The journey to virginia
Well hello again! Even though I’ve been in Virginia for just about two weeks now, it only feels fair that I tell you how I got here because boy, was it a doozy.
Okay, so here’s the game plan:
1: leave the house early(ish) on Sunday to give myself ample time to get to the park before the visitor center closes at 5 (and I’d have to make my supervisor leave the house)
2: Stop at Alissa’s apartment (shoutout!) to drop something off before continuing on my way
3: Arrive in Virginia
4: Start work on Monday
Pretty simple plan, right?
I wish.
Here’s how things really wen’t down…
We start off pretty strong; steps 1 & 2 go off pretty much according to plan. After packing all of my most important belongings in the car that morning with help from my mom (partially to, you know, help, and partially to maximize every last second that I was still in Jersey) I hit the road, proud of myself for both making it out the door on time AND not overpacking. 45 minutes into my journey, I made it to Alissa’s where I was greeted with a GOODY BAG! This girl - she knew I’d be driving for a while and, knowing me, knew I wouldn’t want to stop if I could help it and packed me lunch and some snacks to take with me. I’m so lucky 🥹. (side note: oh my gosh you can put emojis in here) I get back in the car and I turn out of Alissa’s apartment complex, what do I see but my check engine light. Shit.
Now what do I do? I’m supposed to drive over three hours to a different state, primarily on highways, and I’m not even an hour into my journey. The check engine light could mean nothing… but it could mean a LOT. And, of course, to add insult to injury, it’s Sunday so nothing’s open. (Okay, *some* places were open… but let me wallow.) Eventually, after making several calls I find an AutoZone that’s on my route that can at least perform the scan to let me know what’s up - to let me know the why behind the check engine light.
I drive there. The guy does the scan. (It’s code PO597 for all you car nerds out there.) He assures me that it’s fine to drive to Virginia. (Debunked: it very well may not have been fine.) For all you non-car-educated folk like myself, the core of the reading is that the thermostat is the issue in one of two ways - either it’s not letting enough coolant through the engine causing the engine to overheat (ie. BAD) or it’s letting too much coolant through and it’s not maximizing the car’s fuel efficiency. Oh, and fun fact: my car’s dash doesn’t have a temperature gauge. So, I did as any rational 23 year-old would do… I sat in my car and cried… mostly out of frustration, to be fair.
I hemmed and I hawed and I talked to my mom over the phone who is also on the phone with a family friend that knows cars. All the while, the clock is still ticking and my ETA to Virginia is getting later and later. There were three potential outcomes -
I start driving to Virginia and I make it (phew!). Maybe the car was just using too much coolant. Either way, I have to find somewhere in Virginia to get my car looked at/fixed and I am potentially without a car for an unknown length of time in a brand new state.
I start driving to Virginia and I don’t make it. I break down somewhere along the way and have to call triple-A, get my car towed, sleep in a hotel for a night and then go through the same process of getting it fixed somewhere in VA. Still potentially car-less for a while. Keep in mind I am supposed to start a brand new job tomorrow.
I turn around and go home. I call my supervisor, let her know I won’t be making it tonight and I head back for Jersey. That night, I drop my car off at our local mechanic’s, even without an appointment, and leave a super nice note begging that he can fix it the next morning. Best case scenario, he’d fix it and I’d be on my way by Monday afternoon, only one day after I was supposed to leave, and I’d start my internship on Tuesday.
So what would you have done? How big of a risk-taker are you?
Personally, I was not in the market to risk wrecking my car and being out thousands of dollars to get a new one, so, against the desires of my heart, turned around and went home. The only issue - it feels like purely out of spite - as I started my car to drive home THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT OFF. Nevertheless, I stuck to the plan and continued to follow all of the steps of option 3. Luckily, all was able to go according to plan. The car was dropped off (despite the anxiety that ‘breaking the rules’ caused me). He was able to look at it in the morning. And to top it all off, I was driving it to Virginia by 1pm on Monday.
Other than the average traffic you would expect driving through a city, I made it to the park without a hitch. I met my supervisor, was showed to my house and settled in for the evening… after an obligatory stop at Target to pick up some much needed groceries, of course. I did have some issues figuring out how to physically unlock my door… but that’s a story for a different day.
Anyway, I am happy to report that I have been in Virginia for two weeks with no car troubles thus far and I’m hoping it stays this way! Now we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that my two concerts in the next two weeks that I have to drive home for go just as swimmingly.
Vroom vroom, I guess