When we left our heroine she had just stopped at a rest area for a break from the heat and fell asleep...
As soon as I awoke I knew I'd made a mistake. I hoped against hope and tried to start my engine but my luck had run out. I'd used up too much juice running the AC. I even tried my little jump box but it just wasn't up to the task.
It was extremely hot.
I turned off all my power to save what juice I had left, opened all my doors, leashed up the fuzzies to the shaded side of the bus with a blanket and some water and began to try to flag down some help. A truck with a couple guys who looked as though they were on their way back from a job site stopped by to try to give me a jump but it wasn't working. They couldn't stay but as they were leaving a couple in a massive cargo van came by. These folks were incredible! He had been a mechanic at some point so he started digging around my engine to sort out the issue while she brought me cold water and kept me calm. We got to talking and it turns out they had decided to make a life on the road hauling stuff for a living. Their names are Alain and Kim Boudreau of Boudreau Transport. Their rig was fitted with some living essentials and had a big space rigged out to transport large items, motorcycles usually, across the country. They were really nice and helpful and were determined to help a fellow nomad get back on the road.
Eventually after trying numerous things we decided what we needed was a can of ether to get her to kick over. Unfortunately it was getting late and it looked like I wasn't going to be able to procure one that evening. Alain & Kim assured me they wouldn't leave me there alone, bless their golden hearts, but I was way past overheated and running very late and I had no idea what I was gonna do. I started to panic so I did what I always do, I called my best friend. After a few minutes of her helpfully listening while I unloaded a mini freak out, she suggested as a joke that maybe I just needed to try again while she was on the phone. See, fairly recently I'd been in a situation where I was stuck somewhere else with a different vehicle and a different issue and nothing worked until called her, then suddenly, it did. So I got up, made my way back to the drivers seat, and said "to hell with it, it wouldn't hurt to try."
The shock and amazement from both of us when she started right up with no issue was worth every second of the struggle!
My best friend is my guardian angel.
As the sunset started to paint the sky I loaded up the girls, bid goodbye and thank you to my new nomad friends, and hit the road!
The next day I spent a lovely day in Jacksonville, FL with my Goddaughter and her stepmom.
grocery store silliness
Without further ado- I give you Dolls Head Trail*
*I'm not here to reinvent the wheel so for more information and history behind Dolls Head Trail click here or here.
Beautiful and lush, the path led its winding way through the trees.
This little guy was drawn on the walkway and I just had to share him!
Some swampy wildlife along the way...
Nearing the entrance to Doll's Head we came across this warning.
RULES!
Even the trash can was decorated.
Creepy old well to start us off!
More RULES!
I'm a rebel :D
And then the DOLLS appeared...
Among other things...
Everything seemed to have a face...
Most of these bricks sported quotes, advice, drawings, and whatnot.
There was even a little free library!
At the furthest point of Dolls Head there was another path leading further into the park. It was STUNNING!
More wildlife!
We didn't have time to go deeper though I would have dearly loved to, so we turned back and finished off Dolls Head...
Where old and new meet.
An apt description.
Back to the real world.
A fun and photography filled morning well spent we loaded up and, after a little ordeal in which my phone screen broke and I had to follow my friend to our next destination, I stopped for what turned out to be the evening at a new friends house in NE Atlanta where I met these beautiful boys:
They were so helpful as I tried to get some work done...
...and they gave Mischief a warm welcome too!
After a lightening fast phone repair (thanks We Fix It Phone Repair!), and an evening and a day establishing a glorious new friendship, we were back on the road headed north. We set out that evening for a heat beating night time drive and made it as far as Anderson, SC when my right passenger tire blew with a startling BANG! I was about to stop for gas and the exit was near thankfully, but by the time I stopped at an all night gas station my tire was shredded. It was around 12:30 am and there wasn't much I could do in the middle of the night so we settled in right where we were to wait until morning.
Maybe they can fix it? (kidding)
amputation
The original blowout and a side by side comparison.
Shiny new tire!
Thanks to the help of a dear friend and a quick fix by the awesome guys at Mac's Tire we were back on the road again and this time, finally, we made it safely all the way to our final destination (for now) of Lenoir, NC.
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