23-HOUR DRIVE TO CHARLOTTE

Last week I decided to take a couple days off work and make a long-weekend trip down to North Carolina to the brother and sister-in-law's new house.


The plan: leave work around 3p.m. on thursday, drive 9ish hours to NC, stay through Sunday and drive back Monday morning. 


I should've known something was bound to happen when I had ruined my plan right off the bat by not leaving work until 4:30; but with a newly fixed car after my blown-up EGR valve 10 days ago, snacks, caffeine, Pam, and a fully-loaded ipod I was ready to go and could foresee only a smooth trip in my future.


I was wrong.


My trusty car made it a good 7 hours when it decided to die again. The same dang EGR valve busted for the second time in 2 weeks at 12a.m. midnight, on the side of highway I-85, in the middle of Henderson, NC, 3 hours away from where I needed to be.


Freak out on the side of the road? Yes please, I think I will.


But God is good and my dad is the perfectly opposite and calming personality to my overreactive personality. He talked me through snailing(?) my way to the next exit to find a gas station which could then direct me to a hotel for the night. On my way to the hotel I passed a Ford dealership (score) and the sweet southern lady at the hotel gave me 50% off my room (double score)!


On friday I was able to get my car over to the dealership, get a rental for the weekend, and after 23 hours, finally arrived in Charlotte!


Now fingers crossed that the car is fixed once and for all by monday in time for me to pick it up on my way back home...