A couple of weeks ago Mom, Calvin and I set got ourselves all packed up and into the car for a short jaunt up to Port Macquarie. The plan was to spend a few days on the North Coast and be back in time to celebrate Mother's Day with Craig. We spent the morning packing and waiting on the internet guy so we could finally have access at home. We set off midday, got a quick lunch at Maccas and went merrily on our way enjoying the lovely scenery as we headed north. About an hour into our trip we pulled off at a service center to take a little break and noticed an odd noise coming from the engine.
I was immediately very concerned as it's tough to handle car trouble w/o Craig and with the baby along. We were looking under the hood in vain when two men walked over and asked if they could help - one of them had a Mercedes service shirt on so we figured they might know what they were talking about - he reckoned it was the timing belt based on where the noise was coming from. I was pretty sure we hadn't had that replaced yet and I was also aware that it is a major repair, so I was feeling pretty stressed at this point.
CJ woke and was hungry, so I sat in the car and fed him while we tried to figure out what our options were. Mom went inside to talk to the helpful men again and see whether they thought we could drive anywhere. I was also on the phone to Craig (who was in a training class all day) to see whether we had roadside assistance any longer. Mom came back with the thought that we could either drive back down the road to the nearest town (Wyong) and look for a repair place, or just drive back home and deal with it there. We decided to try for home as it would be easier to not have the baby along and to have Craig's help.
After we got across the road and were pulling cautiously back onto the freeway there was a very loud clunk and I saw something rolling away behind us across the road (presumably some important bit of the engine)! I pulled over quickly and found that the car was still running, but the battery light had some on - luckily there was an off ramp for the southbound service center right in front of us, so we took it and made our way to a repair shop. They told us the drive belt was gone, but they couldn't get one until the next day. I'm panicking at this point as we have CJ and a car full of luggage to deal with and we're an hour from home. After many phone calls, a few tears and a lot of stress Craig sorted out a tow truck to come get us and take us all the way home. It was a massive truck with more than enough room for us and the baby seat and a very friendly driver. So, 6 hours after leaving we were back home, exhausted and relieved! Our little man was a real champ and slept through most of the day and almost the whole ride home in the NOISY truck (maybe we need to get a Jeep!). We had one last misadventure when the tow truck drove off with the baby seat, but luckily we tracked him down before he got too far!
I'll add some pictures when we get back from our trip :)
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