Del's Reunion Trip....

We went to Del's 20-year reunion this last weekend - it was very interesting! We're glad we went - it was fun seeing everybody and their families. They threw out candy from the back of the truck. The parade lasted a whole 5 minutes - AND they went up AND back - LOL.

We just got home last night - but our car is still in El Paso! As we were headed east out of Demming, we ran over a small object in the road. (didn't see it till we were on top of it!) It kicked up and hit the undercarriage. We couldn't feel or see anything wrong with it as we kept driving (although it smelled a little like gas) so we kept going until we reached El Paso. There was an accident up ahead about a mile or two, so we were at a stand-still. As we're stopped on the freeway - we noticed our gas gauge was falling faster than normal. We didn't think we'd make it off the road in time before we ran out completely! Finally we got off the road and pulled up to a gas station next to the pump. We got out, looked underneath, and sure enough - there was a HOLE in our gas tank!

So we called Ford Roadside Assistance, to see if they could help us. They told us we had to call the fire department, to make sure it didn't blow up while a tow truck took it to the nearest dealership. So - lights and sirens, the fire truck pulled up. EMBARRASSING! They tried to put some kind of putty on the hole so it would hold long enough to get us to the dealership, but it didn't work. So we waited for the tow truck to get there for about an hour (the dealership was only on the other side of the freeway, less than a freaking mile away!) As we were waiting, all the gas left in our tank drained out in a bucket that the fire department put under there, but since the fire truck and the tow truck only use DIESEL gas, we didn't know what to do with it. So the next person who pulled up to the pump, I asked if they wanted some free gas - she looked like at me like I was drunk, but happily agreed to take the gas off our hands.

We made it to the dealership (thank goodness they were still open) in time to fill out the paperwork to get it fixed, but because it was Saturday night, the service department already closed and was also closed Sundays, so they wouldn't be able to help us until Monday morning. So we got a hotel close by and started thinking about our options. We could hang out in the very "happening" city of El Paso all day Sunday, and hopefully Monday they'd be able to fix it, or we could get a rental car and drive home and then come back and pick it up later in the week. (7-hour drive one way!) So - that's what we did. After getting a rental car from the airport, we went back to the dealership Sunday morning and got all our stuff out (guns, cameras, etc.) and left for home.

This morning, the dealership called and said they didn't have a spare tank, so it wouldn't be fixed until Thursday or Friday - Phewwww! We chose wisely!

Drama, drama, drama!! That drive sucks! And we'll be doing it again next month for Thanksgiving - Oh boy!

Good times, good times.