Best Laid Plans

So tonight we were supposed to have a fancy dinner out. Supposed to.

We planned.. we made a reservation two days in advance ... we remembered our reservation today... we worked all day, but not too hard, so we wouldn't be too tired... we worked carefully, so as not to ruin it by getting a nail in the head or anything like that. We planned... fed the dogs and goats before we left so that we could be away a few hours without feeling guilty.

We showered, we put on nice clothes... we pushed the dog that sheds white hair on black wool pants away over and over again. We left the house an hour before our reservation. We had the address... the GPS.. printed google map directions, just in case.

We headed down the 417 towards the big city of Ottawa... and then... the front end of the car starts to shake and a loud, weird noise comes from the front end. I'm in the center lane and I signal to pull over... the damned rude Ottawa drivers ignore my signal and my braking... the car gets harder to steer... I put on my 4 ways and start edging over and forcing people out of my way... I know I didn't hit anything... at least nothing I could SEE.

I get pulled to the side of the road and I know what I'm going to see when I get out... I know the front driver's tire is FLAT. Sure enough, that's what I see. It's not safe to attempt to change the tire ourselves... plus we're dressed up... plus I don't really want a tiny tire on the front end of my front wheel drive van...I get back in the car and check my cell phone contacts... nope, nothing useful there. Shawn calls the restaurant and cancels our reservation.

Shawn checks the GPS and we find the number for CAA... we don't have a CAA membership, but we call... we are told they are not taking any non member cash calls today, but here's another number you can try. I call that number and am told it will be 2...yes TWO friggen hours, but here's another number you can try... I call that number and get a fax machine.

Shawn checks the GPS some more and we find a number for a towing company... I already know I just want it towed to the mechanic... he can deal with it tomorrow... I call the towing company and they take the information... where am I? Well... look, I've not even lived here a year... and I'm not all that familiar with the area closer to Ottawa... but we figure it out... they will come and tow us back to Dunrobin in about 30 minutes. Perfect.

We sit in the car and wait. And wait... about 40 minutes later the big tow truck pulls up with lights a flashing. I give the driver the keys and he sends us to sit in his truck. We sit in the big loud truck and wait.. .and wait and wait... it takes a long time to load the van onto the flat bed truck.. or at least it seems long enough. We're hungry... wished we'd eaten a bit of something before we left.

Finally its loaded and off we go... off at the next exit and back on the 417 heading the other way. The tow truck driver attempts to be amusing and friendly, but is mostly a bit scary and weird. We interact, but begrudgingly.

It takes forever to get back to Kanata... then on to Dunrobin... we arranged for him to drop us at home, since we're right on the way to the mechanic... he pulls over and takes my VISA info and out we go. Off he goes with the van... hopefully to the mechanic! :)

Hungry and disappointed, we walk up the driveway... through the mud in our nice clothes... our goats are still laying outside and they see us and call to us... trying to convince us they are starving to death. The dogs hear us and bark their big tough mean barks until I call to them and then they start barking their happy, excited barks.

In we go... off come all the nice clothes... on go the jammies... we're DONE. I start making dinner... bacon, eggs and toast are the best and quickest I can come up with. Scrambled for Shawn... sunny side up for me.

Load up our plates and head for the couch to watch tv and eat... not interested in eating at the table tonight.

The food was ok, not what we'd been hoping for and thinking of, but filled up the empties. Watching tv on the couch helped to distract and relax.

But... We... PLANNED.... *sigh* Really, we should KNOW better!

So the tow will cost me around $120... the new tire will be $100 - $150... hopefully nothing else was damaged... we'll see what tomorrow brings.

But at least I managed to not crash the van when it was hard to steer... the weather and road conditions were on my side... we didn't freeze to death waiting for the tow truck... all the animals had just been fed, so I didn't need to worry that anyone was starving (other than us)... we were smart enough to bring our jackets with us... we had the GPS with us that helped us figure out where we were to tell the tow truck driver and find the phone number in the first place... if it had to happen, I guess it wasn't so bad.