So we ended up waiting at the mechanics for over 6 hours yesterday for our alternator to be replaced. Turns out it's a real bitch to change one in a Ford Escape. Of course it is. They had to take off the entire axle on the passenger's side to even get the old one out. The shop wasn't very close to town, but we did find a dog park, so the dogs had their first off-leash doggie park experience and it went great! Other than that we just sat around the junk yard, then when it got too cold sat on dirty couches in the mechanic's lounge and watched The Cable Guy on VHS. And tried to keep the dogs away from the mouse traps in the corners.
The bill came to $850 *choke* (including the 25km tow) which was pretty hard to swallow. But the guys at the shop were really nice and stayed late to finish so that we could carry on our journey. And I made my first costume industry contact - the shop owner is a major historical war reenactment buff and is constantly looking for historically accurate uniforms and such. So he was excited to hear about my program and wants me to contact him when I'm done.
It was 8:30pm by the time we got out of there, so we found a hotel, took a much needed shower, and crashed.
Now we're on the road again. This picture is of some of the flooding in Brandon.
Go team go! A cross-country road trip is inevitably full of obstacles... like the time our muffler fell off in the middle of downtown (probably rush hour) Quebec City? Over a thousand bucks to fix (mind you, not until we got to Halifax, but that's another story). Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteOh no! That's ridiculous! Did you hop out and grab it or just keep driving?
ReplyDeletemight have been cheaper to have flown across and bought a vehicle back there! but...then...you wouldnt have seen so much of Canada nor would you have stories to tell the grandkids someday!
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