Road Trip On Pause: Firemen, & Hoover…

(***Editors Note- I'm sorry but I hope to add pictures at a later date.  Google has still been having problems with adding photos with MS Internet Explorer. ***)

I know I really needed to update this and let all of you out there know what I’ve been up to.  Sorry for the delay and laziness on my part.  Yes, I’m still in my hometown in eastern Iowa.  It seems like ages ago that I left out on the first day of this road trip.  That was the day I saw a vested pair of a man and a goat out along the freeway just outside of Boise, ID; a totally unexpected strange thing to see during my first day of a road trip.  I’ve been amazed at the sights that I have seen since that day in late August. 

But now, I’m in a bit of a pause mode trying to build up some money in my savings so that I can head out on my adventure again.  I’m not sure how long that will take.  I am hoping to get to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms this Spring. Lately, I’ve been working doing some temporary data entry.  I’ve applied for several waitress jobs too.  I haven’t worked in a restaurant in several years that I think they are wondering why I’m applying.  I guess in hindsight I should have gotten a part time one in Utah before I left.  I applied at one restaurant and they saw my degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management and wanted me to apply for a management position.  I half-heartedly filled out the application but I’m not really interested.  So anyway the job searching and working is an ongoing process.

Fire Station Tour

I have been doing a bit of sightseeing and different things here locally in eastern Iowa.  So I’ve been continuing in a way with the trip.  One day I went on a school filed trip with my nephew to see a local fire station in Marion, Iowa.  A Fireman and certified MT named Peter gave us a tour of the station.  We started out in the classroom where he discussed what they did.  The number one calls that they made other than fire are medical calls.  They do regular trainings at the fire station to keep updated in the latest medical techniques. They also do a fair amount of training on other locations; like practicing fighting fires.  Most recently, they got to burn down a local abandoned house that the owner had donated to them for training.  We were told that if at any time during our tour that if a call came in that we were to report to the classroom for our safety and to keep clear of the fireman that needed to get out on a call.

We were also told safety tips and what to do if we are ever in a case if our home had a fire like; keep low, check the temperatures of the doors, and if caught on fire to drop and roll.  Next, Peter took us out to where the fire trucks were and showed us how he put on his gear.  He talked while he put the gear on; explaining the equipment and other aspects of firefighting.  He told us that he would look and sound quite a bit different when he got his gear on and to not be afraid of him.  Once he got all of the firefighting gear on he crawled around on the floor grabbing some of our feet.  Quite often he said that firefighters would be down near the ground and that was where we should be too in case of a fire.  I expected him to sound more like Darth Vader but his voice was not quite that scary.  But it was somewhat muffled.  Peter said that all of the gear weighed close to 65 lbs. He also told us how they needed to get into their gear in less than 2 minutes time.

Photo- Fireman Peter in full gear as Captain Kirk watched.

Next, we took a tour around the fire trucks with Fireman Captain Kirk.  Yes, Captain Kirk!  He explained how some trucks carried water on them and the different uses that each truck had.  One vehicle that they used the most was the medical truck because it was the most fuel efficient and was easier to get around in.  The larger trucks were for fires.  One of the smaller large trucks had a holding area where water could be pumped from a local lake or pond and then immediately used to fight a fire.  Generally this truck was used in more remote farmland areas with a water source nearby.  There was another fire truck that had a large water gun on the back that was used to fight fires out in a field. 

Photo- Captain Kirk showing a future fireman how to hook up the hose to the truck.

Next some of the kids in the class got to play firemen as they connected a hose onto a truck and three of them pretended to work the hose over to a fire in a nearby room.  It was too cute watching them trying to work as a team on a hose that was almost larger than the three of them.  Next, Captain Kirk took us through the living quarters of the fire station.  There were 6 rooms in all, three on each side.  I was surprised at how plain they were.  Each had a wall of closets on one side, a window, a twin bed and a night stand; that was all.  At the end of the hall was a fairly large plain kitchen with a round table in the middle and on the other side was a room with a large TV with chairs and sofas.

Hoover Presidential Library

Another day I went to the Hoover Presidential Library which is located in West Branch, Iowa.  It’s funny that I had grown up so close to a Presidential Library but I had never visited it before.  Most people negatively tie President Hoover with the Great Depression, and I must admit that I generally did not have a good outlook on him either but I decided to go in with an open mind.  I was surprised.

Hoover was born in a small house in West Branch, Iowa and worked up his way to become one of the highest paid engineers in the world.  By his mid-30’s he was tired of earning money and opted for a life full of philanthropy.  There was a map of the world at the entrance to the main part of the library on the floor and it showed a star by every country that he had touched.  There were quite a few stars.  His wife worked hand in hand with him on his charities and eventually because of the public profile he ended up going into politics. 

