You know that old song, about being a song that never ends? I think this vacation recap may be the vacation that never ends ... although I can't say that I don't enjoy the idea of an unending vacation. Sadly though, this is the part where that road home got a little bumpy. Come, waltz with me down memory lane.
Alright, so the last time you recapped with the Bowell's we were just leaving the Worlds Largest Robotic Dinosaur Museum. Gosh, it's been so long ago now I'm having a hard time recalling the timeline, but I can do this! We made it out of California and stopped for gas more than once, we even hit up a Taco Bell for lunch and found King Koopa photo-bombing one of their posters
Hah! It's still funny. Like he's ready to jump up and hit that volley ball!
By the time we made it to Phoenix we needed yet another tank of gas. I remember we stopped at a QuikTrip to fill up. When we left that QT we heard what sounded like running over some mud or dirt. Clunky + sandy sounds, you know? There was a thud followed by dirt being flung off of your tires. Not an unfamiliar sound by all means. Because it sounded exactly like dirt, we simply let it go and continued up the road. Once we made it to the heart of Phoenix during rush hour on a Monday, go figure, traffic came to just about a stop. That's when we heard it. Now, how do I describe this sound? It was sort of like when one of your neighbor decides to start up a chainsaw. That's kinda what it sounded like. We realized very quickly that the chainsaw was in fact coming from our car, so we made our way over from the carpool lane to an exit. Then, coincidentally, we pulled into another QuikTrip and popped the hood.
(Funny thing is that our bucket-o-iced-tea came from that other QT we had just left from!)
Dylan could see right away that the serpentine belt had just about fallen off from where it should be. Scary, close call, unfortunate - yes. But hey, it could be worse right? Dylan did not have the tools he'd need to DIY the belt back into place, besides which a new one was probably required. So we brainstormed a bit, and decided to start with the Roadside Assist offered by our insurance. Sadly, that wasn't so useful. They're great if you're locked out, have a dead battery or flat tire, or you simply need a tow within 12 miles of where you're stuck. Beyond that - not a lot of good. We asked, out of curiosity, how much it would cost to tow our car home (from somewhere inside Phoenix back to Tucson.) $532.00 was the quote. We thanked them, refused the offer and hung up the phone. For the same or perhaps less money, maybe we can get this puppy back on the road.
I used my phone to google for Mobile Mechanics in Phoenix. I called two of them, one that ID'd themselves and asked you to leave a message (to this day, I've never heard back from those people...) The next one did not ID themselves and went straight to one of those voice mails that just repeats the number you dialed - so I hung up. The third one was just right. A man answered, confirmed that he was in fact a mobile mechanic, and got an idea of where we were so he could come down and take a look. Then, we waited.
I can't tell you how much fun it is to sit and wait at a QT off the freeway on a Monday evening. Time of my life, kids. Best part of the vacation. (Okay, sarcasm over.) And we waited. Then, we waited. And we waited. Received a call from our mobile mechanic apologizing for being tied up, but he was on his way now. Waited, waited and waited. We kept seeing these trucks come into the parking lot, work trucks with those cargo bins on the back. Every time we'd see one come our way we'd think "alright, here's the guy!" But it was never the guy. Finally (and I know, it wasn't as long is it felt, but of course it feels like an eternity!) An old beat up Ford Mustang 2 door from the 90's rolls into the QT parking lot and parks right next to our Scion with the hood up. I'm not going to lie, this was not the vehicle one would expect to come out and be a "mobile mechanic." But hey, why not have a beater to put a million miles on, right? To each his own, anyway.
That Mustang had everything the guy needed, and he got to work. At this point, we had put out a facebook call to all of our Phoenician friends. Initially I was looking for reviews/suggestions on who to call in just such an emergency, but we ended up with friends coming out of the woodwork to offer a helping hand. One of them even went and purchased a new serpentine belt and met us at the QT so that when the mechanic was ready for it, we could pop it right into place. Sadly though, the serpentine belt was not our only issue. Once the mechanic got everything apart he realized that the idler pulley had actually come apart completely. It had knocked into the serpentine belt and caused it to tear - which at the end of the day is actually kind of lucky because the whacked serpentine belt was what made the giant chainsaw noise and alerted us to there being a problem, so, alls well that ends well right?
Okay, so, how did the idler pulley come apart? Remember back when we left that first QT and we thought we had run over a bunch of dirt? Turns out those thuds and sandy noises were actually the bearing inside the idler pulley coming apart and falling completely off. The mechanic told us that the whole scenario isn't too unusual in this model year because the idler pulley is exposed to the elements, and they simply rust out. The good news was that this guy who rolled up in his busted old mustang was actually a decent mechanic, and that put us at ease. The bad news? It was after 6:00 on a Monday. There were no shops to go to, we had to finish this up in the parking lot. Dylan called around to a million different auto parts stores and no one had the idler pulley that we needed. Our best course of action was going to be to find a Toyota Dealership in the morning, hope they have the part we need, and then meet up in the parking lot to put the damn car back together.
Our first wonderful friend who brought us the belt actually had to get back town to Tucson that night because he was part of a wedding happening the next day, so we thanked him and he went on his way. Other Phoenician friends of ours, Brooke & Mike, had called me earlier to see if we were okay/needed anything. That was back when we thought all we needed was a new belt - armed with our new exciting knowledge we called them back. Brooke & Mike were kind enough to not only come and get us from the gas station, but they gave us a place to stay as well!
Dylan and I touched base with our coworkers to let them know that we needed just one more day of vacation, because clearly we were just too busy having fun! Our wonderful friends made it to the QT and we were en route to their house. Once we got to their place, they prepped us on all the knowledge of surrounding Toyota dealerships and even gave us their spare truck to drive around, because they are saints! Saints I tell you! Everyone hit the hay, and on Tuesday morning, Brooke gave us an overview on the truck.
Tuesday alone was an adventure all its own, I tell you. We headed straight to the dealership closest to Brooke and Mike's. Unfortunately, that dealership did not have the part we needed. We explained that we needed the part today and the gentleman helping us found a dealership that had the part in stock. The good news? One was available! The bad news? It was 12 miles away, but what else were we going to do that Tuesday? Back on the road we went!
Part: Acquired!
We called the mechanic so he could meet us back at the Scion, we stopped for cash so that we could pay the man, and we sat down to a McDonald's breakfast of champions.
Brooke and Mike named their truck Lil' Green, thanks for helping us Lil' Green!
Even bigger thanks to Brooke and Mike!
Replacing the part and putting the car back together in the 100+ degree heat of Phoenix wasn't fun, Dylan even pitched in to help.
It took longer than any of us was anticipating, but, what needed doing was done. The mechanic even found some bits of the bearing that had come apart
Creepy looking ain't it?
This was the moment of truth:
The car started and was running fine! In fact, if I had snapped this photo just a second later, I would have gotten him saying "whoo hoo!!" with his hands up in the air.
When it was all said and done, I think we paid him around $250 for his time and labor, we dropped $90 on the part itself. Far less than $532 and we were headed back home!
Snagged this shot when we were only a few exits away from home sweet home.
There you have it folks. We finally made it home! It only took me 4 vacation recaps to tell the tale, too. The majority of the recap was riddled in fun, good times, great food, shenanigans and joy. That's my kind of vacation. See you guys next time!
