Yesterday, my kids and I went to Disney for the day with my mom. We are fortunate to live so close. It has been 1 month since we were last there... so needless to say, we were all more than a little excited.
The day began a squidge earlier than most: Ri was up at 5:30 and Rea graced us with her presence at 6:30. It is a certifiable fact that if Rea wakes up before 8am, she is less of a Princess and more of an evil Queen. Yesterday was different. She rounded the corner and said, "Mom, change my dipe (diaper for short), so we can go." And it wasn't a snippy order; it was a simple, kind request.
The kids and I methodically went through my "travel checklist"... Rea actually carried the bag around our house in order to expedite our departure. We made it out of the house and over to pick up Grammie.
A quick stop at McDonald's, then we were off!
Am I forgetting anything?
Rea is potty-training, but I put her in a Pull-up for the long car ride. As we approached the Ft Drum service plaza, we asked if she wanted to stop and use the potty. She said yes. I pulled into the plaza, passing the gas station ($3.27/gall). I briefly thought about gas... but didn't check, didn't think about it anymore than, "Eeww... I don't want to put my 3 yr old on those toilets."
The service stop-off was a success. Almost.
Mom and I were chatting when ... BING. I looked down and saw:
Now panic sets in. Oh boy. Those of you who have travelled the FL Turnpike know, the exits are few and far between, and there is generally about 40 miles between service plazas.
Mom and I start laughing. That's what we do: joke at serious times. The hospital is like a comedy club for my immediate family. From where I sit, I actually cannot see the gas gage... if I were to redesign my console, I would swap the RMP for the gas. But it's moot.
We turned the air off (does that actually do anything?) and prayed for a gas station oasis. 22 miles after the BING that beautiful blue sign appeared. Canoe Creek 9miles. I did what most people do in a minor crisis: starting bargaining. I promised my car I would never say anything bad about it again. I promised to happily drive it until I can afford to get a new one. I promise to not kick it, if it would just make it the next 9 miles.
5 miles. Car begins to sputter. Or I imagine the sputter because I really do NOT want to walk. Rea's chants for Disney begin to get louder and increase in frequency.
Then, after a curve in the road, there it is! The best sight: a crappy, run-down, middle-of-revamp Shell station. Gas is $3.17/gall. I fill it half way... because I know gas is cheaper at Disney ($3.07/gall).
I suppose the silver lining is that running on empty actually saved me $0.20/gallon.
Too funny!! Thanks for starting my day off with a chuckle.
ReplyDeleteDebi
As we were driving, Mom said, "You're going to blog about this, aren't you?" It was too funny not to share.
ReplyDeleteAnd I always leave the car empty when Shane is going to drive it next... so this story did not surprise him. =)
okay, so my previous car (the SUV) would tell me exactly how many miles i had left to drive when i was low. how accurate that was, heaven knows. when i was about 7 or 8 months pregnant with ethan, i was heading home from my parent's on i95 when i was getting really low. suddenly it just drops and tells me (as i near the donald ross exit) that i have ZERO miles to go! OMG!!!!! praying, i get off, drive toward that ridiculously priced gas station at the abacoa shopping center (a Shell?) and boom! it tells me i have 15 or so miles i can drive. okay, i say, i'm going to head over to PGA then and get gas over there. i make it to the gas station with like 1 mile left and the gas station is closed for renovations!!! the one by the turnpike! WHAT?! long story shorter, i had to drive down PGA all the way to prosperity farms rd in order to find an OPEN gas station! praying and, as you say bargaining with my car the whole way. LOL of course, i look back now and laugh, but really!
ReplyDeletenow, my current car will only tell me how many miles i have left up to a certain point, but even with the gage well above that final E line, it switches from miles left to a little picture of my car with a gas pump attached to it. basically saying "Get gas now, you idiot!"
So glad you made it! Please tell me you at least have AAA? Then again, who wants to hang out on the side of the Turnpike with kids for an hour waiting for them to arrive with a gallon of gas? Bright side? At least it's not the middle of August....? ;]
That's awesome Jenn!
ReplyDeleteMy car is like your current one, it stops telling how long you have left once it BINGs. And I do have AAA (at least I think so). Anyway there were like a MILLION FHPs out, so I figured we could be saved relatively quickly.
Once when I was in high school... or maybe early in my college years, I was riding in my dad's Explorer and his light came on. We were on 95, almost to Indiantown Rd (definitely close enough for the story to stop here). But he made me pull out his owner's manual, find all the info I could about the amount of gas the SUV held in one tank, then about average mpg... Next I had to calculate approximately how long he could drive with it "on empty". (MAJOR EYEROLL)
Is it any wonder that I wanted NOTHING to do with math when it came time to choosing a Major? That was my life. And now it is again. Oy.
LOL! i think i'd have fought my dad tooth and nail on that one! hahahaha i hate(d) math! this reminded me.... on our way to my brother's FSU graduation, we were driving in a CAR (not SUV) filled with my parents, grandparents and myself and we totally ran out of gas on I75! this was before cell phones..... it was awful! oddly enough, years later when my dad was helping move me into a townhouse at FSU, he left his expedition running in the driveway bc the power hadn't been turned on at the apt yet and we forgot it was low on gas and we heard it just sputter and die. hahaha ahhh, memories, right? ;]
ReplyDeleteOh Mindy! If only you had a Prius...
ReplyDeleteFunny Jenn. Our dads have a lot in common. =)
ReplyDeleteLea, I don't think so. =)