CAR TROUBLE !!!!

In April, we took a fun Spring Break trip to California to visit Disneyland with Baylee for the first time and to see the Red Sox play the Angels. We planned to drive because there were six of us going - Val, me, Kelsey, Travis, Liz and Baylee. We prepared for the trip as usual, with Val going over the Suburban with a fine tooth comb. He had it serviced, checked everything out. I even drove it to Tremonton the day before and everything seemed fine.

Well, we got on the road and things were going great for 200 miles until we were just outside of Beaver. Then the car started making a terrible noise and the engine started losing power. We pulled over and Val checked things out and decided we needed to be towed into Beaver. He pulled out his AAA auto card and made the call. Now I have had a AAA auto card for years but never once have carried it in my wallet. Boy was I glad he carried his!

The man (Rick) and his flatbed tow truck arrived quickly and Rick (who is also a skilled AAA mechanic) listened to our engine and determined that it was shot and we needed a total engine replacement. He told us that he could do the repairs while we were in California and have the car ready for us to pick up on our way home. Yay, Rick! He loaded the car onto the flatbed and because of space, Val rode in the cab with him and the rest of us rode in the suburban on the flatbed, securely buckled in, of course.

While being towed, Val got on the phone and made arrangements for a rental car. We were towed 100 miles, all the way to St. George where we picked up our lovely new suburban. Our car was then taken back to Beaver to be repaired.

We enjoyed a wonderful trip (more about that in a future post) and then made our way back to St. George, where Rick had driven our car and left it at the airport for us to pick up. We dropped off the rental picked up our car and drove home. Rick is now my new best friend. We only had a 2 hour delay on the way down and a very brief delay on the way home. The only drawback was the rather large expense of PUTTING A NEW ENGINE IN OUR SUBURBAN.

We feel so fortunate, though, to have had the entire situation turn out so well. I can tell you one thing - I came right home and put my AAA auto card in my wallet. Those people are lifesavers. They will tow you from anywhere! Below are some lovely photos of our great adventure.