Sunday July 31, 2005

Don and I decided a road trip was in order for Sunday. Beautiful weather, blue sunny skies, time to talk and reconnect with each other as we often head out the door with the Jeep gassed up, a cooler of refreshments and often, no particular destination in mind. Yesterday was one of those days!

We decided "Head West" was the theme of the day, believing we'd drive to Lima, OH for a late lunch/early dinner. Upon arriving in Lima, neither of us yet too hungry, we drove West some more. Coming up to the first Fort Wayne, Indiana exit # 25, we decide to venture in to see what awaits us to discover.

True to form, our adventure began with a rear driver's side flat tire as we exit the ramp! Upon coasting slowly to a safe edge of the roadway, we stop. Exit the vehicle, drag out the necessary tools and supplies, along with the spare tire and proceed to change the flat. Both of us were totally taken off guard when we quickly realized our 4 way would not change the metal self-tightening lug nut caps. So down comes the jack, tools and spare go back into the Jeep as we prepare to trek the quarter mile down the road to a Meijer's to purchase the tools we need, when suddenly an angel appears in the form of a nice young man who has a jack and a 4 way that fits! Brian, the greatest thing we've seen since sliced bread, helped Don and I change the tire, made certain we were ready to go again; accepts our heartful "Thank You's" so graciously, and declines our offer to pay him for his services. We promised in our travels, we would offer assistance --- which we do anyways, to other "stranded travelers." What comes around goes around, certainly applied here.

So now, we are HOT! It was at least 90 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and we spent at least a half-hour changing the flat over to the spare. We drive down the road to the Meijer's we previously planned to hike to, to put air in the spare as it hadn't been used in so long. Neither of us were prepared for what happened next. Directly across the road is a Super WalMart, with you guessed it, a Tire Center! So over we go, to get the flat looked at. Luckily, it can be fixed and while waiting we walked to a Golden Corral and Buffet for a nice steak but more importantly, a tall, cold iced tea and air conditioning! While we enjoy our dinner, our spare is being changed back to the original tire; allowing us some peace of mind. We start making a list of items we'll need as we make our way to visit my brother, John, who lives in Charlotte, NC for our vacation plans in September. Upon returning to WalMart to pay for the services, we purchase a 2 ton jack, and a 4 way that fits!