I'm sure there were other questions. yet those are the ones that come to mind as I am writing this a couple days later. Now, I'll just get on with the story you all know is coming.
I've been in Oregon with Jasper since the 26th. The 27th, we got up and left the house at 7 a.m. to go see our friend Justin in Baker City. Probably about a four hour drive or so. Well, we were there was some snowy roads, so we were taking it easy, but still making decent time. After maybe 150 miles or so, the RPMs kept spazzing out on us, and lights were flashing on the dashboard. We pulled over, exploring various options. When Jasper opened the hood, I said "this ends my knowledge of how to fix the car". It's true. So, we poked around, Jasper called his parents, and we ended up checking the transmission fluid. There was zero fluid on the dipstick. Turns out we had a leak. That's okay, we will call triple A and get towed to Hermiston where it can't be that hard to fix. So, Jasper walked a ways down the highway to figure out where we were exactly, and the tow truck was on his way. Dave came to save the day, driving us to Hermiston with the car in tow. Only, then he gave us some tough news: All the mechanic shops in Hermiston are closed because it was Sunday.
Enter creative Sean and Jasper. We were dropped off in a mechanic's lot at First and Elm, right across the street from the Wal-Mart with very little hope. After some thinking, we thought we should check with Wal-Mart, so we walked over there and asked if they thought they could help us even though it was out of the realm of "lube and tire" service. They said yes, and hope was kindled once again! We just had to get the car across the street to Wal-Mart. Calling Triple A was a possibility, but did we do that? Of course not. It's just one major street that only takes 11.45 seconds to walk across so surely we can simply push the car across the street. We were poised and ready to do so. I mean, we had the timing of the lights down, we knew approximately how long it would take us, I was prepared to push like I'd never pushed before, and then a truck stops and offers to help. Turns out the guy is a mechanic of sorts, and he quickly assessed the issue: There was a cut in one of the transmission hoses. Wal-Mart could no longer help us. We were a little put out. We called Jasper's mom and she told us we probably needed to get a hotel in Hermiston for the night. Neither of us had any desire to do that. There's no way that our epic trip to visit Justin could end this way.
After trying to think in the car, I suggested we find wifi so I could be somewhat helpful in finding a hotel at least. Eventually, we walked into a starbucks, dejected, and went to work. However, I then thought of searching for mechanics is nearby towns and things like that. No luck. Back to hotels. However, once again determined not to be bested, we discovered the brilliant plan of getting towed to La Grande, and having Justin meet us. The game was on. We called triple A, it was all set, and then they asked our location. I told them we were in the parking lot of a mechanic's shop in Hermiston, and they told us they couldn't tow us. "We can't tow out of a mechanic's shop." "even if I haven't had any correspondence with the mechanic?" "Yeah, we would need some kind of verification" "Can you tow me if I get the car out of this parking lot?" "Yes" "okay, I'll call back". So I jumped out, Jasper steered, and we pushed that car about 500 feet into the next parking lot over, called back, they said someone would do it, and we were set. We went to Subway with a spring in our steps, ate lunch, got a call from triple A saying it would be 2.5 hours until they got to us but that was okay because we were going to Justin! We decided to walk back to the car after eating and after approximately 45 minutes had passed. As we were preparing to cross the street, our buddy Dave from D & R towing in Hermiston was already there getting the car ready to go! We climbed (literally climbed) into the cab and waited for the same driver as before to climb in with us. Off we went in good spirits and a little bit of excitement! Until Dave the driver told us that we might not be able to get through the pass to La Grande, but he would investigate. Investigation occurred, and he determined that it would not be wise, so he took us as far as Pendleton, and left us there.
At this point in the story, I think neither Jasper nor I had any care left. We were just accepting of our circumstances and doing whatever we could to make it through. We googled hotels nearby, settled on the Knight's Inn and walked about a mile in pretty good spirits. I think we were just happy to have a conclusion for the day and to be done trying. We ate dinner at the Rainbow Cafe and called it a night.
