I did more laundry and tried to clean up a bit before Mom came to pick me up today. After she arrived, we went grocery shopping, then went out to eat. We stopped by IHOP, which turned out to be right next to PetSmart, so after we finished eating (I had a yummy chocolate and banana crepe), we went in there so I could buy new bacteria substitute liquid stuff for the frog tank, since I had run out last week. We also came home with two more frogs, so now there are a total of three living at my place!
I floated the frog bag in the fishtank water while I finished packing up and did dishes, and we said hello to Demetria's friend who had come over to watch a movie ("Hairspray"), since they're both in a scene for it in their opera song compilation presentation thing, and he had never seen it before. Then Mom and I said good-bye and headed for home!
Our trip was fine at first. We drove normally, as you would expect. But after we'd been on the freeway for awhile, Mom started panicking a bit. The car had jolted and shaken for a moment. Then the battery light had come on in the van. She asked me to call Dad, so I did, and he said his only advice was to hurry home as quickly as we could, and not to turn off the car in case we weren't able to get it running again.
Then things got weirder. More and more lights began to flicker on, including the airbag light and teh brake light. The car's clock stopped working, and both the gas tank dial and the speedometer dropped down to zero, even though we were still moving on the freeway at seventy miles an hour.
Anyway, we drove like that for a time, and made it all the way off the freeway and started heading for home. Unfortunately, we got caught at this light here, and had to come to a stop. When the light turned green, Mom floored the gas pedal, and the van barely inched across the intersection. We made it this far before it gave out.
Several people stopped to see if they could help us (especially since we were blocking part of a lane) to no avail. The electricity seemed to be dead. The sliding side doors wouldn't open, and we couldn't even put hazards on. Nor could we shift the car out of park and into neutral so people could push it into the gas station just on the right. Fun.
We called Dad, who called the nearby Honda dealers who had looked at the van two weeks ago, and were just down the street. They said they couldn't provide us with a tow truck. Dad couldn't come and see us himself, because Stockton had the car for diving today (though in the end, Stockton was told to come home, and Dad took the car and came). Mom's childhood friend Brian Leatherwood stopped by and stayed for awhile, but his wife and babies were waiting in the car, so eventually he had to get going again.
As you can see. eventually a nice policeman came by to check out the scene. He said someone had called us in because we were blocking traffic. At least we didn't stop in the intersection! It was a long time before the tow truck arrived, but eventually it did, and Dad showed up immediately after. We were able to follow our car to the tow truck place, and Mom and Dad signed some papers or looked at something while I waited in the car for a bit.
Finally, we were able to make it home- after stopping for pizza, of course. It's difficult for me to get Little Caeser's on campus given that I don't have a car, so I enjoy eating pizza when I can.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, as well as watching the first episode of "Monk" so that I could answer questions about it for an extra credit report in abnormal psychology. The car is in the shop now, which might prove to be a problem, but at least it makes for a good story to tell!