One of his first roles in politics was the position of Secretary of Commerce on the Presidential staff of President Harding.  During this time, Hoover was instrumental in standardization of almost everything from house building to road signs to weights and measurements; all of this in an effort to make government and business to work together in his belief of an efficiency movement. He believed that the government and the economy were riddled with waste and inefficiencies.  Wow, I wonder what he would say about government today?  The big joke during Hoover’s time at this job was that you better be careful what you did because Hoover may find a way to standardize and make it more efficient. He was touted as being a little too enthusiastic about his job.  But quite a bit of what he did back then affects us every day now.   

From the standardization, he ended up being catapulted into being nominated for the presidency.  He won in the election of 1928.  I watched a film and heard the recording of the live radio broadcast of his inaugural speech.  He was one of the first Presidents to be heard live during this speech.  I was rather amazed at his plain speaking and not overstating but he outlined what was considered idealistic at the time.

When the stock market crash happened and the Great Depression started, no one was prepared for such an event.  There was a lot of debate at the time to let the free capitalistic market work its way back without assistance from the government and to not regulate or make laws.  Hoover started to lay in a lot of the ground work towards building the WPA projects.  But he was voted out of office before they took full bloom.  It was even more interesting that after WW2, he was asked by FDR to help organize recovery efforts to feed the thousands of hungry Europeans affected by the war.  He continued to work and help people the rest of his life.  It all surprised me that he did all this during his life.

DAY 60- Car Trouble...

It’s hard to believe it’s been 60 days, 2 months, since I headed out of Salt Lake City in my loaded up car heading for the northwestern US.  It’s interesting because this trip for the most part has been better than what I could’ve ever imagined in my wildest dreams.  I’ve learned to let go a little more and just be.  But I also have learned to be a little more confident as each day passes.  You only live life once and sometimes it’s so easy to hide in the everyday rhythm that you lose track of that. 

I’m lucky enough to be in a situation where there’s no true rhythm which doesn’t allow me to hide.  Sometimes that’s good but other times I get my “moments” where I want to hide and need a little down time.  I must admit that I’m working to find a bit of a balance but all in all it’s given me more freedom to just go and do than I have ever had in my life.  It’s like someone opening a HUGE double wide door and saying just go play.  The HUGE playground is 48 states and I’m plowing along with all of the gusto I can manage.

I started the day with the two egg option for the cook to order breakfast this morning at the Best Western Plus.  I thought I should mix it up a little and didn’t really feel like anything sweet after that HUGE piece of pineapple chiffon cake the night before.  I got packed up.  The plan for the day was to check out Palm Springs and then drive up to Laughlin, NV where I would stay for the next couple of nights.  The general plan is to head north just a bit and then over into Arizona.  I started loading my gear into my car when I noticed a puddle under my car.  Ah-oh!  I put my finger in it to see what it was and I pulled away red liquid; transmission fluid.  This was really not a good thing.

Photo- My poor car on the tow truck! :((

I decided to check out of the hotel and then head over to the nearest Jiffy Lube to have them take a quick look and possibly then refer me to a nearby automotive repair shop.  I turned a left on to Hwy 111 from my hotel and immediately the car started to act sluggish.  I could barely get it to go up to 30mph.  Oh-no!  I pull over and take a right at the next street but there’s no parking on the road just a bike path area.  I take a left turn into a subdivision and park the car. 

I get out my AAA card and call the card on the back.  Please, please… I think to myself let it be that I stopped it soon enough that no true damage was done to the transmission.  I give my info to the man on the phone who then transfers me to a woman that dispatches for the AAA southern California area.  I give her the address to the house across the street which is the only address I can see in the area.  She estimates it’ll be a 20-25 min. wait before the tow truck will be there.  It ended up being only about 15 minutes before I see the tow truck driving down the road. 

I stood outside my car and am waving at the tow truck driver but he’s looking at the address of the houses across the street and almost passes me.  Then, he stops and gets out.  “I’m sorry”, he says and then he slowly shakes his head side to side like Ray Charles.  “I must be blind that I didn’t see you right in front of me.  Sorry about that!”  I’m cracking up and say, “It’s Ray Charles my tow truck driver.”  He laughs, takes a look at my AAA card with driver’s lisc. and then asks what the problem is. 

I tell him and he gets my car key.  He directs me to get in the air-conditioned cab of his truck while he gets my car on the bed of the tow truck. Within a short bit he’s in the truck with me and has me sign a form which he teasingly says I’m signing my life away.  I ask if the AAA automotive repair shop is very far away.  No he says it’s about four miles away, and I say that’s good because I have a 100 miles distance with AAA.  He says he can take me the scenic drive to the shop.  Great, I say I can get the sights in of Palm Desert on the way huh?  I couldn’t help but laugh.

