I know… not a usual posting topic for me… but I’m trying to let you in more on the workings and activities of our family.  This will probably be a LLLOOONNNGGG post because of the escapades we had!  Some good… some not so great!  But it was a memorable few days for sure!

So it all started off that Brian had a Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) conference scheduled for November 8th and 9th in Baltimore, MD.  He scored a GREAT deal on a 4 star hotel (Thanks to our dear friends the Ahmeds) and wanted the family to join him… its not often that a tree climber and family stays in such a posh boutique hotel!  It was to be a treat for sure!

Back in a previous lifetime (or so it seems… at least before kids)  Brian worked at Hotel Monaco in DC and both of us enjoyed the many perks. We often enjoyed the fantastic food in the restaurant, spend overnights there and enjoyed the trendy life of DINKs (Dual Income No Kids)!

Now we have moved on… not up in the money sense, but certainly fuller now that our family has grown to five! 😉  I wouldn’t change it for the world!

So anyway… on the 8th Brian took off work and we all started our trek to Baltimore.  Unfortunately soon after we got on I-95N we hit a ladder in the middle of the road which popped one of our front tires.  Brian pulled off to the side and changed the tire… not necessarily great, but ok… it happens.  However, after he changed it he noticed the spare was pretty flat and called AAA to come and fill the tire (an odd request they stated!).  They got there, but now the spare was leaking and wouldn’t hold air!  And the saga continues….

Thankfully we were told there was a Costco about 1.5 miles away and we limped the car there with AAA following us to make sure we made it. We did and AAA left.  Then more unwelcome news.  Costco would only sell us 4 tires, not one… since our Tahoe is 4 wheel drive they say it is policy. “ Isn’t good for the car”, they say.  “Not good for my pocket or budget!”, I say!  The estimate for new tires and installation came to $700 something for the cheapest tires.  WHAT!!!

The clerk was kind enough to say there was a National Tire and Battery about 1 more mile away and they would probably sell us 1 tire.  So they filled the tire as much as possible and we limped another mile further.

More good news!  They wouldn’t sell us one tire either!  They had the same song and dance!  In their stead we knew we needed new tires, but were still working on procuring the funds… but apparently God decided we needed them now and not later!  Thankfully their estimate came in at $470, but it came with a 3 hour wait.. at 12:30 pm and three kids 5 and under who hadn’t had lunch and a Mama who had only packed a few snacks! Fantastic!

 

So… we left the car and walked a mile to Sarita’s which was a Pollo a la Brasa place.  We had a whole chicken, yucca and fried plantains for lunch and it only cost us $23… but to make that deal better… we had enough left over for dinner as well!

What a blessing!  By the time we finished lunch and walked back to the tire place, they had the car done and waiting on us! And to add to it, they were able to fix the spare! They finished quickly and we were soon on the road again with empty pockets!

We made it to Baltimore with out any more excitement.  Even though many could count this as a terrible start to a trip, there is SO much to be thankful for!  I’m SO glad Brian was with us!  He also is the one with the AAA membership… even if it would have happened to me I couldn’t have used the AAA unless he was there with his card.  Also, a blessing we were at an exit when it happened and we were able to limp the car to where we needed to go instead of having it towed and needing a rental car for 3 kids still in car seats (the tow truck wouldn’t have had room for all of us!)  We now have new tires, which we needed anyway.  We had a great lunch and leftovers for dinner!  We also got a quick tour of Beltsville, MD, Prince George County!  Excitement abounds for those of you from the area!

God was so good to us.  I felt bad that Brian missed the first day of the conference which he had paid for, but we did get to enjoy the rest of the time in Baltimore.

So that I don’t bore you to death, I’ll tell you about being in the city in another post!
Thanks for making it to the end!