the same credit card we had used to pay and we had already headed back home. Still, DH's handy skills came to the rescue again as he removed the old alternator and installed the new one:
And DD got a 'new to her' Lazy Boy recliner as a bonus.
My inlaws had purchased new ones. DS will pick his recliner up when he comes home for Christmas. So, all's well, ends well! I think Harvey's liking the idea of having a new recliner! :)
10 comments:
Dads and granddads are the best! Glad it all worked out in the end. XO
I know that heart-dropping feeling, having done my share of roadside rescues. Glad it all turned out well, and with a new recliner as a lagniappe (something extra)!
Cindy in NC
Whew! Having vehicle trouble on an isolated road is not fun: cell phones are a true blessing. Glad to hear it turned out well.
All's well that ends well! Those phone calls from our children CAN be heart stoppers!! In our younger days, we've had alternators go out in the weirdest places while traveling and thankfully DH is mechanically inclined.
I'm so happy everything went well and that her grandparents were close. My hubby is a retired Sears Auto Center Mgr. and such a handy guy to have around. He helped our daughter build the inside of her log home. I bet your hubby and mine would have a lot in common. Glad all is well!!
Your daughter is so fortunate to have all of you in her life to help in time of need like this! I feel the same way about my parents!
Awww Dads and Grand dads know so much more!!! Glad you had her fixed up and running agin!
We had a similar incident with our youngest Drew. He was 100 miles from Billings Montana, 1030 at night. Standing on the roof of his car with 1 bar of cell service......not a good feeling. Luckily his was just a flat tire, his jack wasn't working right, he finally got his spare on and slept in his care outside the tire place in Billings! I didn't sleep all night. But all's well that ends well. Glad you were able to get her going.
Lisa - I wouldn't have slept either! I'm glad Drew was safe. Sometimes I think we worry about our kids more now than when they were little!
Thank you, Cindy. Those roadside rescues are just all in a day's work as long as everyone is safe! I think that recliner has found a good second home. :)
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