ROAD TRIP!

Weekends were made for...disaster!  Sometimes it just seems like if it wasn't for bad luck, we wouldn't have any luck at all.  The weekend started out innocent enough.  The family gathered at Mom and Dad's for breakfast skillets before we loaded up two cars to head to Wichita for nephew Rylee's nuptials with Nichole.  We wanted to get out on the road by 9:30,  so 10:15 was as close as we ever get to being on a schedule.  There were 7 of us going therefore the need for two cars as the bus was in the shop.

We caravanned out of Kansas City and got a whole 40 miles before car number two disappeared from my rear view.  Soon the phone rang and they were overheating and we needed to find water or coolant or something to get them back at normal operating temperature.  So we drove another 10 or so miles to the next exit where there was only one building in sight and that was a Sinclair station.  This was no ordinary Sinclair station, it was the Sinclair station that now holds the record for selling the most expensive gallon of engine coolant ever.  It kinda felt like a cross between the car repair scene from National Lampoon's Vacation and the "squeal like a pig" scene from Deliverance.  After I signed over the title to the car, we grabbed the coolant and a complimentary gallon of water and headed back towards the breakdown.

After driving back for 20 minutes and not finding them on the side of the road we called only to find out they neglected to mention they had actually pulled off at the exit with the giant floating apple, the Homewood exit.  So, we turned around yet again and headed back about 7-10 miles to where they were.  The radiator took two gallons, the exact same amount the radiator holds.  We are now 60 minutes behind schedule which puts us right on "Peters' Schedule".

We made it to the wedding with ten minutes to spare, after sucking down some lunch and changing into our wedding attire in the parking lot of the oldest Nu-Way resaurant on the planet. The usher was waiting to escort my wife down the aisle (her other nephew, Ryan).  You'll be glad to know, the wedding went off without a "hitch".  (That's a joke)!  But the fun doesn't stop there.  We moved on to the reception at Old Cowtown Museum, a Wichita landmark and partied like it was 1999, or until we were all making fools of ourselves on the dance floor, whichever came first!  Three sevenths of our team were heading back to KC so they said their goodbyes about 10:00 p.m. and hit the road.  As the rest of us were wrapping up the reception and heading to Nana & Papa's to stay the night, we get "the" call that the car is overheating again near El Dorado Kansas. (Dan Holiday's hometown, pronounced with a long a). We figure... well, putting fluid in the car got it to Wichita... it will get it back to KC too.  We make a call and get a sherriff's patrol to take them some water.  They put that in the car and get back on the road...only to start overheating again almost immediately.  They again pull off the turnpike in El Dorado and make yet another phone call to us.  We have now arrived at the in laws house and are so ready to drop into bed for the night...not!  It is now about 12:30 a.m. and we make the decision to go rescue the kids... because they aren't thinking straight and are walking down "El Dorado Chainsaw Massacre" road!   So we packed back up and head out for the hour plus trip to El Dorado. We arrived in beautiful El Dorado a little after two to discover that there was a good chance that the car may not have survived the trip.  Is it bad when steam comes out of the tailpipe?

After checking the Super 8 & the Best Western only to be told NO VACANCY... for crying out loud this is El Dorado, KS...NOT Las Vegas!!  We spent the night at the lovely Heritage Inn where we shared two beds between 7 people and at least that many roaches.  The stains on the sheets as well as the towels coupled with the dead bug smashed and dried on the wall were a bit of a distraction to falling asleep.  We felt extremely fortunate to not have a black light with us.  I'm sure that every part of that room would have lit up with prom night leftovers dating back to 1973... GROSS!!  Most of us dozed off by about 4 am.  Upon waking and trying to figure out what to do with the "car" that is going nowhere on its own power, 7 passengers, luggage and a 5 seater Explorer that all need to get back to KC... we made a few calls to try and get a car dolly.  Youmay want to make a note of this, but car dolly rental places are all closed on Sunday in El Dorado.  So the decision is made to leave the car... figure out how to get 7 people home with the square footage issue we had... hey... Uncle Marvin lives in KC and was at the wedding.  He was fortunate enough to have stayed at the in laws overnight.  So... what are the chances that we can get a hold of him to stop by El Dorado on his way back to KC and give a few of us a ride so we don't have to strap bodies to the roof?  YAHOO... he was just heading to KC and would be by in about an hour to rescue the poor unfortunate souls that drew the short straws and were delegated to the roof!

The ride back to Kansas City was a quiet one.  That would be because everyone but the driver was sleeping.  I would have been sleeping too but I kept hitting my head on the steering wheel and waking myself up.