Car-cation!

Cars. Love ’em or leave ’em. Sometimes you have to leave them until you can love them again.
But don’t you love them when they go, requiring little more effort from you other than filling them up or plugging them in? So handy, taking you here and there, with plenty of room for shopping, the kids, the dog, and all the gear used in everyday life.

Long weekends. Don’t you love that feeling on a Friday when it’s ‘tools down’ and 3-4 days of fun stretch ahead?

Friday, last week, before Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend, I loaded up my car with stuff for Saturday’s market then tried to start the car. The key to the car was dead. Or was it the car? I couldn’t tell. After a quick battery jump start I was off, but I didn’t get far: around the corner, the car died. Cut out. I immediately tried to pull over but with just two revolutions of the tyres before the car abruptly stopped, I ended up rear end sticking out. I jumped out in case the central locking locked me in. That’s another story. It was raining. Several really helpful people came to my aid but it was a no-brainer: the car had gone on holiday early. Dang. I rang the AA and requested a tow truck. I hovered half in the car, half out, until he came. No one knows my central locking system better than me. And don’t tell me you can never get locked in a car. If it happens to me, I’ll need men in white coats to get me out. Just saying.

I climbed up into the tow truck with the bearded towie bloke and we powered through the wet streets, my car enjoying the journey on the back, and we set off to the garage. It was 4.30pm, a wet Friday before a long weekend. The car was going to have to stay at the garage until Tuesday before it was even looked at. I hired a car, and no disrespect to anyone who has a similar vehicle, it was one step up from a bomb with a feathered windscreen wiper, an unmovable seat, tacky plastic foot mats and a curious smell. By the time I got the car, went back to my car and transferred all the gear into it, and got home, 4 hours had disappeared. My hair had turned to glue. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought bad thoughts. Cars. Don’t you love them when they go (with you in them!). Holidays. Don’t you love them when you can enjoy them doing what you planned. I hope yours was more fun than mine. Still, we had some delicious food, the sun shone on Saturday, filled the water tanks on Sunday and cleared on Monday, and today, with my legs in the sun I am at least getting my daily Vitamin D while getting a winter tan.

In case you are thinking, ‘why did the car die?’, it was the alternator. It may have ruined the newish battery as well as it drained it flat. We’ll see. Warrant is due in two weeks. Mmmm. I’ve thought about investigating in an electric bike, although perhaps not, as I may get arrested riding around Waiheke with a gazebo attached to the back.