If you read the post prior to this one, you could feel how excited we were about our new car. It was exactly what we wanted, and we got a great deal. It provided a wonderful means of transportation (with air conditioning) for Beka to travel in and out of town on work while pregnant.
As time was counting down for Beka to go on leave, Michael was getting more and more nervous for her to travel out of town alone. So on the last week of work before she takes leave, he got off so he could travel with her to Knoxville on her last project. The week of work went by, and the baby did not come while Beka was at her shops. So with a weight lifted off her shoulders and greatly looking forward to putting her feet up and taking some time off, Beka and Michael headed home from out of town for the last time. We stopped at subway to get some lunch, and headed down the 40 back to Nashville.
We were about half way home when the air cut out and started to smell funny. Michael was looking at the vents to try and figure out what was wrong when Beka saw that the temperature gauge was past the red!!! We pulled over and cut off the engine just as it started to smoke.....then the engine would not turn on again....
Thankfully someone stopped to help, and was able to get us to a gas station. There Michael figured out that the radiator had busted... We looked around and saw one restaurant, and one hotel. That was the town of Monterey TN (a town I didn't even know existed). We tried to fix the radiator, but could not, so we towed the car to a local mom and pop car repair shop. When they looked at the engine, they saw more damage than just the radiator, and would not work on it. So Michael and I looked at each other, laughed, and booked a hotel for us for the night in Monterey TN. We called some friends to be on alert, just in case our little one decided to be born in the super 8 motel, so they could come up if need be. We settled into our room, and Michael walked across the street to get us dinner at the Rocky Pop Country Resturant. It tasted exactly as you think it would :)
The next morning we called the local tow company and he agreed to drive us the two hours back to Nashville. When Gary, the very southern town truck driver, and our new friend, saw that Beka was GREAT with child, we was openly worried about her having the baby in his truck. He made us very aware that he knew where all the hospitals were from there to Nashville, and we were on our way.
Never, ever, had Beka experienced a ride like that one. She and Michael will forever remember every bump and shake that tow truck made for two hours (so will our poor little Emery, who shook, rattled and rolled in her belly the whole way). There were indeed points where Michael and Beka thought the baby may come. In fact, when they finally got home, Beka went into false labor for hours that night. It was a very eventful ride :)
When we got the car to our local mechanic they saw that the whole engine was going to have to be replaced. It was going to cost more than we had paid for the car, only about a month before. So instead of paying them do fix it, Michael put on his handy man hat, and bought the engine, the timing belt, and the radiator separate, and one of our friends from church agreed to put it all in for a fraction of the cost. It was VERY hard work, and took twice as long as it would if we paid for a professional mechanic to fix it, but Michael put in the long hours, and it was worth it in the end. One day after working on the car in the 100 degree summer heat, Beka came home to see Michael like this from sheer exhaustion.
Two weeks and two grand later, our car was returned to us, running and with air again. It was a long, and very unfortunate event, being that we had JUST bought the car, but it all worked itself out in the end. During it, all Beka could think was "I was supposed to be on this trip alone!" The fact that Michael was there to help, and the fact that the baby did NOT come in a wrecker made all of the hassle a lot better to cope with.
Oh what a crazy (and bumpy) ride life is. Make sure that you are happy with the person you have chosen to ride along side you. Team Oakley is :)
It was sure an adventure, but we survived, and came out better on the other side. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Team Oakley
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