We used to live in and out of our suitcases. But after a year of almost continuous lockdown, a road trip seemed almost daunting. How could we leave the animals? Who can remember how to pack, what to pack, besides masks, masks, masks. Easier to stay home. But we hadn’t seen Tina, John, the girls and Ace since they visited last fall. Time to just get in the car and go. After all, how hard could it be?
Answer: a teensy bit harder than we expected. Tough to get very far when your car is on a tow truck.
The bad news: the dashboard display lit up like a pinball machine with every bright red warning sign imaginable. STOP VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY seemed to be a message we shouldn’t ignore. Also hard to ignore the smoke pouring out from under the hood.
The good news: we were only ten miles down the road from home when it happened. I caught an Uber ride back home to get the other car while the CE took a peek at the situation and called the tow truck. “There’s oil spraying out of a hose onto the engine”, he said, mystified as to how a completely reliable car could have suddenly begun spewing smoke.
I have my theories, foremost among them being sabotage. There are certain individuals who did NOT want us to leave home. And they look guilty as all get out. Never mind that they’ve never set foot in the garage. We all know that cats can simply engage mind control mode and their every whim is granted.
But an hour later we were back on the road. Good news: evil cat plot thwarted. Bad news: we were just in time to catch Friday traffic.
I don’t even know what “tier” So Cal is in these days but it appears no one is staying at home anymore. All in all, it took us six hours to get to Newport. But the welcome made it all worth it!
So, so great to see Tina and John, the three most beautiful girls in the world, and, of course, Wonder Dog Ace:
And no, still no idea what’s wrong with the car but hey, lockdowns, schlockdowns, they’re (hopefully) in the rear view mirror along with that tow truck. It’s a beautiful day in Newport Beach and we are ready to play!
The show must, and did, and will go on. Great to see all Devirs and to be in Newport. We are looking forward to a wonderful weekend. As for the car, this episode is eerily similar to the other two times that rats ate our cars. Well, not the whole cars but the cute little hoses. This is part of the deal in semi-rural living when you don’t close your garage doors.
My money is still on the cats, not the rats.
ha! randy’s car wouldn’t start when he landed from skiing yesterday! must be in the air! however, it’s a gorgeous day. enjoy newport! ❤️
Oh no! I don’t think we can blame the cats for that one tho.