OK. It has been a while. A month. A fast month.
Brief overview of road trip picking up where I left off - bedding down the first night just outside of Bakersfield -- car gave us a check engine light then went off after we pulled over to investigate. Stopped at motel 6 - Maria went into room and I crawled in the back with the boys.
It was kind of toasty back there, even with the front windows down a little and the back ones cracked a bit. I curled up, head resting on the comforter draped over the back of the red cat carrier and my feet on the wheel well on the opposite side of the Jeep. I woke up about 3 hours later and really had to go. I was right next to the litter box and it was kinda tempting but I figured I should not invade the boys space that much. I called Maria (she was real happy about that) and she came down and helped me get out of the jeep. I had to crawl over the small single level round cat condo that was bungeed into the corner. I went in and then we both got ready and were on the road by about 6 am. It was suppose to be in the upper 90’s and low 100’s and around 116 in the Mojave and I was worried about the Jeep surviving the low mountains in the heat so we pulled out real early.
I was real worried about the car handling the heat. I was, very literally, checking the gauges ever 1.5 to 2 minutes. I realized I was checking it pretty often and when I started checking the time each time, I noticed I was a tad bit compulsive about it. Well, if anything changed, I would have been on it! We reached the last little town before the Mojave around noon. The last 2 hours before getting there, I was pretty anxious about crossing the desert in the day. I decided we would stop in that little town and stay until night and drive with the cooler temps. I kept having visions of all of us dying from heat out there if the car had an issue. I went to check us into the motel - you had to go to the gas station to check in - and the guy asked if I had a dog. I said no and we proceeded to talk about dogs with me professing that I was not that fond of them. Curious conversation.
We went across the street, turned up the a/c in the room- it was freakin hot outside - and proceeded to squirrel the cats into the room along with their supplies. I had no idea how they would do in a strange motel room and figured they would not come out from under the bed. In fact, I worried about how to retrieve them from under the bed when we needed to go. So, I put the liter box right next the foot of my bed so they could feel safe in getting to it. I also lined their food up along the wall in the 7 inches between the bed and the wall. Maria and I went across the parking lot to have some lunch, came back and went to sleep. Well, she slept and I dozed. Sleep was not coming easily but I do think I got a good stretch in of about 5 hours.
Jaz showed himself and generally made himself at home. Snuggie wasn’t so comfortable, but did come out and explore and Tashi was the most reluctant but I did see him out a bit. Well, I could have put the liter box in the bathroom and they would have been fine. I, however, didn’t. When I woke up and started to get ready to pull out, there was, not one, but two piles of liter on the carpet on both side of the litter box. Jaz likes to dig. Fortunately, I had kept out a small hand broom and dust pan and my dust buster. I retrieved them from the cargo carrier on the top of the car and cleaned it up. Future stops would have the liter box in the bathroom.
The boys barely made a sound while we were in the car. Really. They did not throw up like I expected either. Jaz was the most comfortable and he would lay on the top of the red cat carrier or on top of the carpeted round condo and look out the window. Sometimes he would lay on the “ground” between the 2 and as close to the pet barrier as he could get. Snuggie inserted himself in the red carrier, which is pretty much where he stayed. Tashi wound himself up inside that little carpeted cat condo and stayed put. I worried about him having a heat stroke. That little thing was hot inside. I even took to moving him into the motel rooms by just picking up the cat condo and carrying it inside, keeping the opening to my stomach as I walked between the car and room. They did really well. Should I have been as fortunate.
We headed out for the Mojave around midnight, I think. It was 1:13 a.m. when I crossed the CA state line leaving home. Not that I was paying attention or anything. Visceral responses are kinda hard to miss though. The temperature varied through the desert from upper 70’s to low 90’s and sometimes it changed pretty quickly. Yes, I was neurotically checking the Jeep’s built in thermometer every couple of minutes. We made the desert without incident.
We had some more weird things happen with the car, like it would briefly hesitate and then pick right back up when Maria was driving and using the a/c. We went without the a/c as much as was reasonable to prevent too much strain on the old girl.
Frankly, much of the rest is a blur. We mostly slept in the evening and drove in the wee hours. By the time we were getting close to Albuquerque, the car was clearly having a problem that needed to be dealt with. We decided to go to those auto parts stores and have them check the alternator and battery. We stopped in downtown A, and visited 3 places. As I recall, one said the alternator and battery were fine, one said the alternator was bad and one said the idler pulley was bad. I might be wrong. I didn’t sleep much on this trip.
