(no subject)

Ok, the full explanation of what happened yesterday.

I left early in the morning because i wanted to go check a few junkyard for parts. I found one that seemed very interesting, since it was a "bring your tools, take the parts out yourself, show them to us and we'll make you a price" kind of place. Apparently really not expensive...

That part went really well. Found the place, found a few things that would be worth coming back to get. But since i was already on the road, i decided to just keep going to get to my grandparent's place up north. I was in the van, not the motorhome, so why not, we do 600-800km trips with it each year, never had any problem.

But halfway there, after being stuck in traffic for maybe 15min due to construction work, i noticed that the battery was running low, and the battery light was on. Had my multimeter with me, so i tested the voltage, 12.xx... Grawr. So the alternator apparently wasn't putting out any power anymore.

I was still about 100km from my grandparent's place, and about 80 from home. So i had to find a garrage fast. I was in the wood, so as soon as i found a place, i stopped.

But the place turned out not to have any mechanics scheduled to come in until Monday. They told me there was another not so far... I tried to get there, but my engine wouldn't start.

Whee... Fun...

So i just get out and start walking. It's about half a mile away, uphill, and it's either walking on a road where people go 100km+, or in the sand on the side... So that wasn't fun.

I get there, yeah, they have mechanics, but they don't have the part they'd need, and they have nobody who could possibly fix the thing until the next day. So yeah, at that point, i thought i was going to end up staying there for the night.

But it couldn't be that easy. The place i was stuck at, Saint-Théododre-de-Chertsey, is really one of those places that have one main street, and everything is dirt roads leading to homes. And apparently, there's no motel or anything for someone to spend the night in. Only some kind of bed and breakfast thing, which had no space.

So can't stay there. And apparently, nobody knows of a way back to Montréal.

At this point, i just started calling about everyone i knew for someone who could possibly help. One of my aunt said she knew a mechanic in that area that might help. At the same time, someone at the gas station mentionned that a restaurant on the other hill at the other end of the place once had a bus to Montréal, and might know. So i ran there while talking on the phone. Once there, they told me that now a small convenience store uphill of where i just ran from had a bus that runs twice a day, and i might just be lucky enough to catch it.

So i ran up there once again, in the sand, at 32c in the sun... They told me the bus would get there in about 15min. At the same time, my aunt gave me the number of a mechanic in the area that could have time to work on the thing.

Ran back down to get my things so i could get the bus, while calling the other mechanic. Gave him the specifics, told me to call in 10min, once he's done talking to his suppliers. I had about 5min left at that point...

I just grabbed everything i had that couldn't be left in the van, then it was running uphill one last time. I decided to give the van a try, since it had been sitting there for half an hour at this point. Luckily, it barely started. So i just drove like mad to the garrage uphill, dumped the van there, and ran for the place where the bus was. Someone with a pickup saw me running, and told me to just hop in the box. Excellent. So i did make it just in time to wave at the bus driver like mad so he'd stop, and got on..

Then i noticed i apparently dropped the keys to the van along the way, somewhere...

The bus at least didn't cost me a fortune... But it took almost 2h to get home.

And at this point, i was dead tired, sunburned, and i hadn't eaten or drank anything since early that morning. And i got a migraine...

Turns out that the bus would bring me to Montréal, yeah, but at the other end of the city from where i need to be. So that sucked...

I got home, i drank almost a whole gallon as i got indoor, ate a bit, then crashed in bed.

So now i'm stuck with the van about 100km from home, no alternator, can't afford one for now, i lost the keys, and my only way to get there is a bus that runs once or twice a day, that i have to get from the other end of Montréal.

No friend nearby who could drive me up there either. And biking isn't exactly an option. All hills and sharp turns, and a bit far.

Blargh.

(no subject)

Wow... Yeah.

Vehicles just fail. Except for the motorhome, unexplainably. But i think it's just waiting to explode or something.

Now it's my dad's girlfriend's car. Rear tire went flat. So now all we have as "functional" vehicle is the motorhome.

That's going to be a fun week.