You’ve got an infectious laugh he says as he turns the truck around.  Then he goes onto say you know most people are not laughing in situations like this.  What else am I supposed to do being mad or angry about it won’t change it or make it better so I might as well laugh about it?  Just go with the flow.  Then, I tell him about the last time my transmission had given out on a road trip along the Oregon Coastline.  Another road trip he asks and I end up telling him about my two year plan. 

2 years!?!  He exclaims.  Wow!  He keeps on looking at me with this look of disbelief.  That’s something he’s never heard of anyone doing before and he thinks it’s cool.  That’s really cool he says.  We continue to talk as he drives to the repair shop.  He talks about the one time he drove on a trip to the Oregon coastline with no set plans.  He said it was the best family trip he can remember and it was a pretty scenic coastline.

Photo- The "Ray Charles" of tow truck drivers!  But a nice guy!

We get to the repair shop and he unloads my car after he does a quick pose for my blog picture.  He’s a bit conscious about what he calls a silly haircut.  I just laugh.  Why are we always so self-conscious when others most of the time don’t even notice stuff like that.  Then I remember my thought process at arriving at the restaurant last night.  Hmmmm…

I go in the shop and give them my info and then am about to sit down when the guy suggests that I might want to have lunch and wait over at a nearby restaurant that closes at 2PM.  We should know what’s going on with your car by then he tells me.  I walk across to the parking lot and into a little diner in the strip mall area called C.J.’s. 

C.J.’s is only open for breakfast and lunch.  It’s Friday lunch hour and it’s pretty busy.  The hostess told me to sit where I would like and someone will be right with me.  I find the only table that’s open but needs to be cleaned off.  I slowly sit down.  A guy runs over with a wash rag wipes the table and asks me what I would like to drink.  I said a diet coke but he comes back with ice tea with lemon. 

I’m not in the mood to complain.  My mind is focused on hoping that I don’t need a replaced transmission in the car.  Please, please, I hope I didn’t do any damage to the transmission.  I order the patty melt medium well done with a side a mixed fruit.  I’m still not use to being asked how I want my burger done; not something they do in Utah.  I feel a bit down at this point and I’m really not even interested in the food.  I text John and tell him I didn’t get very far.  He asks if he can do anything later and I text back maybe a strong drink after they tell me what needs to be done.

The patty melt arrives terribly greasy and I eat all of the fruit before even attempting the sandwich.  I’m taking my time and really just drinking the ice tea which really tastes good to me.  It’s kind of a nice for a change.  I tell the gal that I hope I’m okay just hanging out and that my car got towed to the repair shop over the ways there.  Oh you poor thing she says that’s no problem at all as she refills my ice tea. 

My phone rings just before 2pm.  It’s the repair shop.  It’s a broken pan and a cracked gasket that need to be replaced but he states that all of the transmission fluid had drained out of the engine.  He says they can replace those parts and refill the fluid but that might not solve the problem because more damage could’ve been done to the transmission while it was dry.  But it was a place to start and then drive it to see if more needed to be done.  I tell him to go ahead and do that and then we’ll see what is what.

I pay for the restaurant and the hostess wishes me good luck with my car.  I walk over to the repair shop and sit in their front waiting room area.  I get out my nook and just hang out.  I also watch a little TV but I couldn’t really concentrate on the TV or my nook.  I was a bit stressed out.  I text John and ask how far a drive is Laughlin.  It’s four hours but with Friday traffic it would take a bit longer than that.  It’s almost 4PM.

Photo- A street in Palm Desert not far from where I stayed the night.

 I guess I need to see about finding a hotel to stay in Palm desert for the night.  John offers his spare bedroom.  He mentions that he’s just planning on staying in at home watching some TV and that he’s been having a hankering for meatloaf.  I laugh.  I text back and say I make a great meatloaf.  He asks me to text him the shopping list and he pick up what’s needed.  Okay, why not?  I text it back and a short time later a guy from the back of the repair shop comes back and says my car is ready and it seems to be driving fine.  They drove it around the neighborhood for a bit, but he suggests I don’t go anywhere too far for a while before it’s been driven a bit more.  I told him I was planning on Laughlin.  He suggests I drive around locally and make sure there’s nothing wrong before I get out on with my traveling.

So I take my car over to the interstate and zoom along on I-10 going east for a couple of exits; then through Palm Desert in stop and go traffic.  Next it’s up to Hwy 74 and I drive up the mountain side that I came down to get into Palm Desert.  The car’s doing beautifully.  I meet John and follow him to his townhouse in a gated community.

It was fun using someone else’s kitchen to cook in and it had been a while since I had cooked for someone.  I made a dinner of my meatloaf with extra special sauce and some garlic mashed potatoes, while John opened a bottle of wine.  We had a nice meal and then just hung out and watched a movie.  I was almost falling asleep on the couch.   The day had taken its toll on me.  John suggested that I turn in for the night and wished me a good night.  I went to the guest room and got settled in for the night.