Interstate Adventures

Yesterday it was time for the Gypsies 3 (as I call us) to go to coast and clean up the yard at our home there. It was quite a warm day and I was rather wet with good old salty sweat by the time I finished the mowing and weed eating. Such fun activities! Anyhoo, the marketing agent and company is having an Open House there tomorrow morning and the yard needed attention. While there we or I, rather, did some inside primping -- like clean the toilets, dust, and vacuum.

And oh, I forgot to mention when I got there the AC was not working "up to snuff" so I called the repairman and took care of that problem.

Since I did not get there until afternoon it was dusk by the time I prepared to leave. One must observe that the days are getting shorter! Having had nothing to eat since toast for breakfast I stopped by the Mc Hardees and picked up a drink and a little nourishment. After that I filled the tank with gasoline which incidently was 345.9 in Wilmington but had cost me 367.9 in Raleigh when I topped off the tank. Go figure!!!! I don't get the price difference.

But on to the adventures---By the time I left the little town and got on I-40 it had gotten dark.

I set my cruise control, got my radio / cd player all set and my girls nestled down in their little dog seats for the next 130 miles back to the capital city. For the next 20 or so miles I chomped on my "ham sammich" and drove along. All at once my CRV started to shimmy like rock 'n roll

and making this horrific noise like I can't describe --- truly like rim hitting the pavement. I was braking and slowing as I tried to figure which tire had gone flat. At this point I start pulling right trying to get off the road but certainly not venture down that embankment not knowing what could be over there. You know those awful ridges along the pavement designed to wake you up should you be falling to sleep ---well, the noise running over those ridge things was ever more horrendous as I cleared the pavement and tried to get far enough off the pavement to be out of danger.

I reached for my phone, called first my sister, then called AAA Carolinas and asked the person on duty to send first a highway patrolman to stay with me while she sent the AAA attendant to change my tire. I was scared "spitless" out there in the dark by myself until the patrolman arrived but he was not long in arriving. From that point on it all went very well considering the circumstances. Trooper Duff with the Highway Patrol was a truly nice young man only interested in helping. I believe he is stationed in Wallace, NC. The AAA representative was a very nice young man who changed my tire quickly and I was on my way home. I was fortunate -- my AAA membership paid for itself last evening -- and the helpers got to me quickly -- although the girl on duty at AAA did not have the correct phone numbers to contact the highway patrol at first. She had to get the phone numbers from the Pender County Sheriff's Department.

By the way this is not an advertisement for AAA but simply my experiences from using their services when otherwise I would have been desperate.

We actually left the Wilmingon area about 7:20 pm and arrived home in Raleigh about 10:40 pm. Not too bad for the experiences we had during that time.

As for the tires -- I might add they are Michelin HydroEdge tires ---top of the line and guaranteed for 90,000 miles. I have had them rotated every other oil change. Thus far, I have put 24, 588 miles on them since having them put on my vehicle. So, I don't think I need to to explain my confusion about this top of the line tire!!

Am trying to decide what kind of tires I will buy next to put on my little CRV but I don't think it will be Michelin. I think I am lucky to be alive.