I've been in Oregon with Jasper since the 26th. The 27th, we got up and left the house at 7 a.m. to go see our friend Justin in Baker City. Probably about a four hour drive or so. Well, we were there was some snowy roads, so we were taking it easy, but still making decent time. After maybe 150 miles or so, the RPMs kept spazzing out on us, and lights were flashing on the dashboard. We pulled over, exploring various options. When Jasper opened the hood, I said "this ends my knowledge of how to fix the car". It's true. So, we poked around, Jasper called his parents, and we ended up checking the transmission fluid. There was zero fluid on the dipstick. Turns out we had a leak. That's okay, we will call triple A and get towed to Hermiston where it can't be that hard to fix. So, Jasper walked a ways down the highway to figure out where we were exactly, and the tow truck was on his way. Dave came to save the day, driving us to Hermiston with the car in tow. Only, then he gave us some tough news: All the mechanic shops in Hermiston are closed because it was Sunday.
Enter creative Sean and Jasper. We were dropped off in a mechanic's lot at First and Elm, right across the street from the Wal-Mart with very little hope. After some thinking, we thought we should check with Wal-Mart, so we walked over there and asked if they thought they could help us even though it was out of the realm of "lube and tire" service. They said yes, and hope was kindled once again! We just had to get the car across the street to Wal-Mart. Calling Triple A was a possibility, but did we do that? Of course not. It's just one major street that only takes 11.45 seconds to walk across so surely we can simply push the car across the street. We were poised and ready to do so. I mean, we had the timing of the lights down, we knew approximately how long it would take us, I was prepared to push like I'd never pushed before, and then a truck stops and offers to help. Turns out the guy is a mechanic of sorts, and he quickly assessed the issue: There was a cut in one of the transmission hoses. Wal-Mart could no longer help us. We were a little put out. We called Jasper's mom and she told us we probably needed to get a hotel in Hermiston for the night. Neither of us had any desire to do that. There's no way that our epic trip to visit Justin could end this way.
After trying to think in the car, I suggested we find wifi so I could be somewhat helpful in finding a hotel at least. Eventually, we walked into a starbucks, dejected, and went to work. However, I then thought of searching for mechanics is nearby towns and things like that. No luck. Back to hotels. However, once again determined not to be bested, we discovered the brilliant plan of getting towed to La Grande, and having Justin meet us. The game was on. We called triple A, it was all set, and then they asked our location. I told them we were in the parking lot of a mechanic's shop in Hermiston, and they told us they couldn't tow us. "We can't tow out of a mechanic's shop." "even if I haven't had any correspondence with the mechanic?" "Yeah, we would need some kind of verification" "Can you tow me if I get the car out of this parking lot?" "Yes" "okay, I'll call back". So I jumped out, Jasper steered, and we pushed that car about 500 feet into the next parking lot over, called back, they said someone would do it, and we were set. We went to Subway with a spring in our steps, ate lunch, got a call from triple A saying it would be 2.5 hours until they got to us but that was okay because we were going to Justin! We decided to walk back to the car after eating and after approximately 45 minutes had passed. As we were preparing to cross the street, our buddy Dave from D & R towing in Hermiston was already there getting the car ready to go! We climbed (literally climbed) into the cab and waited for the same driver as before to climb in with us. Off we went in good spirits and a little bit of excitement! Until Dave the driver told us that we might not be able to get through the pass to La Grande, but he would investigate. Investigation occurred, and he determined that it would not be wise, so he took us as far as Pendleton, and left us there.
At this point in the story, I think neither Jasper nor I had any care left. We were just accepting of our circumstances and doing whatever we could to make it through. We googled hotels nearby, settled on the Knight's Inn and walked about a mile in pretty good spirits. I think we were just happy to have a conclusion for the day and to be done trying. We ate dinner at the Rainbow Cafe and called it a night.
The next day, Jasper got up early and went down to the mechanic shop to find out that they could get us in early. They proceeded to do so, and then we were on our way back to Madras. Because this post is getting lengthy, I'm going to write a second one about the redeeming qualities of this trip. Jasper and I have had some really cool experiences together, this trip is actually among them.
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