Family Vacation: First Attempt

Thursday

By about 4 pm, our 'new' Montero that arrived only Monday was packed full and ready to go south to Cannon Beach. The kids were secure in their car seats, and Oscar had a bed in the back. Rain was beginning to drizzle down, but we didn't care. We had planned for it by packing plenty of board games, puzzles, hot cocoa and slippers. We were so excited to get away.

Well, about 45 minutes south of Seattle, we started hearing and feeling a lot of bumps and bangs under the car. Within seconds, our car came to a screeching halt in the middle of the carpool lane on I-5. And when I say 'screeching'...that's what I mean! We left tire tracks for 20 feet. Clay forced it several more feet (burning rubber the whole way) so that we could squeeze onto the shoulder. That was it, the car wasn't moving another inch.

We looked at each other for a few minutes in utter disbelief. What just happened?

Let's see...we were stuck just inches out of the lane that large buses use, on the outer edge of a curve in the highway. It was now pouring rain and getting darker by the minute. Oh, and cars were picking up speed as rush hour fizzled out. Both kids were getting restless in the back.

Thank goodness for the age of cell phones. In fact, at this moment of desperation, we could've been a commercial for the G1 phone. We each pulled ours out and started searching and dialing. Clay got on the Internet, searching for Mitsubishi dealerships and towing companies. Meanwhile, I got on Google Maps, found our exact location via GPS (it happened to be a heavily wooded area...no land marks to reference), called 911 with the info and got in touch with the cab driver coming to rescue us. Yes, on that day, our phones really made us proud!

Now everything was squared away, and we began the most anxious waiting game I have ever experienced. A steep embankment dropped off of the shoulder we were on, so we literally had no where to take cover, but inside our busted car. We were waiting for a tow truck, a cab, and a state patrol officer...all of which took their sweet time in getting to us. I had my eyes glued to the side mirror and Clay's were fixed on the rear view mirror. My heart skipped a beat with each car that flew by, merely inches from everything that matters to me. When the buses came by, our whole car rocked violently, and I jumped every time. I was quickly becoming a nervous wreck. I've never felt so completely helpless in my entire life.

Finally, a state patrol officer arrived, along with the tow truck. The cab driver was obviously flaking on us, and the officer wasn't going to wait any longer. So he had me and the two kids climb into his back seat and he whisked us away from danger. This was Koen's first, and hopefully last, ride in the back seat of a patrol cruiser! He was smiling the whole way. I, however, was not. A) the guy was driving super fast for some reason, passing all cars in his path, and B) he had me just 'set' the car seats in the small back area...not buckled in at all! And when I tried to find my seat belt he said, "Don't worry about that ma'am." So suddenly, I went from feeling safe, to fearing for our lives AGAIN!

He took us to the Marie Calendar's off the next exit and told us to have a piece of pie while we waited for another cab? I carried Finn in his car seat into the lobby, and Officer Friendly picked up Koen's car seat (with Koen still strapped in) and proceeded to follow me. Yes, Koen screamed in terror the whole way. I don't blame him, it was a very odd experience.

Phew! Now we were just a 45 minute cab ride from real safety...our home. The cab driver was nice, a grandma who helped me install the car seats. Finn cried most of the way home, he was starving. Too make matters even worse, the tow truck driver locked Clay's keys, our dog and the address for the dealership in our car before they even left the highway. Why not?

After the cab driver dropped us off, I quickly fed both kids, put them in their pajamas, and headed back out in the rain to pick up Clay and Oscar at the dealership thirty minutes away. It was a very long and late night for all of us.

At home, I held my little ones close, so thankful that everything turned out o.k. That night, we slept under our own roof, rather than at the beach house that awaited us. And even though our vacation plans seemed to have derailed, we were together and safe. Sometimes, it takes a nightmare like that to remind us of the little things that make life sweet.

To be continued....