Traveling Mercies
First, the good news: The 1998 Toyota Sienna van with over 165,000 miles which I duct-taped together for the ride to Virginia survived the trip up and back.
And now the bad: The air conditioner did not.
In fact, the air conditioner went out about two hours into the trip on the way up. But thankfully, it was overcast and cool once we hit the mountains in east Tennessee, so it didn’t really matter. It even stayed relatively cool for July during our visit.
But the trip back yesterday evoked way too many memories of those hot retro rides from the 1960s–the choking exhaust fumes, the jarring sound of air brakes, the wet cling of the clothes, the rush of hot air through your hair and into your ears. When it started to rain in Knoxville, we collectively groaned at the prospect of having to roll up our windows and the steamy sauna that would likely ensue.
“Can’t we try it one more time?” Number Three pleaded.
“It won’t work,” I logically intoned.
Eyegal reached down and pressed the “AC” button whose light had all trip long flashed in a desperate “S.O.S.” Somewhere deep within its bowels there was a commotion, and then–cool air.
And for the next hour or so, for as long as we were in the rain, it worked.
Talk about your traveling mercies.
13 Comments
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Mike the Eyeguy
I read Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies while I was there. I think that an AC that suddenly and miraculously works just when you need it the most definitely fits the category.
Donna
I think you are right…..Your post reminded me of a few trips I have made, some in a 1965 pick up truck (that my Dad just sold last year!)
Alan gable
I’m 25. They used to make cars without air conditioning? What? Next you’re going to tell me cars haven’t always come equipped with airbags….
That Girl
Glad you made it home safely. My daddy once owned a 39 Ford that we took to various car shows. We drove it to Memphis one July and it vapor locked the entire way there. We’d go a couple of miles and stop to let it cool off. Not only did it not have AC – it didn’t have wipers!
Hal
Allyson and I attended a CE event in CO this past weekend and flew back into Knoxville yesterday. I can verify that it was quite steamy there yesterday afternoon. I’m so glad that your AC decided to work through that.
I was also glad to see that my “Babe (the Blue Ox), Jr” made it on your last post. She was nicknamed Babe, Jr on a trip out through California, on my way to my externship. We stopped and took a picture of her beneath an enormous statue of Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox.
DAvid U
Sorry bro! Did you sing songs like “In the pines, in the pines……..where the sun never shines” while you were transported back to the 60’s?
ROLL TIDE!!!
DU
Carolinagirl
This reminds me of my niece and her family who are visiting in the states for the summer. They otherwise live in Ghana as missionaries. A family from the Church in MO has loaned them one of their cars – a GEO. Guess what – it has no air conditioning to begin with. I don’t know how they’ve managed to do so much traveling in it, especially with a 6-month old. Oh yea, the radio doesn’t work either. They bought cheap speakers at Wally World or somewhere like that in order to listen to their MP3 player.
Mike the Eyeguy
Donna and TG–What is it about Cullman and pickup trucks?!
AG–Yes, it’s strange but true. I remember when my Dad bought an under-the-dash AC for a trip out west that we took in 1970. That was some serious HIGH COTTON back in those days!
Hal–Babe will live in our hearts forever.
DU–We weren’t much of a singing family. Another thing I noticed yesterday is how hard it is to hear with the wind whooshing through like that.
Roll Tide backatchya!
Cg–Call me crazy, but visiting missionaries from Ghana deserve better than a speakerless, ACless GEO to drive around in while on sabbatical! Surely someone at that church had a car with AC!
Stoogelover
I saw an A/C unit from antiquity recently that I’d never seen. It was a tube that sat on the window (rolled down a little) and had an arm that rested against the glass or body of the car. Ice was added to this tube and air was trapped by the cone and sent over the ice and into the car.
Glad you made the trip home and had at least a respite during the rain.
Ed
If your lucky, its only out of freon, which means you have a leak somewhere. Got the same problem in the Honda right now and I caught in a thunderstorm the other day. Windows fogged up and I had to pull over to clear them.
Mike the Eyeguy
Sl–I remember the under-the-dash after market versions well, but a window one that used ice? I’m sure somebody thought that was pure brilliance at the time.
Ed–we didn’t want to spend the time or money up there trying to fix it. The question now is: do we fix it now that we’re back? With my driveway looking increasingly like a used car lot, it’s not like we don’t have alternatives. If it’s just freon, we’ll fix it. Beyond that, who knows?
bpb
as a replacement for that van, let me highly recommend the Hyundai Entourage van. We purchased one in January from the dealership in Decatur (Anna Maxwell), and couldn’t be happier with our purchase! We looked at different models and dealerships over the past 2 years – this one definitely earned our respect. All the “nice-ities” of the Toyota and Honda but much better priced. Mention me to Anna!
Mike the Eyeguy
I think somebody’s fishing for a bird dog fee! 😉
I’m hoping to avoid minivans the next time around, but I’ll probably end up getting one more before I’m done.