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Sorry this is a little later than expected, but we’ve been trying to pack in a lot and get caught up on our sleep (that will be explained in a minute!) We decided to be a bit ambitious…we wanted to leave for the Northeast the day we returned home from the Outer Banks so that we could have as much time as possible for our NE trip. When we got home from OBX, we had to go pick up Sandy who was having some work done including the new wheels and tires. We did that, repacked our suitcases, got some food and we were ready!
So we left Chambersburg at 5:40 and were on our way to a campground. I had found one just outside of Allentown – I thought that would be good because it would still be light out for our first overnight in Sandy. We stopped to eat at a Wendy’s close to Allentown and Doug had a different thought – he said let’s just keep driving for a while longer. We also noticed a Cabela’s where there were some RVs parked that we thought were staying the night. We contemplated that but weren’t sure if you were allowed and plus Doug wanted to get a little further. Ok with me – in fact we even thought that maybe we should just drive as far as possible and just get a hotel for the first night.
Now here is where my next tip comes in….
Tip #2 – When using a Tomtom always look at the directions as text first and make sure it’s the way you want to go.
I’ll explain – I’m rather new to using a Tomtom – in fact, Chelsea let us borrow hers for the trip. When I plugged in Concord, MA (our first stop) it gave me a way shorter time than what I’m used to when going to this area. So I thought, “what the heck, let’s follow the Tomtom’s directions.” Well that was a HUGE mistake! We ended up seeing signs for the Holland Tunnel (yes, the tunnel that goes into NYC)! We never get too close to NYC when going to the northeast. So anyway, Doug is flipping out and I’m trying to find another way to go. Well, we don’t have to enter the Holland tunnel and we end up on the New Jersey turnpike, but it’s the part of the turnpike that is just across the river from NYC.
And then it happens… we get caught in bumper to bumper traffic! Poor Sandy – she’s not used to this – she likes back roads and highways are ok as long as you’re moving. So we are inching along and all of a sudden the motor starts revving – Doug holds the brake and tries to give it some gas, then he tried putting it in neutral and tried the same thing – Sandy was not happy. So then she starts smoking a little. Now at this point we realize too that we are low on gas – great! We can’t see an exit and we are on what are called the upper lanes, so there are no exits on that set of lanes for a while anyway. And to make matters even worse, we see a sign that says “shoulder ends in 100 yards.” At this point we are both pretty much flipping out – Doug keeps trying to fix the problem and I keep saying, “You have to pull over now because soon there will be no shoulder to pull over into!” While we are deciding what to do, I look in the rearview mirror and see Sandy really start smoking. Doug says, “I hope the engine doesn’t catch on fire!” To which I scream, “You have to pull over NOW!” (It is now about 12AM.)
Tip #3 – AAA Plus is a must for older vehicles!
So, Doug does pull over and puts on our hazard lights which don’t actually blink, they just stay on. We had enough shoulder left that the two lanes could still get by, thank goodness! So, I took out my AAA card, which I have never in my life been so happy to have! After a series of phone calls to get the right AAA office, we were told a tow truck was being sent. It actually came a lot quicker than we thought. This guy was amazing – he had Sandy up on the rollback in a matter of 5 minutes and we were off. He was driving on the shoulder, cutting across to the lower lanes, and basically just plowing through the traffic to get us to a repair shop. His comment about driving in the city was, “You have to hate your car.” We thought that was pretty funny! When we got to the repair shop, the guy (who is also a mechanic) told us he would check our transmission fluid (while on our way to the repair shop, he was thinking the transmission might be shot, which made me just want to cry – guess we wouldn’t be eating fresh Maine lobster this summer!). When he checked it he said it actually looked fine and that we should try starting her up and see what happens. So we did and she started up just fine! My take on this whole thing was that Sandy wanted out of the NYC traffic and saw how stressed we both were in that traffic that she decided to get us out of there and the only way to do it was to break down! Doug thinks I’m nuts!
By this time it’s after 1AM. We still haven’t gotten gas so the tow truck guy tells us about a rest stop that’s close. So we go there and realize that our right blinker light will not turn off, even when the key is out of the ignition. So we get gas, and then Doug pulls the fuse that controls the signals, but it stays lit. He tries all the fuses that have anything to do with the lights, but the darn light won’t go off. So we decide to go into the rest stop (they have wifi) and look it up. Well, no luck. So then we get back on the road and drive a little more – what the heck!
At this point we are not sure where to stay. We can’t go into a campground now, and we aren’t experienced enough to know just where we can pull Sandy off and sleep! I do call a Hampton Inn but they say they are full. This happened to us before and they let us sleep in the parking lot (in Doug’s truck – ask Katelyn about that one!). So, I go in to find out if we can sleep in the parking lot, but now she tells me she does have a room for $124.95 + tax. I am not spending that much to sleep for a couple hours – that’s ridiculous that you can’t get a discount when checking in that late! So, we drive on – I find a Wal-mart (some of them let you sleep in their parking lots) on the Tomtom (it is handy for that!), but of course we are in the city of White Plains and I can’t even find the parking lot (it must have been a parking garage). So we drive a little farther and I see a sign on the interstate for a park-n-ride. I have Doug check it out – it looks ok – a couple cars parked there – it will work!
Of course, we still have the issue of the right turn signal light stuck on – Doug is afraid if we let it on that it will drain the battery and it will draw attention to us! So, he figures out how to get these amazingly burning hot bulbs out and finally at 4:30AM we get to sleep.
Not a good start to our trip – but quite a long story to tell!!
~Jess
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