I saw a dead deer on the highway.
After carrying me nearly 4000 miles in the past few weeks, Shiva's electrical system decided to start flaking out on the way back from Omaha to Chicago on Friday. There was a whining belt, the battery light came on (and went off, and came on, and went off), and we decided to stop in Des Moines to see if we could get some service.
For about five hours of sitting around, we learned that Shiva needs a new alternator, and that there was no way it was going to get fixed that day. So, confident in the knowledge that I have AAA service, we decided to press on home. We arrived with no further incident (except that a headlight burned out, and there was a funny burning smell in the car. . .), and I decided that I'd call around today to find out what I could get done.
Of course I couldn't actually get anything done today, but I got some quotes. And then tonight, figuring that it was safe to drive the car eight more miles (after driving the 300 odd miles from Des Moines to Westchester), I headed out to a book store. Of course, as I approached the store, I noticed that my car's internal dash lights were dimming. And then the speedometer stopped working.
Did I turn around and go straight home when I noticed this? Of course not. I continued on to the store, made my purchase, and left. No, my car didn't fail to start. It started fine, and I headed home.
A mile or so later, the car stops -- but I was right next to a gas station, so I walked it into a parking space. I went in, exchanged some words with the counter-jockey (who wanted to charge me $25 for leaving my car there overnight), and headed home on foot.
The stretch of La Grange (US-20, US-45, and I think one other US highway) between 31st St and Cermak isn't very friendly to pedestrians, but taking any other route would have taken me at least a mile out of my way, if not more. Also, it abuts a nature preserve.
I've never had to step over road-kill before. It was somewhat unsettling.
For about five hours of sitting around, we learned that Shiva needs a new alternator, and that there was no way it was going to get fixed that day. So, confident in the knowledge that I have AAA service, we decided to press on home. We arrived with no further incident (except that a headlight burned out, and there was a funny burning smell in the car. . .), and I decided that I'd call around today to find out what I could get done.
Of course I couldn't actually get anything done today, but I got some quotes. And then tonight, figuring that it was safe to drive the car eight more miles (after driving the 300 odd miles from Des Moines to Westchester), I headed out to a book store. Of course, as I approached the store, I noticed that my car's internal dash lights were dimming. And then the speedometer stopped working.
Did I turn around and go straight home when I noticed this? Of course not. I continued on to the store, made my purchase, and left. No, my car didn't fail to start. It started fine, and I headed home.
A mile or so later, the car stops -- but I was right next to a gas station, so I walked it into a parking space. I went in, exchanged some words with the counter-jockey (who wanted to charge me $25 for leaving my car there overnight), and headed home on foot.
The stretch of La Grange (US-20, US-45, and I think one other US highway) between 31st St and Cermak isn't very friendly to pedestrians, but taking any other route would have taken me at least a mile out of my way, if not more. Also, it abuts a nature preserve.
I've never had to step over road-kill before. It was somewhat unsettling.