Well, we decided to drop the cats off at a motel and take the car into a shop. It was Friday afternoon. We dropped the cats in another motel 6 and I noticed they had a one pet limit. Oops. Our room was right across from the laundry and a few doors from the office and across from the housekeeping supply room. The window went floor to ceiling and for some reason, Jaz and Snuggie insisted on sitting in the window between the curtain and glass for all the world (and management) to see. I was sooooooo happy about that. What happened to cowering under the beds????????????????
Well, Maria and I were starved and committed to eating crap road trip food so we cruised up to the Taco Hell and got in line. I was worried about the car overheating so I had Maria turn the engine off while we waited to get our “food.” We collected our order and headed off toward the repair shop the autoparts store told us about. Maria was driving. She was recalling her mom’s alternator going out on her some years back and how she could not control the car. I was looking for the correct road to turn on when I looked down and noticed the needle on the speedometer going totally whacky. Up to 50 and then down to 3 and up to 35 and we were going a steady 20 mph right about then. Just as I said something to Maria she did the “oh shit all the gauges are gone” and thank my daddy, off to the right about 100 yards up the road was a Firestone or a Big O Tire, cannot recall, anyway, it was a beacon of hope.
Maria careened over 2 lanes to the right. Fortunately there were no cars to delay us. We pulled in at just about 4:58 pm and turned the engine off. When the mechanic came out to check it out (they close at 5 on Fridays…) it would not start. Nice. Well, it was the alternator and they said they would stay and fix it. Just under $500, but hey, the guy was working overtime and I really wasn’t keen on being stuck there until sometime mid-day Saturday while the car was worked on.
We headed out sometime after having slept some (not nearly enough though, poor Maria). My hope was to make it to Tulsa (but really to get to Springfield, MO.) by Saturday night. Adding oil every half a tank, and having car trouble really slows you down on time… we had stopped a few times to just let the car rest and to see if we could see the cause for the check engine light that was sporadic. That is a pretty freaking vague warning light…
Well, as I have done in other road trips, I was committed to only relieving bodily functions as I crossed the Texas panhandle (no offense Kelley- luv ya!), and that is what we did. We blew through there with just stops to take care of nature. We did spot a Kia Rio, kinda rust colored and I thought that was amusing. It was my first sighting of a real one.
We pressed on and was shooting for Springfield to spend the night. Well, we had a hard time finding a room in Springfield (very near Branson) on a Saturday night. Well, one that wasn’t 10 feet from a main (and noisy) drag, one that didn’t reek of smoke, or one that was close enough to the car to get the cats to and fro and one that did not have a room above it. I barely slept in A, the folks upstairs were real noisy. Maria, by the way, could apparently sleep through an air raid. Either that, or my lack of sleeping had just worn her down. Well, this is the point at which sheer stupidity and punchiness just took the help. Maria was driving. We were outside a motel that was not an option and I noticed water under the car when I came back out from the office. It was about 11 pm and I determined it was a/c water.
We went on a hunt that took us miles further down the highway. We stopped at a motel and I went in to ask about a room. The guy looked at me and asked me if I had pets. Huh? No one ever asked me that before. Being very tired and not totally sharp, I said yes I had cats. “How many?” Um, “3.” “No way.” Great…….
Back in the car and on to the next place. I go inside and this man asked me if I have pets. WTF? I mean, seriously. No one asks me that normally. I even had Maria parking way down from the office so they could not see the pet barrier, and it was dark out. I gulped and noticed the sign that said pets must be declared. Relieved, I said “yes, cats.” “How many.” Quick math. Ok, as quick as I could under the compromised conditions. I decided I had 2. Jaz and Tashi look enough alike that most people cannot tell them apart unless they are around for a little while. “no.” Huh??? I was desperate. I leaned on his counter, very worn out and pleaded for a room. I started to get whiny, really. I said we have been driving since the wee hours this morning. I have to drive all the way to Ohio. I am moving. We need a place to sleep. Mr. Compassionate says “no, try the motel 6 across the street.” I dejectedly return to the car.
We go to the motel 6. The office is dark and there is no sign of human life or a way to rouse it. We drive on. Maria presses on down a side road that is industrial, highly industrial. I suggest getting back on the highway that parallels this industrial little road. Apparently she meant to, but missed the tiny sign pointing the way. We make it back on the highway and head to another motel. Once again, I go in and get rejected. I want to cry. I am exhausted and have taken to calling Maria “Kelley.” Well, I plead with Kelley to go into the next motel office as I just cannot lie about the cats. Just cannot do it. Kelley, more commonly know as Maria, comes out of the next room dangling keys. I had fallen asleep while she was in there. I was elated. Good work Maria Kelley!
