Just when we thought our troubles were over the car began to sputter and jolt so violently that we could not ignore it and say that it must simply be bad gas. We were on our way to Yosemite and after consulting Mr. Goforth we decided the best thing to do was to stop and not make it all the way to Yosemite. Even though there was a fire near the Yosemite border we were so bummed that we were not going to make it to the park. I missed sleeping under the stars and Yosemite is one of those unrivaled beautiful places that the longer you get to spend there the better. Luckily when the car decided to go crowzy and sputter in big kicks we were right in front of a hotel. We just pulled on in and paid to stay the night. We were still more than an hour from Yosemite and at least thirty minutes from anywhere that could look at my car, but still we were close enough to a well traveled national park that the hotel rates were out of control. The first room the hotel gave us was under construction. We walked in and the bed frames were against the wall and there was office furniture strewn about. The TV was on one of the beds. I looked at Brad who was squinting and his lips were pursed, I said, "hmmm?" and we both started to laugh. We then were set up in the oversized handicap accessible room where there were no lamps only boards with nail holes where they would have been, but we thought, "what the heck." And we stayed. This called for a beer or two so that is what we did. The next day after consulting with AAA we went to a Subaru dealership that could fit us in at 2:00 p.m. On the way to this place we left all signs of civilization in the dust, literally. I am really glad we did not break down here, there was absolutely nothing. I am not joking – we ran over tumbleweed on this road. There was not even a shoulder to pull over, just land, and not even farmland just hills.
It was here that the check engine light came on. With every small jolt my heart jumped. I was so nervous that my car was going to give up but she pulled through and we made it to the small town that was home of some sort of frog jump. There were frog statues everywhere. Rather strange, but they did have a car wash which we badly needed. They also had a deli called The Pickle Barrel,
which made us miss the pickle lady! After washing the car we
settled into the waiting room at the dealership and had lunch while waiting to hear the damage. The fact that the check engine light came on was a good thing, because it was now easily diagnosed as a throttle sensor – which until now I was unaware existed. It was not cheap but it was cheaper than a new fuel pump so I’ll take it. I think it is silly that cars now have to be plugged in order to get diagnosed by a computer, but that they charge $80 just to plug it in. To me that seems like a rip off, but hey the world keeps spinning. We drove away jolt-free and hopefully this will be the last of the car troubles, at least for a while. We finally we off on our way to Yosemite. Too bad that we already paid for all these reservations that we were unable to keep, but things have had a way of working out so we won’t complain. Or at least we won’t complain a lot. We were also supposed to do half dome today, but there will hopefully be another chance for Brad and I to do half dome. We are already talking about our next stay in Northern California and the NorthWest in general.
Just when we thought our troubles were over the car began to sputter and jolt so violently that we could not ignore it and say that it must simply be bad gas. We were on our way to Yosemite and after consulting Mr. Goforth we decided the best thing to do was to stop and not make it all the way to Yosemite. Even though there was a fire near the Yosemite border we were so bummed that we were not going to make it to the park. I missed sleeping under the stars and Yosemite is one of those unrivaled beautiful places that the longer you get to spend there the better. Luckily when the car decided to go crowzy and sputter in big kicks we were right in front of a hotel. We just pulled on in and paid to stay the night. We were still more than an hour from Yosemite and at least thirty minutes from anywhere that could look at my car, but still we were close enough to a well traveled national park that the hotel rates were out of control. The first room the hotel gave us was under construction. We walked in and the bed frames were against the wall and there was office furniture strewn about. The TV was on one of the beds. I looked at Brad who was squinting and his lips were pursed, I said, "hmmm?" and we both started to laugh. We then were set up in the oversized handicap accessible room where there were no lamps only boards with nail holes where they would have been, but we thought, "what the heck." And we stayed. This called for a beer or two so that is what we did. The next day after consulting with AAA we went to a Subaru dealership that could fit us in at 2:00 p.m. On the way to this place we left all signs of civilization in the dust, literally. I am really glad we did not break down here, there was absolutely nothing. I am not joking – we ran over tumbleweed on this road. There was not even a shoulder to pull over, just land, and not even farmland just hills. It was here that the check engine light came on. With every small jolt my heart jumped. I was so nervous that my car was going to give up but she pulled through and we made it to the small town that was home of some sort of frog jump. There were frog statues everywhere. Rather strange, but they did have a car wash which we badly needed. They also had a deli called The Pickle Barrel, which made us miss the pickle lady! After washing the car we 
settled into the waiting room at the dealership and had lunch while waiting to hear the damage. The fact that the check engine light came on was a good thing, because it was now easily diagnosed as a throttle sensor – which until now I was unaware existed. It was not cheap but it was cheaper than a new fuel pump so I’ll take it. I think it is silly that cars now have to be plugged in order to get diagnosed by a computer, but that they charge $80 just to plug it in. To me that seems like a rip off, but hey the world keeps spinning. We drove away jolt-free and hopefully this will be the last of the car troubles, at least for a while. We finally we off on our way to Yosemite. Too bad that we already paid for all these reservations that we were unable to keep, but things have had a way of working out so we won’t complain. Or at least we won’t complain a lot. We were also supposed to do half dome today, but there will hopefully be another chance for Brad and I to do half dome. We are already talking about our next stay in Northern California and the NorthWest in general. 
1 comment:
The "Pickle Lady" misses you both very much!!!!
Love Mom G
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