Catch-up! Watermelon! Kayaking!

I said I'd update you, but I failed to do so. Sorry. I'll update you now.

At the time of our last post, the car was broken down again. Turns out they had just forgotten to tighten a hose or something. They fixed it and we haven't had any car problems since. Life has been so much simpler since all of that stuff.

Heidi and I have been making ice cream lately. It is the best thing ever. So far we've made raspberry sorbet, blueberry sorbet, peppermint ice cream, coconut ice cream, peach/blackberry swirl ice cream, and watermelon sorbet. All were amazing. The coconut was pretty heavy. For the peppermint we had to crush 30 or so of those little peppermint candy things with a hammer. It was about 11 pm at the time (wasn't tired) and I don't think our neighbors appreciated that. The watermelon was best. It actually looked like just squished watermelon, but it tasted incredible. I wish we had taken a picture.

But it looked exactly like this.

We've still been adventuring in D.C. It's been incredibly hot and humid for the Summer, though, so we haven't gotten out as much as we'd like. But last weekend we went kayaking in a little canal right next to the Potomac. The water was perfectly still and there was a pleasant breeze. It was wonderful. Except this fly hitched a ride in my kayak and kept biting my legs for like an hour. It was unkillable. Karma?

Not pictured: Beelzebub

Most importantly, my little brother got married. The wedding was gorgeous. Here are some pictures.

I promise I'll do better with posting more often. Trust me.

Hiding in a ditch on the side of the road

A bit has happened since the last post. I'm not too happy about it.

I left off where we dropped our beloved car off at Gill's Automotive. The next day we called them up to see what the damage was. We were told that the engine was blown, they had no idea how it happened, and they were 100% sure it was not their fault. A new engine would be $5000.

I'm pretty sure that was a lie on their part, but I'll never know. I replied saying that wasn't going to happen, at which point they said their insurance would be calling us.

Long story short, Gill's insurance paid for a new Jasper engine. For insurance purposes they accepted the blame. They had replaced the timing belt, clutch, and a couple other things. It doesn't really matter whose fault it is as long as I've got a new engine.

I drove the fixed car out of the shop last Tuesday, and was so relieved that it felt the same. Then today we drove the car to the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was nice.

In happier times.

On the way back there was a pretty good traffic jam on the freeway due to an accident. It was stop-and-go for about 20 minutes. We passed by the accident (didn't look too bad) and I switched to fifth gear, excited to be cruising again.. But the car wouldn't speed up. In fact, it was slowing down. We lurched a little and my power steering gave out, then the car just stalled. All the lights on my dashboard shined at me with enthusiasm. I rolled to the left shoulder.

GIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

I didn't actually say that. But I should have. It was more like "GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

It was able to start again several times, but each time it would stall once I brought it down to idle. So we called AAA again. They said we can only call them one more time this year. Mr. Tow came right after it got dark - only a few minutes after my battery died so all my lights went off. In the dark. On the side of a busy freeway. I tried to light my emergency roadside flares, but we couldn't read the dark-blue-on-red instructions.

We didn't walk home from Gill's this time. We had the tow truck guy drive us over.

We'll see what Gill's says in the morning. Again, I'm not paying for it.

The Orange Car

I never would have thought that a material possession could be so important. But the thought of losing it is hard for me to imagine.

I got the car for my high school graduation in 2003. At the time it was a brand new Mazda Protege Speed. It's always been so... orange. It's a manual. No cruise-control. And the dashboard is wonderfully old-school. No electronics are visible. It's really a very awesome car. Up until now it has never even threatened to break down. It's needed routine maintenance, sure, but nothing more for the last eight years.

Driving the car on that back road to Mivoden has always been one of my favorite things. The car isn't built much for speed, but it can corner like nothing else. It's like it's leaning into the corners before I even start turning. You can feel the road. I had to work very hard to slide the back tires going around the tight corners at 45 mph. But I managed it a couple times. That car can handle any corner at well over twice the speed recommended by those "optional" yellow signs.

On my first date with Heidi I was driving us to Olive Garden with a TV in the backseat (no idea why). I was kind of showing off my driving skills until I hit a corner really hard and the TV blew through my right passenger window. I almost cried on our first date, and I am so glad it happened.

Heidi and I drove off in that car after our wedding.

For our first Summer as a married couple I took some classes at the Rosario Beach Marine Station. For the trip there we crammed every single thing we owned into that car. It rode a little low for the six-hour drive, but didn't seem any worse for the wear. And it handled the drive back to Walla Walla - again loaded with everything - just fine.

Our drive across the country last September to Virginia definitely put some miles on the car. It started making some worrisome noises, so we sent it into the shop a couple weeks ago. Turned out we needed to replace the clutch and a few bearings in the transmission. Then we got the car back today. I was so relieved to be driving it again. We drove two miles to Lowe's to get a flower pot and some screws for our dresser. Then as I started pulling out of the parking lot I felt the clutch jiggling a bit, then this awful screeching sound, then the car died. I tried to start it again but only got more awful sound, so I decided I better not try to start it anymore.

We called AAA to get a tow-truck. The tow-guy tried turning the key and listened to the sound, then sort of braced himself against the seat. In his New York/hillbilly hybrid accent he informed me that the car sounded "real bad" and he wouldn't be surprised if the whole engine was shot to bits. He liked the color though.

But what does he know? He's probably wrong. The car is going to be okay.

He took the car and Heidi and I to the repair shop where the car had just been "fixed" over the last week. Unfortunately the shop was closed for the evening. Heidi and I opted for him to leave us there and we walked home. It was only a mile, I think, but it felt like a long walk. The rain did not lift our spirits.

It's pretty obvious that the folks at the shop broke something, so I'm hoping that they'll fix it and cover the cost. But I'm also worried that the damage is irrepairable. And the implications of that got me thinking.

I never thought that an object could have such an effect on me. Without the car I'll still have my memories, but it's like I wouldn't be connected to them anymore. It would be like none of it actually happened.

We're so far away from most of the people we know and love (aside from those new friends we've made here, who have made our time here so far very pleasant). And we got here - so far away - in that car. It's like our only connection back. Without the car, home won't feel like it was ever really there. That last connection would be severed. Every major event in my life since high school has sort of centered around that car. It's part of my identity.

But we don't know it's dead yet. I'll bike over to the shop tomorrow morning and talk to them about it. I just have to sleep first.

Such a cool car