Adding some Frosting to the Cake

Saturday, I woke up to find that Dad had already left and breakfast was just about ready. After breakfast, Dad called me from Arby's and announced that Dana's car was piled high with gifts and he didn't have any keys. (What a temptation for a thief!) Dana and Joe had already left and we didn't want to contact them unless it was absolutely essential! He had given the last set to Joe the previous night. I contacted the best man and found out that Dan still had the keys. I tried contacting Dan, but he wouldn't answer his phone! Finally, several hours later Dan contacted me and his friend met us at Arby's with the keys. Dad called Arby's and told the manager about the situation.

The plan was to get Dana's car running long enough to get it too our house in Roca approximately 15 miles southeast. With that goal in mind, Dad got behind the wheel and attempting starting the engine. The engine didn't even turn over. So I pulled the truck in a position to jump start Dana's car. After a successful jump, Dad began slowly driving Dana's car out of the Shopko parking lot. He had almost reached the light in the left turn lane when the engine died again. So I pulled up in front of him with the truck and again we jumped the car. Again, the engine roared to life! Dad got going again and I got myself turned around to follow him. None too soon, because someone had called the cops on us and the patrol drove by soon after Dad had left.

My phone rang again. Dad was calling to tell me he was eastbound on hwy 2 and the engine died a second time. I happened to be in the wrong lane on 27th to turn right, so I had to again get turned around before I could rescue dad again. Finally I got behind dad and Dana's car, but then saw my opportunity to get in front and back up to him. Apparently we hadn't communicated very well because Dad wanted me behind the car. So I again turned around and Dad devised a new plan.

This time I would come behind him with the truck, Dad would put Dana's car in neutral and I would literally push him down hwy 2. (bumper to bumper) haha... That was fun! A little tricky because Dad was the steering wheel in Dana's car and I was the gas in the truck. Just past the light near Union Bank, there was a side road into the neighborhood that we aimed to take. As we neared the road, I let go of the car and dad gracefully coasted it off the highway and onto the side street.

There we checked under the hood to investigate the problem. The first culprit was the battery. O'reillys Auto Parts was just up the street and we took the old battery to be tested. After a couple minutes in the tester the salesmen informed us that the battery didn't even have enough voltage left to be tested. It was most likely a toasted battery. But what had toasted the battery the first time? The second culprit was the alternator. (I later learned that the alternator is the part responsible for charging the battery while the car is running.) We bought a new battery for Dana and used it to test the alternator. The test was negative, but thankfully it would hold enough of a charge for Dad to drive it home and replace it. YAY!

Dad went home, and I ran a few errands. That day I was in the mall for the third time in two weeks!! Pretty impressive I should say. lol ;) Well, that ends the week of fun, and excitement. Hope you enjoyed it!

Some last few notes about Dana and Joe. They planned their honeymoon together several months in advance and had together purchased tickets to Puerto Rico! They had gotten a really good deal on them but it was also non-refundable. Their flight left from Chicago. After their wedding and reception, they went to Chicago expecting to be in Puerto Rico Sunday night. Unfortunately, bad news awaited them. Their flight was canceled to due bad weather and the airline refused to refund their money or book them for the next flight to Puerto Rico. :( They were simply devastated! But I am positive they still had a wonderful time with each other spending their first white Christmas together. :)

So yes, these are the posts that I have been piecing together the past several days. Combined, it was only 5,420 words! hehe... Hope you enjoyed it and give yourself a treat if you managed to read it all!