Hi everyone,
Yesterday started out beautifully. My sister is visiting from the UK, and
she flew into SFO earlier this week. We'd been staying with my girlfriend in
Palo Alto, and decided that we'd make the trip back to Davis, via the Muir
Woods National Monument. That in itself is a beautiful drive, up the 280,
through san francisco, across the golden gate, and then along VERY windy
stretches of highway 1 and little mountian roads (i mean, 180 degree
hairpins at 10mph max!). We drove back across the 37 which crosses the top
of san pablo bay, and then down I80 towards davis. The whole trip is
probably 200-250 miles. Just outside of Davis, at 75, three lanes from the
hard shoulder, the engine died completely, suddenly and without any warning.
It's amazing how when you need to survive the thinking bit of your brain is
completely shut off. Somehow, i slipped the car into neutral and changed
three lanes too fast for me to actually remember what happened. We come to a
stop in the gravel, without a scratch. And liz turns to me and congratulates
me on my ability to navigate traffic on a blowout (which probably indicates
the speed at which the survival bit of my brain was steering the car). I
had to explain that that wasn't a blowout, that was me steering fast!
Once the car is towed home I poke about and at the very least the fuel pump
has died (pull fuel line, no faceful of pterol etc. etc.) I'm taking it to
the shop today for a more thorough diagnosis!
bugger, there go this month's savings.
I was kind of okay, until my friend Josh picked us up for the BBQ we were
rather late for, and he asks "so if the engine dies, don't the wheel lock
up?", and then i realise just how close a brush we had. When we get to the
BBQ it turns out that my friends have been cursed this week. Bill's parked
car rolled from one side of the road to another at the weekedn and came to a
stop a couple of feet from a cliff. Cheryl was driving down the I80, the guy
in front of her swerved into the one free space in traffic, and she was
greeted with the sight of a wheel barrow bouncing down the fast lane towards
her. She's okay, but there's not much of the front of her car left!
still... could have been worse...
cheers
Joe
_________________
Dr. Joseph Garner
Department of Animal Science,
University of California,
One Shields Avenue,
Davis,
CA 95616
USA
tel: + 530 754 5291
fax: + 530 752 0175
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