Once we got into the room and got the cats inside, I had the experience of looking in the mirror. I was wearing a green long sleeve fleece shirt. The think was fuzzy with cat hair. I started to laugh like a maniac. No wonder everyone was grilling me about pets. I looked like a cat with all that hair on me. I could not figure out why they kept asking me about pets. I guess it was the pet hair all over me…
I just realized I left out our getting stuck in traffic on the north side of Oklahoma City earlier that day. It was not pretty. Poor Maria. It was hot, hot, hot and we came to a crawl. I thought it would ease back up in just a minute or two, you know how urban highways do sometimes. Well, after about 3 minutes I noticed liquid vapors coming from the car engine. SHIT. Off with the a/c immediately and pull on the shoulder. Lift the hood. Water level is fine, so what is the problem. F. F. F. Get back in the car, get back in the stopped traffic with both front windows down and the heat building up in the car.
Jaz is, in my estimation, panting himself into his last moments of life. Tashi and Snuggie are still lodged in their carriers. I am a frantic mess. Maria is telling me that cats are desert animals. Yea, I think, but not my pantywaist longhaired babies. I was getting overheated so I could only imagine what they were doing. Maria had bought a small pet fan back in A and we had it blowing on them, but it wasn’t a real strong fan. I got out of the car (we weren’t going anywhere) and asked the trucker behind us what the story was. Accident clean up. Back up of about a mile. I get back in the car, relieved. It took forever and I think I lost 3 lbs to worry, but we did ok. Maria thinks I am a wimp. Well, I have too much invested in driving the tumblefurs to Ohio to let them get heat stroke. I actually had her test them for hydration. Yup. Human kids are so much easier. This different species thing is hard to gauge.
Anyway. We spend a real night, a full one, much to Maria’s delight at this motel somewhere between Springfield, MO and St. Louis. We get up, refreshed and ready to roll. There is antifreeze under the front of the car. NICE. Well, we take it to an autoparts store (it is Sunday) and the guys notices one of the hoses is not tight. Yeah! But, he is worried about the screeching noise. He says he’d get that idler pulley replaced. Not sure how much farther we can go on it and if it stops, everything stops. Ain’t that nice?
Well, we find a Firestone about 30 minutes to the East of us, not at all out of the way and we go back to the motel, load up the cats and head for the Firestone. After missing the exit a few times, we get it and then we struggle to find the Firestone. The road ends at the gate to a military base. We pull up to the guard house to ask them for directions. Turns out the darn thing is on the base. Now, here is the fun part. They wave our asses on through and tell us to go to the next little building and they will give us a map and tell us how to find it. They did. Nobody looked at a damn thing in the car, well, except for the cats in the back. Now, we just drove onto a military base with not even so much as them looking at a damn thing. Talk about your “Homeland Security.”
We got the idler pulley replaced and the guy said it did need to be replaced (it was only about $80) but, he said the real problem is either the water pump or the power steering. Nice nice nice. He did say that we should have no problem getting to Ohio just as we were and that it could be months before the water pump or the power steering went out. Whew. We were in and out in about 2 hours and the boys just sat in their carriers in the waiting room with us without making a peep. We had put them in the carriers in the motel room and they did meow the whole 30 mile drive to the repair shop.
The key to driving with cats is to not keep the carriers shut, give them the option of getting out and they will be quiet.
With a new idler pulley and a souvenir map of the military base, we pulled out headed for Dayton, or bust. It was about 1:30 on Sunday afternoon. The only weather we hit in the whole trip was 10 minutes worth of a down pour in St. Louis. The rest was just hot. Lucky, very lucky.
We stopped at an Arby’s for dinner and, tada, they serve Diet Dr. Pepper. I was happy. It wasn’t taking much at this point.
Well, we rolled into Cincinnati about midnight and Maria was greeted by her dogs, a few cats and her wonderful Christi. I headed for the last stretch, about 45 minutes north, to Dayton.
I was fine, that is until about ¾ of a mile from mom and dad’s house. Then it hit me and it hit me real hard. My whole body shook so hard it hurt, it was painful, excruciatingly painful. More so than I had prepared for. My first visit to the house after dad had passed. It was brutal. Mom had convinced herself that I would unload the cats and stay with her despite my being crystal clear about my intentions to install them and me, in Kia Rio and let them start getting adjusted immediately. I also did not want to deal with the issues of my 3 cats plus mom’s 2 and the drama that would bring. The boys did not deserve that after the last week they had been through.
I couldn’t even go inside the house. I was too tired an not ready to walk through that door knowing he wasn’t there and never would be. Mom packed up some things and came to Kia Rio with me and the boys. We got to bed around 3 am. Exhausted but relieved. The trip was over.
Dad - Being his typical silly self...
We miss you dad!