Terre Haute
Three Hundred miles. There was the time I made it this far, limping the last seventy-five miles as the car stalled out three times, before spending the night in a hotel and parking outside the service bay of a Chevy dealer before the sun came up.
Damaged throttle body. I remember when they called them carburetors and you could fix them yourself. Not this one. A cracked oil filler cap let the moisture of a cold February night condense its way through the system to the point where not only the did the engine have to be flushed to get the water out of the oil, but the electronics of the throttle body were fried. I got out of there by noon, with no way to be in time for a two o’clock memorial service another six hundred miles away, so I headed back home.
I’ve made this trip a good dozen times, or more, with few as eventful as that one. I enjoy the nine hundred miles drive to visit with family, especially when I make it past this point with no problems.
passing the hotel
on an uneventful trip
Terre Haute mile marker
The prompt from Sarah (sarahsouthwest) for Journeys – Tuesday Poetics at dVerse is to write about the thoughts or feelings of a particular journey.
Image source: aaroads.com
Vehicles can definitely make journeys more eventful than we might wish.(K)
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I agree, but it sure beats walking 900 miles. 😉
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Probably.
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Oooo, I think I know the relief you feel getting past that point! For us, it’s Big Spring, Texas – site of a big disaster a few years back.
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This was a disaster from the get-go. It broke down after 30 miles. I had it towed to a dealer near my house and fixed. Back on the road by mid-afternoon, I knew I’d be arriving in the middle of the night. I made 300 miles. The next dealer replaced the new throttle body, said that obviously the same thing had happened the first time because my oil cap was cracked (probably happened during my oil change two days earlier) – something my home dealer missed. He submitted it as a failed throttle body under the replacement warranty, saving me more than $300 for a second one.
I just wasn’t meant to make that trip.
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Funny how those memories stay with you 🙂
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All is well, now. The car still runs. In the end, that’s all that matters.
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Some journeys are long and tedious, and wrought with misadventures. I could relate.
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I typically make the trip twice a year, so the whole point of driving is to save airfare & a car rental, but sometimes I wonder…
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Sounds like an experience you could have done without. Will written, Ken.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Sounds like a nightmare. I love your acknowledgement of those internal markers we acquire on long, repeated journeys.
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Thank you, Sarah.
Sometimes I’ll drive for miles on one of those trips without radio or music, just because the time is great for processing, but familiar sights remind me I’m that much closer to seeing family.
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events that seemed determined to prevent you going forward on that journey, sometimes i wonder if our subconscious has power over the present. i have had such an experience where anything that could go wrong did and admit i gave up easily, somethings aren’t meant to be.
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Sometimes it pays to read the signs.
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Old cars. You could fix a broken fan belt with a pair of your wife’s stockings so the water pump would still work and that would keep it going ’til you got to the next town. I remember cars like that. Great post Ken.
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Or at least have her push the car so you could get it started! 😉
Thanks you, sir.
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I haven’t been to Terre Haute, but we used to take our daughter to Indiana University in Bloomington. It’s a beautiful part of Indiana.
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Straight across I-70 for us, but it’s a nice ride.
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I remember the last road trip we set out to do… it ended after 10 km… so cancelling was the only choice. No memorial service missed though…
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If it’s a matter of odds, I’m glad to have that bad day out of the way.
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I can relate to how major mechanical failure in a car can leave a kind of stain on a particular route – particularly of a journey we make often. You wrote it very well. I particularly like the haiku at the end.
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Thank you, Suzanne.
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I bet you love getting past that point! Nice description of an unforgettable ride.
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Thanks!
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For us the halfway point is Kearney NE…know the elation! Sorry you missed the memorial service…
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Thank you, Lynne. Those familiar way points make the trip easier.
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Sounds like a hellish one Ken. At least you got back in one piece.
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Yes, and lived to tell the tale! 😉
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A good thing😊
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